Chapter 1

Chase Johnson’s face twisted in rage, and his hand shook violently as he pointed a finger at his daughter, Lena Johnson. “You ungrateful brat! Do you know what you’re saying?”

“Of course I do!”

Lena looked up, hatred burning in her eyes. “From the day you cheated on my mom while she was pregnant, killing her and my unborn sibling, you lost the right to be my father! Besides, you only consider Ava as your daughter anyway. You’re even forcing me to give up my marriage to the Hale family just for her sake. Since that’s the case, what difference does it make whether we officially cut ties or not?

“Those are my two conditions, and I won’t settle for less,” she added, her tone laced with impatience as she leaned in slightly. “So, tell me. Do we have a deal or not?”

Chase’s face turned ashen, and his chest heaved with fury. It took him a long moment to squeeze the words through his clenched teeth.

“Fine! We cut ties! Don’t you dare regret this! I’ll need some time to pull together one billion dollars, but I have a condition of my own– The heir of the Hale family is obsessed with you. To make sure Ava marries him without any drama, you must pack your bags and get out of the country within a month and never come back!”

Hearing that, Lena’s heart skipped a beat. She was unsure whether it was because Chase was willing to go to such lengths for Ava Johnson or because he said the heir of the Hale family was obsessed with her.

The corners of her mouth twitched, and she whispered so softly it was almost inaudible. “He doesn’t actually care about me.”

“What did you say?” Chase barked, missing her murmur.

Lena lowered her eyes to hide the coldness underneath, her voice dropping into a flat, emotionless drone. “Nothing. Just make sure the one billion dollars is wired to my account within the month. I’ll handle all the paperwork and vanish from your sight for good.”

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away. However, just as she arrived at the exit, she spotted Henry Hale and Ava walking toward her side by side. The two of them were laughing and chatting, looking very intimate.

Lena vividly remembered the first time Henry met Ava. Back then, his eyes were filled with disgust. When Ava tried to get close to him, he would choke her with one hand until she could barely breathe, warning her to stay away. Yet now, he was looking at Ava with nothing but pure tenderness. As it turned out, his heart had wavered toward Ava so early on.

Lena felt as though a pair of invisible hands were ripping her heart open. The pain was so intense it left her entire body numb. Suddenly, memories of her past life came flooding back. In that life, after her mother passed away, Chase had immediately brought his mistress and his illegitimate daughter into the house. From then on, Lena was forced to live like a stray in her own home.

It was Henry, her fiancé by arrangement, who had single-handedly stormed into the house to rescue her. He had dragged her out of a pitch-black basement where she had been locked away, covered in bruises. From that day onward, Henry and the powerful Hale family became her only lifeline.

Under Henry’s fierce protection, the Johnsons feared the Hales’ power, yet they coveted the marriage alliance that could elevate their social status. Because of that, Chase tried to pressure Lena into letting Ava take her place more than once.

However, how could Lena ever agree? The Johnsons were never a match for the Hales to begin with. The engagement was a gift born from the deep friendship between Lena’s late mother and Henry’s mother; it was the last thing in the world that connected her to her mother. So, time and time again, Lena stood firm against Chase’s threats and bribes.

Ava refused to back down either. She even went so far as to strip naked and sneak into Henry’s bedroom, only to be thrown out onto the street by him. On the day of the wedding, Ava used suicide as a final guilt trip. She had thrown her arms around Henry’s legs, crying and screaming, before finally jumping into the ocean right in front of everyone. In the end, her body was nowhere to be found.

Lena had honestly thought that with Ava out of the picture, she and Henry could finally live a peaceful life together. For the first three years of their marriage, they really did seem deeply in love. That was until the day Lena spotted Henry on the street, tenderly embracing Ava, with a two-year-old child standing beside them.

Only then did she realize that Ava was not dead. Henry had simply hidden her away somewhere else, and they even had a child together. Yet, before Lena could even rush across the street to confront them, a speeding truck lost control and plowed directly into her. Amid the agonizing pain of her body being crushed to pieces, she had looked up and seen Henry watching from a distance. The eyes that used to be filled with warmth held nothing but cold indifference.

As her consciousness faded, only one thought remained in her mind. If they ever met again, she would gladly step aside for these two “star-crossed lovers.” Henry’s fake love was something she no longer wanted.

“Lenny!”

Henry’s voice snapped her out of the suffocating memory.

The moment he saw her, a brilliant smile spread across his face. His eyes lit up brightly, as though she were his entire world. That exact look had once made her believe in him blindly, but it was those same eyes that, later on, would look at Ava with the same devotion.

Henry reached out to take her hand just like he always did and said, “There’s only a month left until our wedding. I’m here to take you bridal dress shopping!”

Lena stared at his extended hand. In her mind, however, an image flashed of those same long, elegant fingers resting gently on Ava’s shoulder, and her heart sank. Without making a scene, she subtly stepped aside to avoid his touch, giving a detached acknowledgment before walking straight past him.

Henry stared at his empty hand in confusion. He did not dwell on it too much, assuming she was just in a bad mood, and quickly jogged to catch up with her.

As Lena passed Ava, Ava timidly reached out and grabbed her sleeve. “Lena… can I come along?”

Looking at the carefully manufactured innocence in Ava’s eyes, Lena suddenly smiled.

“Sure.”

“No way!”

Two voices rang out at the same time.

Henry looked at Lena in absolute shock, his eyes full of bewilderment. “Lenny, don’t you hate her? Why would you…”

Lena chuckled in her mind. ‘Why? Because in a month, Ava will be the one wearing the wedding dress and standing by your side anyway.’