Lonely Dove

In the VIP ballroom of the Imperial Hotel in Elfhedge, a grand engagement party was underway.

"Let's welcome the groom-to-be and the bride-to-be to have their opening dance!"

The groom-to-be, Marvin Gregory, burst into laughter after hearing what the emcee said.

"Opening dance? You might have thought too highly of that ugly creature!"

Upon hearing that, everyone turned to Annabelle Sanchez, the bride-to-be, who had just become a laughingstock.

Wearing a veil, she stood quietly on the stage.

People started to gossip. Some said that Annabelle, the third girl of the Sanchez family, was disfigured by a fire when she was a child, and she had been living in Springvale Temple in the mountains ever since. She never even went to college.

Marvin, on the other hand, was the second eldest son of the Gregory family, handsome and influential. It was reasonable for him to disdain her.

That being said, Annabelle was from a prestigious family. Everyone assumed that she was probably on the verge of shedding tears after being humiliated in public.

Meanwhile, they all wondered what the two families would do to fix such a mess.

Colten Gregory, Marvin's father, banged the table angrily. "You brat! How dare you say that?"

'Even though Ms. Sanchez is not among the prettiest,' thought Colten, 'Marvin shouldn't have insulted her in front of all the guests. People may think he's ill-bred. It's a disgrace to our family!'

"I'll be blunt, Dad. I'll rather stay single forever than marry such a bumpkin!"

Usually, Marvin dared not defy Colten, but he was bold enough today thanks to the wine. After saying this, Marvin tore off his tie, slammed it hard on the floor, and left the ballroom.

Only then did Annabelle raise her head. Her eyelashes quivered with excitement as she watched Marvin go away.

'That couldn't be better!', Annabelle thought to herself, 'I was about to talk to Marvin about getting married without interfering with each other's lives. Now that we won't even get married, I don't have to. He just saved me a lot of trouble. '

With such thought, she couldn't help but beam with all her heart. Even her eyes were smiling.

Kendrick Gregory, Marvin's brother, caught that.

He sat in a quiet corner of the banquet hall, not far from the stage, lazily sipping champagne and glancing sideways at the farce, until he unexpectedly caught sight of her smile.

He couldn't help but think to himself, 'She seems quite happy about being dumped.'

The next moment, however, he saw Briley Sanchez, Annabelle's mother, walk onto the stage. Briley pulled Annabelle aside before saying something with a straight face.

Annabelle's bright eyes darkened at once. She then nodded with red eyes.

He thought, 'Briley seems to be blaming Annabelle for screwing up the engagement party. Yet the engagement was messed up because of Marvin. How could she blame Annabelle?'

Annabelle's sad, aggrieved look reminded Kendrick of a stray cat who had been kicked around but dared not cry out with its tail between its legs, just like himself during his two-year homeless life.

"May I?" Kendrick put down his champagne glass, stood up gracefully, and walked to the center of the stage. "May I take Ms. Sanchez to the opening dance?"

He came to Annabelle and gentlemanly invited her to dance, which made all the guests slack-jawed.

Kendrick was always cold and aloof. He was rarely seen with any woman except for work, let alone dancing with one.

It was also unlikely that he was cleaning up the mess left by Marvin since they were only half-brothers who had been on bad terms for years. There was no way Kendrick would do that to help Marvin out.

But it was even more unlikely that Kendrick had a crush on Annabelle.

How could he do such a thing?

He was now the CEO of the Gregory Group and the future heir to the Gregory family. He had impossibly high standards. How could he be interested in such an ugly woman?

Annabelle looked at Kendrick, a bit puzzled as well.

She didn't know who he was at all.

Briley, who was behind her, pushed her and whispered, "Mr. Gregory is giving you a way out. Just say yes!"

Hearing the way Briley addressed Kendrick, Annabelle realized that who he was.

She had heard about Kendrick. At the age of 30, the hunk remained single.

Now that she saw him, she could tell how much he stood out in the crowd. Marvin was handsome in an overbearing way while Kendrick was handsome in a reserved and profound way.

Yet somehow Kendrick looked a bit tired, seemingly bothered by his health condition.

Annabelle knew one thing or two about medicine. After examining his face, Annabelle had her speculation.

At the same time, a bold idea popped up into her mind.

She thought, 'Maybe he can get me out of the trouble!'

Therefore, she performed a curtsy and placed her hand on Kendrick's palm.

The two stepped onto the dance floor elegantly and danced gracefully to a harmonious waltz.

After a bar of dancing, she said, "Mr. Gregory, your head condition has been bothering you for three years, right?"

Kendrick squinted his eyes at Annabelle, surprised by what he had just heard.

"You're a doctor?"

Annabelle smiled and continued, "If I'm right, Mr. Gregory, you were poisoned three years ago, and unfortunately, some of the poison is still in your system, causing you a headache, right?"

Kendrick narrowed his eyes and thought, 'She is so damn right. Is she that good? Maybe she's more than who she looks like."

The business world was like a battlefield. Kendrick was already used to deceit and intrigue over the years. So he was always on guard.

"Ms. Sanchez, what do you want from me?" Kendrick asked flatly.

"I can cure your headache if you let me." Annabelle paused before she went on in a more serious tone, "Yet in return, Mr. Gregory, you have to engage me."

Originally, she was quite delighted that Marvin called off the engagement, yet Briley threatened to marry her off to a business tycoon if her arranged marriage with Marvin didn't come through.

The business tycoon was even older than Gavyn Sanchez, Annabelle's father, and he was a womanizer. If she married him, the rest of her life would be over.

Getting engaged to Kendrick for now could at least buy her some time.

Upon hearing that, Kendrick chuckled. He thought, 'So, this is her real purpose. I thought too highly of her."

"What if you can't cure me? Doesn't it mean that I'd be losing out?" Kendrick sneered.

By this time, their dance had come to the last bar.

Annabelle knew that if she failed to convince Kendrick, she would completely lose control of her fate.

"You'll recover within 6 months. It can even be 3 if everything goes well. We will break off our engagement as soon as you recover."

As far as Annabelle was concerned, it was a fair deal for Kendrick. A 6-month engagement in exchange for a cure to a year-lasting disease was a bargain.

Yet the problem was that she had just been dumped by Kendrick's brother. It was kind of awkward.

Therefore, she didn't know whether Kendrick would agree or not. She looked nervously and uneasily at him.

Kendrick curled up his lips slightly and said, "What if six months later, you fall in love with me and change your mind?"

The corner of Annabelle's mouth twitched.

"Relax. I don't have any feelings for you. I'm eager to get engaged to you because my parents are forcing me to marry a man who is old enough to be my grandfather. If you are worried that I will break my word, I can make a written guarantee."

Kendrick raised his eyebrows as he thought to himself with self-mockery, 'She has made herself quite clear, no? She even offers to write a guarantee, just to avoid getting you wrong. Don't flatter yourself, Kendrick! She chooses you because she doesn't wanna marry an old man. You're just her fallback option!'

Kendrick squinted. "Unfortunately, I do not intend to be engaged to you, Ms. Sanchez."

Hearing that, Annabelle pressed her lips together and lowered her eyes sadly.

She was not surprised, yet she couldn't help but feel frustrated.

She thought to herself, 'Gotta try another way out.'

And that was when Annabelle heard Kendrick whisper, "I mean, let's get married straight away."