Chapter 3

I was only 16 years old when my parents passed away. The Sherman family's vast business empire had fallen onto the shoulders of a teenage girl who knew nothing about the business world.

The only reason why Sherman Group had managed to run smoothly till now was because I had a wonderfully capable person helping me, and that person was W.

At first, W managed the entire Sherman Group for me, ensuring that the company my parents left to me didn't end up in the hands of people with ulterior motives.

It was only within the last two years, after I'd grown up and learned enough to assume the responsibilities myself, that he'd slowly relinquished control of the company back to me.

We hadn't been in touch for quite a while now, but I'd reached out to him this time and asked him to help me find a kind of drug that could help me fake my death.

…

At the pre-wedding party, Celine came up to me with a cocktail in hand. As she blinked her innocent eyes at me, she said, "Congratulations on your wedding in advance, Joanna."

Smiling, I tapped my glass against hers and said, "Thanks."

I hadn't even used any force, but somehow, her glass tilted toward her and splashed the booze all over her dress.

Celine stared at me, looking all lost and helpless as the women around us mockingly laughed.

One of them, Irina Carter, was a childhood friend of mine. She'd always found Celine detestable. She said, "If she can't even hold a cocktail properly, I wonder if she'll be able to hold onto her husband when she marries into the Wright family."

"I can't believe someone's trying to steal the thunder at Joanna's pre-wedding party. If she wants attention so much, she should throw a party of her own!"

"She's probably worried that no one would even want to attend her party."

Andrew rushed over, his face tight with concern. "Joanna! Celine didn't do it on purpose. You're her sister! How can you just stand there and let everyone else mock her?

"I remember you have a spare gown prepared. I'll take Celine over to get changed."

Irina wanted to stand up for me, but I stopped her with a look before saying to Andrew, "Go ahead. The gown is in the lounge upstairs."

After seeing that my expression hadn't changed at all, Andrew said, "I know you're even more worried about Celine than I am. Don't worry. We'll be right back."

At that moment, it suddenly occurred to me that whenever Celine was in any sort of trouble, Andrew would always handle things under the guise of doing it on my behalf.

This explained why he seemed so unusually practiced at it, even when it extended far beyond the realm of propriety.

In the past, I'd used to think he was an attentive and thoughtful man. But now, I realized that I was merely the catalyst for their budding romance.

I let out a quiet, bitter laugh. It felt as though every inch of my body was in pain.

When Celine came back, her cheeks were flushed, and her lipstick was smeared.

"Thanks for your gown, Joanna. Or else, I would've embarrassed myself." She reached out to loop her arm through mine as she always did.

Instinctively, I stepped back to avoid her.

Caught off guard, she couldn't pull back in time, so she ended up grabbing onto Irina, who'd been standing behind me.

Startled, Irina quickly flung Celine off.

Celine crashed into the dessert table beside us and ended up with cake frosting all over her. The fresh gown had also ripped as a result of the fall.

As Celine hugged her revealed body, she started to wail.

Andrew marched over and threw his suit jacket around Celine, making sure she was completely covered up. "What's the meaning of this, Joanna? It's the second time tonight!"

"She fell by herself. What does it have to do with me?" I asked in puzzlement.

However, Andrew could no longer hide her anger nor his bias toward Celine. "You've always cared a great deal about the quality of your clothing. Why would this gown rip so easily, huh?

"And what about the cocktail from earlier? It never would've spilled on her if you hadn't tapped her glass so forcefully!

"You're just trying to humiliate her on purpose! I never expected you to be capable of doing such a thing!"

I opened my mouth, but I had no idea how to defend myself. My throat tightened, and I couldn't speak.

Meanwhile, Celine looked ghostly pale. With great effort, she raised her hand, revealing the fork that had stabbed into her palm. "Andy, it hurts so much…"