Chapter 5

“Lilly…” Aaron stopped her.

“You know what Elijah is like. You were the one who said he was cold and heartless. His two wives died without any clear explanation. What if… what if he was violent toward them? Then I’ll be his next victim!”

Lilian broke down in soft sobs against Aaron’s chest.

“That will never happen! I’ll protect you,” Aaron reassured her, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

“But how will you protect me? Are you going to follow me all the way into my bridal chamber? That’s impossible, isn’t it?” Lilian looked up at Aaron, her face filled with deliberately feigned despair.

“The only way you can save me is by calling off the wedding. But that won’t happen either. You can’t marry me because I’m not as wealthy as Irina, and I can’t escape Elijah because that would only make my uncle furious.”

Lilian glanced at Aaron’s tightly clenched fists at his sides.

A faint, satisfied smile curved her lips, unnoticed by the man in front of her.

Then she looked back at Aaron with hopeful eyes.

“Just one night, Aaron. After that… you’ll belong entirely to Irina,” Lilian whispered seductively.

“One night,” Aaron murmured, agreeing to her request.

Lilian immediately hid her victorious smile against Aaron’s broad chest.

Meanwhile, at the Crawford family residence, dinner was warm and peaceful.

Lilian did not come home that night, so Irina enjoyed dinner alone with her father.

For a moment, it felt as though she had returned to the days before her father had brought Lilian into their home.

“Why do you want to marry Elijah?” Landon Crawford asked, looking at his only daughter.

“I just feel that this is the best choice, Daddy,” Irina answered honestly. “Marrying Lilian off to Elijah will only damage your reputation in the public eye. People will think you treated your own niece cruelly by forcing her into a marriage with a man rumored to be a murderer.”

“That isn’t true. Elijah is nothing like that.”

“I know. Even though I’ve never met Elijah personally, I trust your judgment. If you believe he’s a good man, then I believe you.”

Landon let out a long sigh. “Then what about Aaron? You love him. Ever since you were little, you’ve always said you would marry him when you grew up.”

Irina let out a soft chuckle and shook her head.

“That was just a childhood dream, Daddy. Didn’t I once dream of becoming a news anchor? Then I wanted to be a midwife? And look at me now. I ended up becoming a banker,” Irina replied sweetly.

“Irina, you don’t have to sacrifice this much for Lilian.” Landon reached across the table and took his daughter’s hand.

Irina gently stroked the back of her father’s wrinkled hand in return.

“You believe you raised me well, don’t you, Daddy?” Irina looked into her father’s eyes with warmth. “You always taught me not to be selfish, but also never to give up on what I want. And that’s exactly who I am now. I’m not being selfish, but I’m not giving anything up either.”

She paused before continuing.

“Lilian doesn’t want to marry Elijah, and Aaron has never loved me. So this is fair. At the very least, if I can’t have a husband who loves me, I can have a husband who can give me what I need: power.”

Landon lowered his head for a moment.

“I arranged Lilian’s marriage to Elijah because I knew he could protect her. She would have a comfortable and secure life with him. But she rejected it.”

“Then consider that my good fortune, Daddy,” Irina replied with a mysterious smile.

Deep down, Irina remembered the truth from her previous life.

Rebecca Wellington, Aaron’s biological mother, had fought so fiercely to have Irina as her daughter-in-law—not because she genuinely liked Irina, but because she knew Irina possessed enormous influence and substantial assets through the Crawford family.

All the business interests Landon intended to pass down to Irina had been Rebecca’s ultimate target.

Rebecca wanted Aaron to marry Irina so that the Crawford family’s wealth and power would eventually fall into Aaron’s hands, allowing him to defeat Elijah.

No one in that family had ever truly loved her in the past. Rebecca’s sweet demeanor had merely been a cold-blooded tactic in her pursuit of the Wellington family throne.

Elijah was too powerful and too difficult to eliminate directly, so they had used Irina as a political pawn.

Now, Irina leaned back in her chair with a cold smile on her lips.

She couldn’t wait to see what Rebecca and Aaron would do once the positions of the brides had been completely switched.