Chapter 4

On the day of the wedding, the entire estate was heavily guarded. Rather than welcoming the guests, Ronan seemed far more preoccupied with something else.

“Tighten security. Add more men to every entrance. No one is permitted near the main hall without my explicit permission.”

The bodyguards acknowledged his orders in hushed tones.

Everyone knew that he wasn’t guarding against his enemies; he was guarding against me. After all, in their eyes, I had loved Ronan for many years. Now that I had to watch him marry Susan, how could I possibly accept it lying down?

Yet, sitting in the lounge and gazing at the bustling servants outside the window, Ronan still couldn’t bring himself to relax.

“Has anyone without an invitation tried to break in?”

A bodyguard immediately replied, “No, Don. Every entrance has been thoroughly checked.”

Ronan remained silent for a few seconds before turning to his underboss.

“Hold onto my phone. No matter who texts or calls, do not pick up.”

The underboss paused and glanced down at the phone with caution before saying, “Don, no one has tried to contact you today.”

There were no phone calls, text messages, or a single attempt to disrupt the wedding.

Ronan froze. He recalled how I looked yesterday—no tears, no scenes, and not even a single demand for an explanation.

I had simply said calmly, “Alright.”

It was far too abnormal, and Ronan couldn’t bring himself to believe it. He refused to believe that the woman who had compromised for him time and time again would give up so easily.

Ronan had prepared for everything in advance. The moment I showed up and tried to ruin the wedding, he would stop me instantly. Yet, even as the wedding commenced, as the guests filled the hall, and as he watched Susan walk down the aisle, I never showed up.

Susan stood beside him in her gown, gently caressing her stomach, her face brimming with a happy smile. Everyone remarked on what a perfect match they were, but Ronan was visibly distracted, his eyes darting toward the entrance again and again.

Susan’s smile grew increasingly strained. Clasping Ronan’s hand in hers, she whispered, “Ronan, are you waiting for Riley?”

Ronan’s expression darkened. “How could I be? I warned her that she wasn’t allowed anywhere near the wedding today. If she shows her face, I’ll have the guards throw her out immediately!”

To put Susan’s mind at ease, Ronan summoned the butler directly. “Has Riley caused any trouble today?”

The butler froze for a moment before replying respectfully, “Don, Miss Riley hasn’t caused any trouble at all.”

His expression turned complicated, as if he wanted to add something more, but Ronan cut him off.

“It’s good that she hasn’t made a scene. Keep a close eye on her. Don’t let her anywhere near Susan. Susan is pregnant right now, and she can’t handle any stress.”

“No, Don. Miss Riley, she–”

Ronan gave the butler no chance to finish. He looked at Susan, his eyes filled with absolute tenderness.

He said to her, “Don’t worry. I promised you that no one would ruin our wedding.”

Susan finally smiled, resting her hand in Ronan’s palm. “I knew it. No one can ever replace me in your heart.”

The grand wedding concluded perfectly under the witness of all of Twin City. Yet, in the days following the wedding, Ronan’s mood grew foul. On the third day of their marriage, the Haliday family was suddenly hit by a crisis.

A shipment responsible for Twin City’s underground trade was hijacked en route. The attackers not only possessed precise knowledge of the route, but they had also bypassed every security measure in advance.

This was the very first time since taking over the mafia family that Ronan had encountered such a failure.

In the boardroom, everyone’s expressions were grim.

“Don, we suspect there’s a traitor among us. If this isn’t resolved within three days, the alliance between several mafia families will be heavily impacted.”

Ronan rubbed his temples and, as he always did, instructed, “Butler, bring Riley here.”

In the past, I had always handled these matters for him.

Though I didn’t understand their illicit trades, I excelled at organizing information and analyzing human nature. Every time the family faced a crisis, I was the one who stayed up late into the night with him, piecing together every single clue.

The butler didn’t move. A conflicted look was written across his face.

“Don, Miss Riley left on the day of your wedding, and she hasn’t come back since…”

Ronan snapped his head up abruptly.