Chapter 1

Alicia's POV

Ewan Holland's face darkened. "Alicia, do you have any idea what you're saying? Or perhaps..."

His eyes swept over the guests in the gallery. "You think someone else out there is willing to pick up my leftovers?"

The room fell into dead silence.

Ewan's lips curled into a smirk as he tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear. "You see, Alicia? Nobody wants you except me. Stop making a scene."

His gentle words turned into sharp daggers, plunging into my heart one by one.

Years ago, I was kidnapped and assaulted. Ewan had found me even faster than the police. He had held me tightly, tears streaming down his face.

"Alicia, I swear no one else will ever know about this. You will always be the shining heiress, with the world at your feet."

...

I gritted my teeth and slapped his hand away. The priceless ring clattered to the floor.

His assistant, Lilith Clayton, rushed over and scooped it up in a flash. Turning to me, she brimmed with righteous indignation. "Mr. Holland is giving you an out! Who do you think you are? So ungrateful!"

Enraged, I delivered a heavy slap across her face. "And who do you think you are, butting into our business?"

"Enough!" Ewan snapped, shielding her with his body.

He took the ring from her hand and slipped it onto her finger. "Now, she is my bride, and you are nothing!"

I was stunned. The tears I had been holding back finally spilled over, dropping silently onto the floor.

Every detail of this wedding, from the floral arrangements and carpet to the lighting and ribbons, had been handpicked by him according to my preferences.

Yet now, he had switched the bride. I wiped my tears away, turning to walk off, only for the hem of my gown to be yanked tight.

"Since I'm the bride now, I'll need you to strip off that gown and hand it over," Lilith said with an innocent smile. "Don't be shy. Everyone has already seen every inch of you anyway."

I instinctively turned to look at Ewan, who raised an eyebrow. "If you want to leave with it on, apologize to Lilith."

"Don't even think about it!" I said through clenched teeth, tearing the hem of my dress free.

Right then, several sleazebags infamous in the circle blocked my path and hurled insulting words at me.

"She used to look down on me at corporate mixers. If I had known she was such a slut, I would have made my move years ago."

"Right?"

...

Their hands reached toward me, mirroring what had happened that night five years ago.

I tried to scream for help, but my eyes caught sight of the man who had saved me back then, whispering intimately with another woman.

A lump caught in my throat. I clamped my mouth shut, grabbing anything within reach to hurl, scratch, and claw at them.

Yet I still couldn't stop my clothes from being ripped away piece by piece. The despair in my heart mounted with every passing second.

Just as the final scrap of fabric covering my chest was about to be torn off, someone stomped heavily on my lower abdomen. In an instant, blood gushed out from between my legs.

"Shit! What is going on?"

"I didn't touch her!"

...

The crowd scattered in panic, leaving me clutching my lower abdomen in agony. I instinctively turned to Ewan for help.

"The baby... Ewan, take me to the hospital!"

He was shocked and started toward me, but Lilith suddenly snorted beside him.

"Framing a period as pregnancy? Classic you! You really have an endless bag of tricks, don't you? If you love that wedding dress so much, keep it. I don't want it anymore."

Ewan's steps faltered. He scanned me up and down, then spoke coldly. "It's dirty. Get out. Handing a filthy dress like that to Lilith is bad luck."

Already numb with pain, I wiped my tears and rasped, "Ewan Holland, I regret everything! I should have let you rot in that backwoods village instead of guiding you to build an empire and even falling in love with you!"

His eyelashes fluttered.

Enduring the searing agony in my abdomen, I grabbed a discarded coat, threw it over myself, and dragged myself up.

I ignored the hand he extended toward me. Though blood dripped down my legs, I forced my spine straight.

Under the heavy gazes of everyone present, I left the hotel, hailed a cab outside, and went to the hospital.

The doctor examined me and showed a grave expression.

"If we operate right now, we can still save the baby. But it will cause extreme damage to your body. Do you want to keep it?"