LOGINShare
Chapter 2
Last Updated:
2021-09-14 09:35:01Elena’s stepmother, Yuna Li, had once been a famous actress in the entertainment industry. Even after having two daughters, she was still impeccably maintained—glamorous, youthful, and effortlessly captivating.
Yuna had not always held her current position. Years ago, she had fought tooth and nail to replace Elena’s biological mother. Through calculation and charm, she secured the title of Madam Xia and quickly became a beloved socialite among wealthy women.
At today’s wedding, Yuna was stunning as always. Elena’s gown, custom-made in Milan, also added more glow to her image—further fueling everyone’s admiration toward Yuna’s “taste” and “devotion” as a stepmother.
Elena sat quietly, feigning innocence as she asked softly,
The color drained from Yuna’s face at the question.
The guests exchanged confused glances.
There would be no groom at this wedding.
“Elena,” Zander Xia stepped forward awkwardly, avoiding her eyes. “The groom… is unwell. He won’t be attending the ceremony. You’ll need to go to the residence on your own.”
Elena paused, then smiled obediently.
She entered the luxurious car alone.
As she left, the guests couldn’t help but stare. They had expected a country girl with poor manners—but Elena in her elegant bridal gown was thin, poised, and strikingly graceful. Her quiet, submissive expression only added to the sympathy she unintentionally evoked.
Whispers rose almost immediately… and they were not kind to Yuna.
From the outside, people believed Yuna had generously arranged a grand marriage for her stepdaughter. But the truth—that she had forced Elena to take a position meant for her own daughter—became painfully obvious to all.
Yuna’s face stiffened.
Perhaps she had miscalculated this girl.
But Yuna comforted herself.
Elena arrived at Green Garden.
The house was dim—no lights, no warmth. A cold, heavy silence filled the air.
Her dark eyes glimmered in the shadows, alert yet curious. She approached the bed and saw a man lying still on the large mattress.
Her husband.
Elena reached out to check his pulse—
But a strong hand caught her wrist.
Before she could react, the world spun, and she found herself pinned beneath him.
Elena froze.
She had been told her groom was a dying man, bedridden and barely conscious.
Who was this man?
Elena moved swiftly, dropping her weight to pin his groin—
But he was faster.
He avoided her attack effortlessly, turned her body, and pressed her against the cold wall, trapping her with brutal precision.
His movements were quick, sharp, merciless.
“What qualifications do you have to touch me?” he growled.
Elena struggled, their bodies separated only by thin layers of fabric.
“The bride is very enthusiastic tonight,” he said, voice deep and teasing. “Are you asking for something special?”
“…Disgusting,” she muttered coldly.
Suddenly, a realization struck her.
The only man allowed in this room tonight was her newlywed husband.
His fingers slid along her jaw, slowly undoing the buttons of her gown.
Elena grabbed his wrist. “I just got here. What are you doing?”
“Fulfilling my duty,” he replied lazily.
Duty?
Before she could protest, a voice drifted in from outside the window.
“You can’t look, Old Madam! Let’s go back—this isn’t appropriate!” a maid whispered.
“Quiet!” Mrs. Lu snapped. “I won’t look—just listen!”
The old woman clung to the window grille, eavesdropping intently.
Elena stiffened. She tried to stand, but the man—Holden Lu—placed a firm hand on her shoulder and murmured, “Move and you’ll ruin everything.”
Elena assumed he needed her cooperation to put on a show for the old woman.
“I… I don’t know how to do this,” she whispered tensely.
In the dimness, Holden’s eyes glinted like a hawk’s. He studied her expression—her confusion, her stiff posture, her innocence. Something unreadable flickered across his face.
Then, without warning, he slid his hands to her waist and pulled her closer.
Elena gasped as cold air brushed her skin. She crossed her arms protectively.
“And now you decide to scream?” Holden’s lips curved.
“…!”
Her cheeks burned.
Holden braced his arms on either side of her, enveloping her in his warmth. Then he began moving—not intimately—but loudly enough to shake the bed.
The wooden frame creaked rhythmically.
Elena’s face turned crimson. She squeezed her eyes shut, trapped in the moment.
“If you make a sound at the wrong time,” Holden warned quietly, “I won’t be gentle.”
Terrified he meant it, she followed his cues, letting out small gasps to match his movements.
Outside, Mrs. Lu nearly applauded.
“My grandson is not useless after all! He’s strong, vigorous—oh, bless the ancestors! I’ll go pray for a great-grandson right now!”
She shuffled away happily.
The moment the footsteps disappeared, Elena shoved Holden off her.
This time, he allowed it.
He reached over and snapped on the wall lamp.
Elena sat up quickly, fumbling to button her clothes, cheeks still flushed. She kept her head lowered, trying to hide her embarrassment.
When she finally looked up—
Her pupils shrank.
The man standing before her had sharp, noble features and a cold, aristocratic presence. His expression was indifferent, his posture flawless.
But she recognized him instantly.
“You!” she exclaimed. “You’re the man from the train!”
Her groom.
was the same man who had nearly been assassinated earlier that day.
Holden’s lips lifted in a lazy smile.
“Recognize me?” he asked. “I told you we would meet again.”
He remembered, too.
The butler had informed him that his bride was a country girl with no manners. Holden hadn’t cared—until he saw Elena’s eyes.
And the way she had handled danger so effortlessly on the train.
There was much more to this girl than what the Xia family had told him.
Latest chapter
The Rich Man's Proxy Marriage Chapter 150
Elena woke up before dawn.The pain was no longer sharp. Just present. A dull reminder that her body had survived something her mind was still unpacking.The room was quiet.Too quiet.She turned her head and saw Holden sitting in the armchair by the window, jacket still on, tie loosened but not removed. He hadn’t slept there again.He hadn’t slept much at all since the attack.“You should rest,” she said softly.He looked up immediately, alert, as if he had been waiting for permission to breathe.“I’m fine.”She almost smiled at the lie.“You say that every time,” she murmured.“I need to.”That was the truth.Holden stood and came closer, careful, always careful now. He adjusted the blanket even though it didn’t need adjusting. Straightened the glass of water. Checked the IV like he didn’t trust the nurses.Obsessive wasn’t the right word.Terrified was.Elena studied him—really studied him—and saw the fractures he didn’t realize were visible. The tightness in his jaw. The way his e
The Rich Man's Proxy Marriage Chapter 149
Distance, Elena discovered, was not created by miles.It was created by rules.Within forty-eight hours of their argument, the rules appeared.They arrived quietly—like dust settling on furniture no one remembered moving.Her office access card no longer opened the executive elevator. Her calendar showed meetings she hadn’t approved and absences she hadn’t requested. People still greeted her with respect, but something fundamental had shifted.She was no longer inside.She was adjacent.Elena stood in the hallway outside the boardroom, staring at the frosted glass.Holden was inside.She could see his silhouette through the blur—still, authoritative, absolute.The door did not open for her.She didn’t knock.She turned away.That was the moment she understood: Holden hadn’t pushed her out in anger.He had done it calmly.Deliberately.As if he were amputating something he loved to save the rest of his body.At home, the atmosphere was worse.Holden was everywhere and nowhere at once.
The Rich Man's Proxy Marriage Chapter 148
Distance, Elena discovered, was not created by miles.It was created by rules.Within forty-eight hours of their argument, the rules appeared.They arrived quietly—like dust settling on furniture no one remembered moving.Her office access card no longer opened the executive elevator. Her calendar showed meetings she hadn’t approved and absences she hadn’t requested. People still greeted her with respect, but something fundamental had shifted.She was no longer inside.She was adjacent.Elena stood in the hallway outside the boardroom, staring at the frosted glass.Holden was inside.She could see his silhouette through the blur—still, authoritative, absolute.The door did not open for her.She didn’t knock.She turned away.That was the moment she understood: Holden hadn’t pushed her out in anger.He had done it calmly.Deliberately.As if he were amputating something he loved to save the rest of his body.At home, the atmosphere was worse.Holden was everywhere and nowhere at once.
The Rich Man's Proxy Marriage Chapter 147
Elena learned, slowly, that recovery was not the same as freedom.Her body had healed enough to move without pain, to breathe without effort, to sleep without medication. But something else had tightened around her life—something invisible, relentless.Holden.He controlled nothing openly.That was the most frightening part.He didn’t forbid her from leaving the house. He didn’t raise his voice when she spoke to board members. He didn’t place guards directly at her side.Instead, the world rearranged itself around her.Cars arrived before she called for them. Meetings were “rescheduled” moments before she confirmed attendance. People hesitated before answering her questions—then glanced past her shoulder, as if seeking permission from the air.From him.The realization settled like a bruise beneath her skin.This wasn’t protection.This was containment.One evening, she tested it.She left without telling him.No security notice. No assistant. No destination shared.Just her coat, her
The Rich Man's Proxy Marriage Chapter 146
Elena woke before dawn.Not because of pain—her body had finally begun to obey her again—but because of the quiet. The kind of silence that pressed too close, too aware.Holden was awake.She could feel it without opening her eyes.His presence had become that familiar: a weight in the room, steady and unyielding. When she finally turned her head, she found him sitting in the chair beside her bed, sleeves rolled up, phone dark in his hand, gaze fixed on her face as if she might disappear if he blinked.“How long have you been watching?” she asked softly.“All night.”She closed her eyes again.“That’s not normal.”“It’s necessary.”The same word.Always the same word.She pushed herself upright slowly. He moved instantly, hand hovering near her shoulder, ready to catch her if she swayed. She didn’t.“I can stand on my own,” she said.“I know.”“Then let me.”He hesitated—just half a second—but withdrew his hand.That hesitation told her everything.Breakfast was silent. Holden barely
The Rich Man's Proxy Marriage Chapter 145
Elena had always believed healing would feel like returning to herself.She was wrong.Recovery felt more like inhabiting a version of her body that no longer belonged entirely to her—every movement monitored, every decision questioned, every silence filled by someone else’s vigilance.By Holden’s.He accompanied her everywhere now.Not obviously. Not openly.But always there.When she took calls, he stood close enough to hear her tone. When she read documents, he watched her reactions more than the words. When she slept, he timed her breathing like a countdown he was afraid would end.“Do you ever stop?” she asked one evening as he followed her into the study.“No.”It wasn’t defiance.It was confession.She closed the door behind them.“You don’t trust me to be alone.”“I don’t trust the world to leave you alone.”“That’s not the same thing.”“It is when the world has already tried to kill you.”She leaned against the desk, arms crossed.“And what happens when I want something yo
You may also like
No. 1 Supreme Warrior
Moneto3.3M viewsThe Hidden Billionaire
reaper_ink401.5K viewsLeading My Family to Glory
Stay-at-home Scholar1.8M viewsRevenge Of The Son In-law
Preshy writes46.2K viewsAmara's Diary: When Nothing Free Ever Lasts
Bisa5.6K viewsThe Vengeful Lady Rises To Power
Enahoro1.5K viewsWifey Forever
Brownskin3.7K viewsLoving the poor farmer
Khads3.7K views
