Chapter 1

I spent ten years in a secret relationship with my adoptive brother, Caleb. The day we finally decided to go public, he was assigned a suicide mission as an undercover agent against the cartels.

The night before he left, he held me tight and made a vow. "If I make it back alive, I'll marry you in the grandest way possible. I'll never leave your side."

I broke ties with my family for him. I waited like a fool, becoming the laughingstock of the entire elite social circle in the city.

Three years later, he returned. But he came back with a ruined reputation and drowning in debt, kneeling before my father like a stray dog.

His voice was firm as he spoke. "Sir, I promised Annie that I would take care of her for the rest of her life!"

The girl named Annie hid behind him, looking terrified as she clutched her pregnant belly.

My father instinctively looked at me. Everyone was waiting for me to lose my mind, to scream, and to tear the house down.

But I just smiled. Right then and there, I accepted the marriage proposal from Lucas, the most notorious and useless playboy in the city.

On the day of our engagement party, Caleb crashed his car through the gates, roaring with a gun in his hand. "Elena, if you dare to marry him, I'll kill him!"

1

The sound of the slap echoed through the marble hallway.

I pulled my hand back from Caleb's face, my fingertips still stinging.

He clutched his reddened cheek, staring at me with those eyes I once adored. Now, they were filled with nothing but shock and disbelief.

He tried to speak, but my cold voice cut him off. "Caleb, did you think a pathetic apology on your knees would make everything go away?"

"Elena, I know you're hurt, but listen to me," he stammered, trying to grab my hand.

"I promised to marry you if I survived. But that was three years ago. Things have changed. Annie... she's carrying my baby."

He paused, looking at me with a sickening mix of forced affection and helplessness.

"But we have ten years of history. I could never truly leave you. I'll give Annie the legal title, but my heart will always belong to you."

I felt a wave of nausea hit me. He actually thought he was being generous.

"You'll still be the most important person to me. I'll visit you just like before. We can tell the world the child is your godson."

"I'll stay as your father's son, helping him with the family business and taking care of him," he added, as if he were doing us a favor.

I let out a sharp, cold laugh. "Your father? Caleb, don't forget that my father only treated you like a son because of me!"

"You're nothing but a stray dog, an ungrateful snake," I spat at him.

Another slap rang out. Caleb's other cheek flared up in a dark red welt.

I didn't look at him again. My gaze shifted to Annie, who was cowering behind him.

I walked toward her, my heels clicking on the floor. I looked down at her with a chilling smile.

"Annie, you're so kind," I whispered. "To be so happy picking up the trash I threw away."

She flinched, trying to hide behind Caleb, but her hands stayed glued to her bulging stomach.

I leaned closer to her ear. "But some things are rotten to the core. Do you really think you've won?"

"A woman who uses her womb to steal another woman's fiancé... do you think the Miller family will ever accept you?"

"Or are you planning to live in my shadow forever, always knowing you're just a cheap replacement?"

Caleb's face went pale. He watched me with trembling lips, unable to find his voice.

I ignored his desperate, pained expression. "Dad, set it up. Don't let the neighbors see us as a joke."

Back in my room, dozens of portraits hung on the wall. They were men my father had scouted for potential alliances.

Billionaires, heirs to tech empires, and high-ranking officials. I walked straight to the corner where the most ignored portrait hung.

Lucas. The city's most infamous playboy, a man known for wasting money on fast cars and faster women.

My father had placed him in the furthest corner because he wasn't even considered a backup option.

"Alfred," I called out. My butler entered, his face still showing the shock from earlier.

"Contact the Miller family. Tell them I accept Lucas's proposal."

Alfred's expression was priceless, but he simply bowed and left the room.

Before the sun could set, I heard footsteps in the garden. I knew it was Caleb.

I sat in the gazebo, sipping tea and waiting for him to approach.

He stood before me, his eyes bloodshot. "Why?" he asked, his voice raw.

I set the cup down. "Why what?"

"Why are you doing this to me?" He was shaking. "I know you're mad, but..."

"But what?" I interrupted. "But you brought a pregnant woman to my home and asked my father's permission to marry her?"

"Did you expect me to jump for joy and give you my blessing?"

Caleb's face was ghost-white. "It's not like that. Let me explain..."

He pulled something from his pocket. It was a pendant made from a spent shell casing.

It was polished smooth, clearly handled every single day for years.

"This was the lucky charm you gave me. I kept it with me for three years. I never forgot you, Elena."

I took the pendant and weighed it in my palm. Then, I tossed it.

It arched through the air and landed in the pond with a quiet splash.

"I don't want things that are stained. And I definitely don't want a man who is ruined."

Caleb looked as if I had shot him. He swayed on his feet, barely staying upright.

Suddenly, Annie appeared. She grabbed his arm, looking at me with her signature fragile gaze.

"Elena..." Her voice was soft and sweet, but there was a hidden spark of triumph in her eyes.

"Caleb missed you so much. Every night he would look at your pictures and whisper your name."

She pulled out an old phone, showing me a screen full of my messages to him over the last three years.

"His phone was broken, so he never saw these messages. It's such a tragedy."

She said the words, but her eyes were gloating. I just laughed.

"Since when does a stranger get to walk into my garden and cry over my old messages?"

I tilted my head back toward my security team. "Get them out of here."

The guards stepped forward. Caleb tried to resist, but one look at my cold eyes made him give up. He followed Annie out.