Chapter 1 A Wedding for the Woman He Loved.
+8 Pearls
“Lily, you must marry that comatose man James in place of my daughter. This is what you owe the Ginger family! You-”
“1 will‘
Lily’s reply made her foster mother gasp in disbelief. “What did you say?”
Lily could understand her shock. After all, in this massive capital city, who didn’t know how madly she was in love with John Jones? She’d loved him so much she’d given up her future, her dignity–everything.
She had refused her foster mother many times before, all because of John. Her foster mother clearly hadn’t expected her to actually agree this time–to marry a total stranger who lay in a vegetative state.
Calm and numb, Lily repeated, “I’ll do it.”
Once it was clear Lily was serious, her foster mother let out a breath of relief before snapping at her again. “One month from now, the Luke family will register your marriage with their eldest son. They have decided on that day, and it’s final. Someone will come to pick you up for the wedding that day. I’ve already accepted the bride price from the Luke family. It’s what you Jowe the Ginger family, and I’m not giving it back. If you dare go back on your word or stir up trouble, I will…”
“I won’t.” Lily cut her off coldly.
The Luke family is rich. I trust the bride price was generous. You took me in from the orphanage and raised me for sixteen years. Now I’ll take your daughter’s place and marry into the Luke family. That settles my debt to you and the Ginger family From now on, we owe each other nothing”
With that, she hung up
Sitting quietly at the dining table, Lily couldn’t help but reopen the news article she’d just seen.
It was everywhere–videos of John and Elsa Quinn’s wedding flooded the internet, dominating the trending charts.
In the video, he and Elsa stood hand in hand, surrounded by their friends, vowing to spend their lives together..
The entire internet was offering their blessings, rejoicing that the two had reunited and wishing them a lifetime of happiness.
Everyone except Lily
Because John was her boyfriend–the man she had loved with all her heart.
Four years ago, he’d been paralyzed in a car accident. The cold–hearted Jones family had abandoned him, and Elsa had abroad and married someone else.
Back when Lily was being bullied, he was the one who had pulled her out of it.
gone
She had loved him in secret for so long. On that freezing, snowy night when he had tried to end it all, she brought him home.
She did everything she could to take care of him, to lift him out of the darkness one step at a time.
She’d heard about a hospital overseas that could help him walk again. To raise the money, she sold her blood, became a punching bag for rich people, ending up with three broken ribs….
She suffered endlessly, but finally, two years ago, she scraped together enough for the surgery.
It was a success. He could walk again. He kissed her and promised he would treat her well for the rest of his life, that he would never let her down.
She had believed that everything they’d been through was finally behind them, and from then on, it would all be smooth sailing.
She never expected things to fall apart the moment Elsa came back.
Word had it Elsa was gravely ill and only had six months to live. Her last wish was to marry John.
Chapter 1 A Wedding for the Woman He Loved
+8 Pearls
He couldn’t bear to see the woman he once loved suffer, so the wedding Lily had spent six painstaking months preparing became Elsa’s
The wedding dress Lily had sewn with her own hands–Elsa wore it.
The diamond ring John had custom–ordered for her–Elsa wore it on her left ring finger.
Through blurred vision, Lily saw a pendant around Elsa’s neck.
She recognized it instantly.
It was the keepsake her parents had left her.
She had lost it while trying to save John.
He had once told her he found it and would give it to her on her birthday.
But now, just because Elsa had said she liked it, he gave it to her instead.
Suddenly. Lily realized there was no point in loving someone like John.
She didn’t call him. Didn’t beg him to come back.
She simply lit the candle on her birthday cake and stared blankly as it slowly burned down. The whipped cream cake melted into a mess–just like her love for John, which had burned to ash overnight, leaving not a trace of warmth.
It was nearly dawn when John finally came home.
When he saw her sitting at the dining table with red eyes, clearly having stayed up all night, his brows furrowed tightly
“Why haven’t you gone to bed?”
Lily ignored his question and said calmly. “John, let’s break up. And tell Elsa to return my parents‘ keepsake as soon as possible.”
John immediately understood–she must’ve seen the news about his wedding with Elsa and was feeling jealous.
He didn’t like it when women got jealous over nothing, but he had never once thought of leaving her. So he softened his voice.
“Don’t be mad. I didn’t forget your birthday. This is your gift.”
He opened a sleek burgundy velvet jewelry box in front of her.
Inside lay a pink diamond necklace.
The exquisite gem shimmered under the light. The centerpiece–a pink diamond the size of a pigeon’s egg–sparkled brilliantly.
It was far more expensive than the pendant her parents had left her. But it wasn’t what she wanted.
Just like how she no longer wanted him.
John knew better than anyone how deeply Lily loved him, how she couldn’t live without him.
When she stayed quiet, he thought it meant she was done throwing a fit.
He reached for the necklace, intending to put it on her.
don’t want this necklace! I just want my parents‘ keepsake!”
Lily slapped the necklace away and said stubbornly. “That pendant was left to me by my parents. How could you give it to Elsa? I only want that pendant!”
Still throwing a tantrum….
Chapter 1 A Wedding for the Woman He Loved
John’s patience snapped.
His chiseled face turned cold and hard, like it had been carved from ice, filled with a sharp, suffocating pressure.
“Elsa really likes that pendant.”
+8 Pearls
“She’s so sick–how much longer do you think she’ll even get to wear it? Why must you fight over something with someone who’s already dying? Lily, when did you become so selfish and heartless?”
Send Gifts
