Chapter 1

I had been the secret wife of Austin Hayes, the crown prince of the city's elite, for three whole years. At tonight’s anniversary gala, I was finally ready to make our marriage public.

Then his beloved first love, Savannah Cole, burst into the grand ballroom with her collar torn and tears streaming down her face.

“Austin, save me! Lila brought her broke, filthy brother here, and he just cornered me in the VIP lounge and tried to force himself on me!”

“He said since he’s your brother-in-law, I had to sleep with him if I ever wanted to be with you… I feel so dirty!”

The entire ballroom fell dead silent before erupting into furious whispers. Everyone glared at me, hissing that I was a vile woman who used her own brother to assault Austin’s precious muse just to secure my status.

Austin’s eyes burned crimson with rage. He ripped off his tuxedo jacket, wrapping it tightly around Savannah, and threw his glass of red wine straight into my face.

Gritting his teeth, he leaned in and snarled.

“Lila, drag your animal of a brother out here right now!”

“Since his filthy mouth has no shame, I’ll have every single tooth pulled and his tongue cut out to feed to the dogs! If you don’t, I’ll wipe the entire Shaw family off the face of this earth!”

I looked at the disgusted, self-righteous faces around me. And then, I burst out laughing.

Because three years ago, my brother ran into a blazing fire to save Austin’s pathetic life. Inhaling lethal smoke and fire, his vocal cords had been destroyed, and his tongue had been surgically amputated to save his life.

1

“What the hell are you laughing at?”

Austin demanded, his jaw clenched so hard his veins pulsed with raw disgust.

I wiped the dripping red wine from my cheek and smiled even wider.

“I’m laughing at how blind and foolish you are, Austin. And I’m laughing at how terrible Savannah is at writing bedtime stories.”

“Lila! How dare you still be so shameless when you’re caught red-handed!”

Savannah sobbed from Austin’s chest, pointing a trembling finger at me.

“Austin, look at her… she has no remorse at all!”

“She’s jealous because I saved your life three years ago. She hates how close we’ve been since childhood!”

“That’s why she sent her thug brother to ruin me… she told me once I was tainted, you would never want me again…”

The surrounding guests exploded with indignation.

“What a venomous bitch! How could someone like that ever belong in high society?”

“She’s trash, and her whole family is full of degenerates!”

“Coming from the gutter, what else did you expect? I heard her brother is just a jobless bum who mooches off her.”

Austin’s face darkened until it looked like a storm cloud.

He lunged forward, grabbing my jaw with enough force to shatter bone.

“Lila, make that piece of trash crawl over here right now.”

“He will get on his knees and beg Savannah for forgiveness in front of every single person in this room.”

“And then, I will personally rip out his tongue so he knows what it feels like to live in silence for the rest of his miserable life!”

Rip out his tongue?

Looking at the face of the man I had once loved with everything I had, a wave of bitter irony washed over me.

Three years ago, the sky burned red with towering flames.

My brother had charged into that inferno without hesitation just to pull Austin out of the burning wreckage.

Austin was unconscious, and my brother carried him out on his back, breathing in toxic fumes and blistering heat.

To yell for help and wake Austin up, to clear a path through the collapsing beams, his vocal cords were scorched beyond repair. His tongue suffered massive necrosis and had to be completely removed.

When Austin finally woke up in the ICU, the only person he saw by his bedside was Savannah.

Savannah stole the credit and became his sacred savior, the moonlight of his life.

Meanwhile, the man who had actually saved him was scarred, disfigured, and rendered mute. Austin treated him like garbage, mocked him as a useless freak, and banned him from ever stepping into his sight.

And now, Austin wanted to rip out the remaining stub of the tongue that saved his miserable life?

“What’s the matter? Too scared to call him?”

Austin sneered, his gaze dripping with malice.

“If you won’t, I’ll have my men drag him here by his hair!”

“I already know where your run-down apartment is.”

“Guards! Go drag that scumbag Silas over here!”

“No need,” I interrupted, pulling out my phone with absolute calm.

“I’ll call him myself.”

“However, Austin, how about we make a bet?”

Austin narrowed his eyes. “What makes you think you have the right to negotiate with me?”

“Let’s bet on Savannah’s claims of being kissed and licked by my brother.”

My gaze cut like a dagger, locking onto Savannah’s suddenly panicked eyes.

“If my brother really touched her, do whatever you want to him. I will walk away with nothing and end my own life right here.”

“But if it turns out Savannah is lying…”

I paused, my voice dropping to an icy chill.

“I want every single share of the Hayes Corporation under your name. And you will kneel before my brother and hit your head on the floor three times to beg for his forgiveness!”