Chapter 5

As the wedding day drew closer, the entire residence was filled with a festive atmosphere.

Colourful paper decorations and window cutouts adorned every corner of the house, but compared with the cheerful scene outside, the Chase residence fell into an unprecedented silence.

During the day, Lucian took care of his father. At night, he endured the pain as he rubbed medicated oil over his own wounds.

He lowered his eyes to the list of Bianca’s wedding gifts and remembered what Vincent smugly told him the day before.

"Bianca said that since she cannot marry me in this life, she decided to take me as her younger brother instead. She wants to protect me as my elder sister. The things she gave me are worth far more than the dowry she is bringing into your family."

Lucian glanced at the expensive coat Vincent wore and the property deed in his hand, then turned away expressionlessly.

He truly did not care anymore.

Even at the ceremony where Bianca formally acknowledged Vincent as her younger brother, when she openly scolded and mocked the people who dared criticize him, Lucian merely smiled and let it go.

What he got in return was a furious lecture from Madeline.

"Lucian, with everything that happened to your family, we opposed Bianca marrying you at first, but she was so determined that we agreed. Now she is carrying on with Vincent. As her future husband, are you not even a little worried?"

Lucian barely lifted his eyes. "What she does is none of my concern. If that is all, I am leaving."

He turned to leave, but a sudden pain shot through his back.

When he looked back, he saw Madeline blocking his path with a bamboo switch in her hand.

"Stop right there. Is this how you speak to your future mother-in-law? It is because of that self-righteous attitude of yours that Bianca got involved with another man. You are not going anywhere until she gets here."

Before Lucian could explain, the Rose family members forced him to his knees. One red welt after another appeared across his back.

Even after three bamboo switches snapped in Madeline’s hand, Bianca still did not come.

After a long while, Madeline finally waved her hand with a complicated look on her face.

"Forget it. Go home. I thought Bianca still had you in her heart, so I tried to force her to come here this way. I never imagined she would..."

Lucian did not bother listening to the rest. He would be leaving in four days.

Clenching his teeth against the pain, his forehead slick with cold sweat, he made his way back home.

When he reached a corner, he suddenly saw a man and woman locked in an embrace.

He was about to turn away when he heard a familiar voice.

"Bianca, you are pregnant with my child. It happened that night a month ago when we got drunk, did it not? Please, let us keep the baby."

Lucian’s heart lurched. The next second, that familiar voice answered.

"I am getting married to Lucian soon. Vincent, I can only get rid of it..."

"No. This is our child. It is the fruit of our love. How can you be so cruel to me and our baby?"

As Vincent pleaded through his choked sobs, a dull ache settled over Lucian’s heart.

In his previous life, when he lost both legs and struggled to survive, did Bianca and Vincent also look forward to bringing a new life into the world?

Exhausted, Lucian turned and walked away. He returned to his room and added several more pages to the ten-thousand-word report he wrote to expose everything.

He thought that before he left, he had to get justice, not only for himself, but for his father as well.

Around midnight, Lucian stirred awake in a daze. To his surprise, Bianca was beside him, dressed in revealing sleepwear and reaching for her clothes as though she intended to undress.

Lucian froze for a moment before instinctively pushing her away. "Do not touch me."

Bianca went still. She was about to lose her temper when she turned on the light and saw the injuries covering Lucian’s body.

After a long silence, she looked away uncomfortably.

"What happened? Who did this to you?"

Lucian almost laughed from sheer anger. "Bianca, I got these injuries because of you. Why pretend you do not know?"

Something seemed to click in Bianca’s mind, and a flicker of guilt crossed her face.

"I am sorry. I thought Mom was joking. I did not think she would actually hurt you. Do not worry. I will not let you get hurt again..."

"Can you leave now?" Lucian’s expression turned cold. "I need to rest."

Bianca looked as though she wanted to say something, but when she met the icy look in his eyes, she backed down.

It was not until the next day that Lucian learned why Bianca tried to get close to him in the middle of the night.

"Lucian, because you rejected Bianca last night, she clung to me all night. She planned to make you think the two of you slept together, so you would believe the baby was yours. You ruined everything. If you ask me, you deserve to wear that cuckold’s hat for the rest of your life."

Lucian’s entire body jolted. Only then did he understand Bianca’s true intentions.

She destroyed him once in his previous life. Now, in this life, she wanted him to raise his enemy’s child.

'Bianca, you really are heartless.'

Forcing down the anger boiling inside him, Lucian took a deep breath.

"Do not worry. I am not marrying her."