Chapter 3

My mother immediately said, “I’ve already bought them for Layla.”

Whitney immediately looked at William with tears in her eyes. “If my mom were still around, she’d have bought them for me.”

With a grim expression, William looked at us. “In the end, you still choose your own daughter over Whitney. I can’t imagine the torture you’ve put her through while growing up.”

He then pulled out a black credit card from his pocket and slammed it on the table.

“I’ll buy everything you have for my fiancee,” he said.

My mother looked at them while shaking with anger.

I grabbed her arm and tried to calm her down. “Forget it, Mom. I didn’t like the design anyway.”

I pulled her out of the store, and Whitney and William followed behind us.

At that moment, an out-of-control car came hurtling in our direction and was about to hit Whitney.

William rushed up and pushed me forward to block Whitney from harm.

Before I could react, I felt my head slamming against the hard frame of the car. Before drifting off unconscious, I saw William walking up to me with a worried expression.

However, Whitney quickly pulled him back and buried her face in his chest.

“I was so scared, William!”

He proceeded to wrap his arms around her and turned away.

When I came to, I was lying on a hospital bed while my mother sobbed next to me.

“William’s no better than a beast! How dare he push you in front of the car!”

My face was pale as a sheet. I raised my arm to wipe away her tears. “Don’t cry, Mom. I’m not marrying him anyway. After this, we’ll stay as far away from them as possible.”

She cried even harder. “After what happened, your father still stands on her side. After the accident, not once did he come to visit you.”

This wasn’t the first time he had done this, so I had gotten used to it.

The next day, William came to the hospital and presented a pair of crystal earrings to me.

“Layla, I didn’t mean to push you yesterday. In the heat of the moment, I-”

I snorted sarcastically. “In the heat of the moment, you pushed me into the car’s path because you were worried for Whitney’s safety?”

With a guilty tone, he admitted, “It’s my fault. As long as you promise not to mistreat Whitney anymore, if you choose to follow me, I’ll give you a child, and you won’t have to worry about money for the rest of your life.”

I looked at him with a frown. “Follow you? Give me your child?”

William nodded.

“Whitney has regained her sanity, so our engagement will naturally resume. However, seeing how devoted you’ve been, and since your reputation has been ruined, your father has agreed to let me take you as my unofficial wife.”

“Hmph!” I snorted.

Unofficial wife? In other words, he was asking me to be his mistress?

I took a deep breath and was about to speak when Whitney entered the room dressed in designer clothes and the pair of pink diamond earrings from before.

“Layla, those earrings are made from the best lab-grown diamonds that William asked his assistant to pick for you. Do you like it?”

The cheap artificial diamonds couldn’t even compare to her pink diamond earrings that sparkled under the light. It was an accurate representation of my place in William’s heart compared to Whitney.

I forced a smile and nodded in agreement.

With a satisfied expression, Whitney led William away.

In the following days, in order to avoid stirring up trouble with Whitney, I remained at home.

Until my wedding day, I put on my bridal crown and wedding dress. I proceeded to whisper Whitney’s secret to my mother and asked her to complete the necessary arrangements.

Teary-eyed, she nodded along while sending me off.

William and Whitney had been vacationing for the past few days. While dropping her home, they happened to see a bridal entourage leaving our house.

William asked, “Who’s that in the car? Doesn’t your family only have two daughters?”

My mom wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. She replied coldly, “It’s Layla. She’s getting married to Jonathan Gray today.”

The news caught William by surprise.

“What?” he asked in disbelief.