Chapter 1

Lila's POV

The bus was so crowded it felt suffocating.

I was worried I would be pushed off the carriage, so I shrank to the back of the bus, clutching my canvas bag as if it were a lifeline.

A few men riding with me lounged comfortably in their seats, chatting idly.

"Did you hear? The Don of the Mannattan District still hasn't gotten married. His family is on the verge of losing their minds!"

Another one replied, "What's the rush? He's had a marriage agreement since he was young. The wedding is going to happen soon. I heard that the bride's wedding gift was control over three docks!"

I pursed my lips into a smile, secretly overjoyed.

The person they were talking about surely had to be Angelo Rizzo, while the bride they mentioned was me!

Angelo and I, Lila Bennett, had been promised to each other since we were ten years old.

Angelo truly liked me back then. He always allowed me to wear his favorite baseball caps, or plucking the first ripened cherry from their cherry tree in the backyard for me.

However, when we were ten, the enemies of his family had plotted revenge and poisoned his cup of milk, but I was the one who snatched it over and drank it.

When I woke up, the doctors said that my mental maturity would forever remain a child.

From then onward, I became a burden.

The half-wit.

The Rizzo family was afraid that my family would cause further trouble, so they compensated us with a few casinos and nightclubs. They even promised that Angelo would marry me when we were 20 years old.

Initially, Angelo was still a little guilty. He would often hold my hand and promise me, "We'll get married once we turn twenty."

Thus, I eagerly looked forward to that day, patiently watching the cherry tree bear fruit for ten seasons.

Throughout the ten years, Angelo started to get impatient with me. He would always say that I was as sticky as a chewed-up piece of gum stuck in someone's hair.

Two years ago, I made my own birthday cake and presented it to him excitedly, saying, "Angelo, I'm 20 years old! We can finally get married!"

That day, he was drinking whisky with a group of friends. He merely looked at me with disdain and muttered, "The promise was to wait for 20 years, silly. You've got it mixed up."

Later, another guest entered, so Angelo got up and stopped looking at me from that point onward.

He then said to that person, Cyrus Sullivan, with a sigh, "Cyrus, I truly envy you. You were promised such a beautiful and educated lady, while I…."

I sat on the bench in the back garden for the entire afternoon, thinking to myself. I wanted to tell him that I did not get it mixed up, but it was he who had forgotten about it.

However, I was fine with it. Angelo had to meet a lot of people. He had a lot of work to do.

I did not have any friends, so other than making bracelets, I had nothing else to do. I did not mind waiting another twenty years.

After all, I had all the time in the world to wait for him.

After securing his hold of Brucklin District, Angelo decided to move his entire family there. However, just like he did before every trip, he complained to his men.

"Lila's an idiot and nothing but trouble."

That time, I was going to head over there to wait for him. Would he think that I had gotten smart and that I was not as troublesome as before?

The more I thought about it, the happier I got. However, the bus that I was on at that moment was headed for Mannattan District, not Brucklin District as I had imagined.

The moment the bus came to a halt, a growl of the engine tore into the carriage.

It was not the sound of an ordinary car, but the deep thunderous sound of black stretch limousines with white rose ribbons wound around their gleaming bodies.

The wedding march drifted from its speakers. It was clearly a grand family wedding procession.

The door of the first limousine opened as a woman in formal dress stepped out, lifting her gown with one hand and clutching a bundle of favors in another.

She handed them out eagerly to passersby, proclaiming, "Here, have some! Bask in the Don's happiness."

The entire street was buzzing with commotion, all except the woman in the wedding gown in the limousine.

Her face was covered in a veil as she lowered her head. There were even some tear stains on her dress. She clearly had been crying for a long time.

No one dared to go up to talk to her. After all, she was the Don's bride.

I felt a little sorry for her, so I secretly headed up to her, knocked on the limousine window and asked, "Shouldn't you be happy to get married? Why are you crying?"

She ignored me, but her shoulders were trembling.

I remembered that I still had a bracelet that I made in my bag.

I quickly fished it out and handed it to her. "This is for you. Don't be sad. Put this on. It'll make you feel better."

She sobbed even harder when she saw the bracelet. She said through her sobs, "I don't want to marry him!"

I was stunned. "Oh, no. What should we do?"

She wiped her tears and said, "I'll be honest with you. I'm not the original fiancee of the Don of the Mannattan District. She ran off, so my family forced me to take her place.

"Everyone tells me that he's powerful and wealthy, and that I would be happy to marry him, but no one has ever asked me how I felt! I have someone that I love!"

The Don of the Mannattan District?

Was that not Angelo?