Chapter 1

The terminally ill Crown Prince of the New York elite suddenly announced he would choose a wife from the local prominent families through a lottery to bring him good luck and health.

The night before my own wedding, his men arrived at my door. They informed us that the Quinn family had been selected, and they demanded my parents send a daughter over within three days.

When my stepsister heard the news, she broke down in tears and ran to my fiancé for help.

Zayne Sterling didn't hesitate. He knelt before me in front of everyone.

"The Crown Prince is a monster who loves to break innocent women. Your sister is too fragile; she'll be destroyed if she goes…"

"But you're different, Jada. You're older, more experienced. He won't have any interest in you. Please, help Nyla just this once!"

He looked away, his voice thick with a fake sense of guilt.

"The Prince doesn't have much time left anyway. Once he's gone and you come back… I'll divorce Nyla and marry you immediately!"

My eyes turned bloodshot as I stared at him in disbelief.

"And what if I say no?" I asked, my voice trembling.

His gaze turned cold instantly. The guilt was replaced by a savage ruthlessness.

"Then I'll have no choice but to personally drag you to his bed!"

I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. In that moment, my heart finally turned to ice.

"Fine. I'll go in her place."

1.

Zayne's eyes lit up. He stood up and reached out to hug me.

"Jada, I knew you'd be reasonable. I knew you wouldn't make this hard for me!"

"You've always been the strong one. No one can push you around. But Nyla is different…"

"She's lived under someone else's roof her whole life. She's sensitive and cautious. She needs to be protected."

He tried to pull me into his arms like he used to, but I shoved him away with everything I had.

I watched him look at Nyla Quinn with such tender concern, and my eyes burned.

Nyla's mother was the mistress who stole my father away.

Since she arrived at the Quinn house at age three, she became my father's favorite. She got everything she wanted.

When I was five, my stepmother stole the doll I had saved my allowance for and gave it to Nyla.

When I was twelve, I got into the top prep school in the city, but my father told me "the family would support me" while he let Nyla take my spot instead.

Later, when Nyla's grades weren't as good as mine, she cried and said I was intentionally showing off my college acceptance to hurt her.

My father immediately cut off all my financial support for my four years of university.

Back then, Zayne had cried for me. He begged the Sterling family to sponsor my education.

"Jada, every time I see how strong you are, my heart breaks for you," he had said.

"What your family won't give you, I will."

He had forgotten that without the strength he once admired, I wouldn't have survived long enough to be "tough" today.

"Just leave. As for our engagement, consider it dead," I said, choking back tears.

This time, Zayne didn't see my pain or my vulnerability.

He simply nodded firmly and helped Nyla up.

"Jada, once you return from the Blackwood estate, I'll marry you immediately!"

Nyla was already weeping beautifully. She kept bowing to me in mock gratitude.

"Thank you, sister! Thank you for fulfilling my happiness!"

"But Zayne and I are getting married tomorrow, and it's all so rushed. I don't even have a dowry…"

"Could you give me your dowry too? Just to help me out?"

She blinked innocently, but her eyes were full of greed.

That dowry consisted of my mother's company shares and her inheritance.

It was what my mother had traded her life for, signing a high-stakes business gamble to leave me something.

I remembered her final words: "Jada, this money is your backbone."

I hadn't spent a single penny of it, even when I was starving in college.

"Never. Giving up my fiancé was my final limit," I said firmly.

Zayne frowned, his face darkening with annoyance.

"Jada, you weren't always this petty."

"You and Nyla are sisters. If she looks like a joke at the wedding tomorrow, it reflects poorly on you too."

"Be a good girl and hand it over."

Without realizing it, he had already completely sided with Nyla.

My father walked over then, adding his pressure.

"You're going to the Blackwood house to be a lucky charm for a dying man. That money will be useless there."

"Jada, give the dowry to Nyla. I'll prepare something else for you next time!"

I looked at these two "loved ones" with total disbelief.

"Everyone knows Nyla and I hate each other. Why would I care if she looks like a joke?"

"Dad, you've stolen my things and promised to pay me back a thousand times. Have you ever actually done it?!"

Nyla started sobbing again, clutching Zayne's arm.

"Zayne, forget it. Jada always hated me. She wants to see me humiliated!"

"I'll just tell everyone at the wedding it's not her fault. I won't let them blame her!"

The more she played the victim, the more Zayne shielded her.

His expression turned grim, and he unleashed a wave of insults.

"Look at your sister! She's constantly thinking of you!"

"Jada, I'm giving you ten minutes to bring that dowry to Nyla."

"Don't forget, I still have that video of you being… very active… the night you got drunk!"