Chapter 2

Suppressing the shock surging through him, Lucian shook his head. "What are you talking about? I am heading out."

Bianca froze for two seconds before a confident smile spread across her face. "Lucian, I understand. You are angry and do not want to admit how you feel. Let us get married on the second day of next month. As for Vincent, I will send him away. You only need to give him the job opening at your father’s workplace."

Lucian’s hands curled into fists. That position had been reserved for him by his father.

In his previous life, he gave it away without hesitation just to please Bianca.

Not this time.

"No. The job is out of the question. Bianca, I am never marrying you in this lifetime."

He walked away without another word, ignoring the dark look on Bianca’s face.

The next day, word spread throughout the family compound that they were getting married. Bianca even showed up with Vincent and handed out the wedding candy.

When the neighbors teased her, a perfectly timed blush crossed her face.

"Everyone, Lucian and I are getting married on the second day of next month. You all have to come. Honestly, I did not want to get married this soon either, but Lucian accidentally saw me while I was taking a bath. He did not want me to be wronged, so he promised to marry me as soon as possible."

Vincent chimed in beside her. "Bianca even went out of her way to buy the expensive wedding candy. Lucian, you really are a lucky man."

It felt as though someone dumped a bucket of ice water over Lucian. After a long moment, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice.

"I did not peek at you while you were bathing. Bianca, what gives you the right to smear my name like this?"

The people around them exchanged knowing, suggestive smiles. Their eyes showed that they understood.

"Lucian, we all know you care about your reputation. You saw Bianca taking a bath. If you refuse to marry her, that is wrong."

"Exactly. Bianca is such a beautiful young woman, and she is going to be your wife. You ought to be grinning in your sleep."

"If you refuse to take responsibility for Bianca, you would face serious consequences."

The surrounding people looked at him with disgust. Lucian’s fists clenched so tightly they hurt.

Just because he refused to marry her and refused to give up his father’s job opening to Vincent, Bianca was willing to fabricate something like this.

A bone-deep chill threatened to swallow him whole. Bianca lowered her voice.

"Lucian, do not blame me. Mr. Chase already agreed to give the position to Vincent. From now on, we will be family. Here. This is the candy you like."

Lucian stared at the brightly wrapped wedding candy.

His body remembered before his mind could stop it. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

It was this candy that he ate before passing out in his previous life. When he woke up, both of his legs had been broken, and he had been thrown into the mountains.

Now he understood the quiet threat hidden beneath Bianca’s words. Lucian clenched his teeth and said nothing more.

When Bianca noticed that he finally stopped resisting, she instructed her secretary to take him back to the Chase residence.

When Lucian woke up again, his mother, Joanne, sat beside him and carefully wiped away her tears.

"Lucian, we could not understand why you suddenly wanted to leave us before. Now we know. Bianca forced your father to give up the job opening. She is in love with that young man from the countryside, so why does she insist on marrying you?"

Lucian squeezed his mother’s hand. "Mom, it is my fault. Do not worry. We will leave here safely."

Before he could say another word, Bianca walked in carrying a bag of nutritional supplements.

"Leave? What are you talking about?"

Lucian’s expression did not change. "I meant that after we get married, we will move out and live on our own. We will leave Mom and Dad here."

The suspicion on Bianca’s face vanished, and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Lucian, if you miss your parents, we can come back and visit them often. I brought these for Mrs. Chase to help her regain her strength. Come on, let us go eat. The suit I had made for you should be finished soon too. All I want is for you to spend your life with me."

Her gentle, considerate tone left Lucian momentarily lost in a haze of memories.

For a second, Bianca seemed like the childhood sweetheart who devoted herself to him.

When he saw Vincent getting ready to join them for dinner, Lucian came back to his senses.

It had been exactly like this in his previous life. Vincent was always there, and Lucian was always the afterthought.

He gave a bitter, mocking smile and said nothing.

When it was time to order, Bianca instinctively rattled off several dishes. Only after she finished did she realize that the entire table was filled with Vincent’s favorite foods.

Vincent grabbed Bianca’s hand in delight. "Bianca, how do you remember all my favorite things so well?"

Bianca instinctively glanced at Lucian, watching for his reaction. His expression remained calm.

His indifference made her more irritated. She deliberately piled food onto Vincent’s plate and poured tea for him.

Lucian watched their intimate interaction, and for a moment, he was lost in the familiarity of Bianca’s every movement.

Perhaps this was how they spent the rest of their lives in his previous life, happy and deeply in love. What about him?

He spent decades eating wild greens and stale food, struggling to survive with broken legs. He had been separated from his parents for decades.

Lost in thought, Lucian suddenly heard a deafening crash. The old ceiling fan above them came crashing down.

"Lucian, get out of the way!"

Bianca shouted the warning, but her body moved to shield Vincent first.

That protective gesture said everything. Blood streamed down Lucian’s face where the ceiling fan struck him, and his heart sank.

Of course, when danger struck, no matter how many times Bianca claimed she would marry him, her body’s instinctive reaction did not lie.

The next second, darkness swallowed Lucian whole.