His Reluctant Bride

She was sold to the Harrison family after her father gambled away everything and could no longer pay his debts. As if that were not enough, he had drunk himself into a stupor, drowning what little sense he had left.

Without a second thought, he cast her aside, discarding her like a piece of trash. To settle what he owed, he sold her to the owner of the very club where he had wasted himself in drink.

In that house, she was treated as nothing. Her stepmother and stepsister mocked her behind her back, whispering as though she were invisible. She was not worth a hundred million dollars—at least not in their eyes.

And yet, it was her stepmother who had likely persuaded her father to sell her, all to pay off his debt.

At the Harrison villa, Crystal Merry sat in front of the dressing mirror. Her eyes were sore and swollen, stained red from hours of crying. She had already been forced into marriage with the eldest son of the Harrison family.

To her husband, she was nothing more than an eyesore. For the past three years of their marriage, she had brought him nothing but shame and disgrace.

Buzz. Buzz.

The sharp ringing of a phone broke the silence. It was Crystal Merry’s phone.

Almost absentmindedly, she stretched out her hand and picked it up from where it lay beside her.

After a brief hesitation, she opened the message that had just arrived.

The message was from Laura Adams,

Crystal Merry’s childhood friend.

Crystal played the voice message and quickly opened the photo Laura had sent.

The moment she saw it, she let out a heavy sigh.

It had always been like this. Nothing ever seemed to change.

She tightened her grip around the phone, her knuckles turning pale.

“I’m tired,” she muttered under her breath.

“Mom… why did you have to leave?”

Even after all these years, she still felt like a little girl whenever she thought about her mother.

Losing her at such a young age had left a wound that never truly healed. Not long after her mother’s death, her father remarried—bringing nothing but trouble into her life.

By marrying the worst woman imaginable, he had given her the worst stepmother—and eventually, the worst stepsister.

“Fool,” she cried bitterly.

For a few moments, she stood abruptly and shouted into the empty room, her voice breaking the heavy silence.

“Clara is a fool! She thinks she stole something important. She stole nothing but my problem—my everyday headache!”

Her words rang loud and clear, even reaching the maids standing outside the door.

As her voice faded, she slowly felt a strange sense of relief. Clara thought she had stolen her husband. But unknown to her, she had only taken away Crystal’s burden.

Lost in her thoughts, Crystal Merry let out a soft, bitter laugh.

“He’s so arrogant… and she’s so foolish,” she murmured.

“Who does Leonard Harrison think he is?”

Buzz. Buzz.

Her phone vibrated again, cutting through her spiraling thoughts. Laura was calling.

“Hello,” Crystal answered, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside her.

“Crystal, are you seriously going to sit there and watch Clara steal your husband?” Laura demanded.

A faint smile curved Crystal’s lips.

“My husband?” she repeated quietly.

“Leonard Harrison was never truly mine.”

There was a stunned silence on the other end.

“Crystal, do you even realize who Leonard Harrison is?” Laura pressed on.

“He’s the heir to the Harrison empire. The future head of one of the most powerful families in the country. Women line up just to get a glance at him—and you’re just letting him go?”

Crystal’s grip tightened around the phone.

“I’m tired, Laura,” she said at last. “Tired of pretending. Tired of trying to win a man who never once looked at me as his wife.

If Clara wants Leonard Harrison, she can have him.”

Her voice was calm, but beneath it lay three years of silent heartbreak.

There was a long pause on the line before the sharp sound of the call ending echoed through the room.

Laura had hung up.

Crystal lowered the phone slowly, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. How rude of Laura to hang up on her.

She bit her lower lip, anger flashing in her eyes.

Since Laura knew Leonard Harrison was the richest and most powerful man in the city, why hadn’t she switched places with her at the wedding? Why hadn’t she taken Crystal’s role as his bride?

Crystal let out a cold breath.

Looking around the quiet bedroom, she realized she was still alone in the large bed.

It had been like this for a long time now.

While she lay there night after night, her husband was out visiting his mistress.

The vast room felt emptier than ever.