Chapter 1

When Phoebe Graham and the others saw me, the shock in their eyes was unmistakable.

"Am I seeing things? Why else would I be seeing Ian Luther out here?"

Kayla Moore, who was beside her, snorted. She checked the date on her phone. "Oh. Five years have already gone by? What a shame."

Haley Carter, the woman sitting in the very center, looked even more displeased. "We agreed back then that one of the three of us has to marry him. Whichever one of you it is, the other had better not try to fight me for Simon."

Simon Luther was the fake heir who'd stolen my identity and had me shipped to prison.

When Dad had been seriously ill, the three women had joined forces to switch my DNA with Simon's. They also fabricated evidence that made me the murderer of my own father.

After working together to send me to prison, they immediately had Dad cremated, making sure there would be no possibility of me overturning the case. I never even got to see Dad one last time before I was betrayed by three women I had once regarded like sisters and sent to prison.

For the last five years, I appealed countless times inside, trying again and again to overturn my conviction, only to have every appeal rejected for one reason or another.

Then, when I was finally released after serving my sentence, the three people who had promised to come pick me up from prison had instead rented out giant screens across the city to publicly confess their love to Simon.

They announced in grand fashion that they would compete at the auction for the chance to be with Simon.

I had used my connections to sneak into the auction. I didn't expect the three of them to discover my presence so quickly.

I tried to speak, but when I opened my mouth, I found that all I could produce was a hoarse rasp.

Phoebe, who had once got on her knees and asked me to marry her, clapped her hands and burst out laughing. "I almost forgot. The great Ian Luther, heir to the Luther family, can't even speak anymore."

The other two covered their mouths and laughed as well, quickly drawing the attention of those around us. They gathered around, curious, and asked, "Ladies, what is he to you? How did he manage to amuse the three of you so much?"

Kayla, who had once sworn she would never marry anyone but me, pinched her nose and waved a hand in front of her face. "Him? He's the murderer who killed Simon's father. Who knows why the prison let this monster out? He's contaminating the air with his presence!"

Haley, the most spoiled and willful of the three, went so far as to kick the back of my knees. "How dare a murderer like you show your face at an event like this? Just wait until Simon gets here. You'd better get on your knees and apologize to him!"

Years of torment in prison had already left my body frail and battered. That light kick was enough to send me crashing to my knees.

Looking at the three women I had once considered family, I still couldn't understand why things between us had ended up like this.

Back then, Dad and I had been passing through an alley when we saw the three of them, who had been kidnapped and trafficked, being beaten. At my insistence, he rescued all three.

People were always joking that Dad had found me three potential brides. I had always laughed it off.

There was a time when I'd felt a flicker of something for them. But eventually, I realized that the best thing for all four of us was for me to treat them like they were my sisters.

I never thought that my decision back then would end up dooming Dad and me.

As I recalled the evidence I'd uncovered, I clenched my fists. Even though my nails had drawn blood from my palms, I felt no pain.