A stock exchange tycoon in Celestia, Nolthen Eaton, suddenly broke off the engagement -- right on the eve of the wedding, for his mentor's daughter and withdrew all his investment in my family.

My brother took me to confront him, but he called the police and had my brother arrested.

Lifting my jaw, he carefully wiped away my tears.

"Calista, I'm not truly breaking off our engagement. I simply hope you'll agree to let me bring Kaitlyn to live with us after marriage and promise to live peacefully with her."

"Otherwise, if you want to keep the Aaldorps, you'll have no choice but to immediately marry that powerless sickly seedling from the Rousselets. You're a smart person and I know you'll make the right choice."

No word, no reaction.

He thought I had compromised in the end and smiled in satisfaction.

"Good girl! Wait for me to pick you up on the wedding day."

To his unknown, on the wedding day, I got in the Rousselet Family's wedding car early and passed him by.

Later, he knelt in front of the Rousselet Family's gate, weeping and begging me to forgive him.

——

"Mr. Rousselet, if you agree to marry me and save my family, I'll offer you 500 arsenals abroad in exchange"

I knelt in front of the Rousselet Family's gate, in the rain shower, three full hours.

The door finally opened and the butler, Dimitri Turh, walked out with a black umbrella, his tone ominous.

"He agreed. Ms. Aaldorp, please go back, don't worry, no one will know about you kneeling in front of the Rousselets' manor tonight."

The door closed.

I breathed a sigh of relief, moved my numb legs, then -- passed out.

Under consciousness, the events of three days ago flashed through my mind again.

That day, I put down my dignity and begged Nolthen for an entire morning at the Eaton Corporation, even giving up my engagement, just so he would release my brother, Chris Aaldorp.

He furrowed his brow slightly with a hint of reproach.

"What nonsense are you talking about, Calista? Am I the kind of person who starts a mess and ends up giving up?"

"If you behave, I'll consider releasing your brother."

But that afternoon, I received a call from the detention center saying -- Chris died from a sudden illness.

Til now, I still collapsed and trembled all over to remember when my brother's body was carried out.

His skull shattered, his limbs twisted and tied in strange positions behind his back -- sure, he was tortured to death.

My heart was lifeless.

Knelt before his grave and swore a blood oath to avenge him.

And Nolthen's archenemy, Ron Rousselet, was the perfect candidate.

Ron, the only son of the Rousselet Family, was arrogant, domineering and brutal.

If I were to marry him, still doubted I could survive from his grasp.

Nolthen accurately calculated to this point and firmly believed that I could only rely on him and let him bully me.

Too bad, he was wrong.

My grandfather was the world's largest arms dealer, with the arsenal as a bargaining chip, Ron agreed to marry me.

The rain shower caused me to be hospitalized with pneumonia and the news got out somehow.

Rumored outside, I was heartbroken and crazy after Nolthen broke off our engagement and brand-name clothing from the current season was sent to my ward one after another.

Then at the same time, Nolthen's phone call came in, his voice tinged with obvious impatience.

"How's the clothes? You like them? I know you're feeling wronged, but you shouldn't be so desperate and act so miserable for anyone to see."

"Kaitlyn knows you're intentionally out in the rain to get sick. She blamed herself and cried the whole night."

"Our wedding will be held as scheduled. On the day of the wedding, you have to give Kaitlyn the entire arsenal your grandfather left you as compensation, or your brother will never get out again!"

Soon after, I faintly heard Kaitlyn Hill's sobbing on the other end of the phone.

Nolthen's voice immediately softened and he hung up the phone with a bang, rushing to coax him.

I put the phone down and sneered.

Chris died, what else could hold me back now?

The Hill Family had been reported for corruption and bribery, with a high debt base and bankruptcy and had been removed from the Celestia Stock Exchange business district.

He wanted to freeload my family's arsenal to help the Hill Family make a comeback.

Then I would use theese arsenal to bury him!

He believed I would compromise.

He was eager to use Eaton Corporation as collateral for Hill Group, borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars to repay its debts.

In order to expand Hill Group's business, he even embezzled Eaton Corporation's funds to run it.

But he didn't seem to consider, if he didn't have the funds to cover his willful behavior, the Eaton Family's century-old foundation would be destroyed in his hands.

To please Kaitlyn, he took her on trips all day, often flying for three to five days at a time.

Til a month later when they returned from their trip, Nolthen asked me out and handed me something as a gift.

"Calista, here's the lucky charm."

Seeing the lucky charm on the table, I momentarily froze and lost in thought.

The Aaldorp and Eaton families were old friends and Nolthen and I were engaged since childhood.

But different from ordinary arranged-marriage, genuine affection involved between us.

When I was fifteen, Nolthen and I were hiking the mountain. Unfortunately, we fell off the cliff and suffered heavy bleeding.

Terrified and pale, he picked me up and rushed to the hospital. To save me, he had the doctor draw 1200 milliliters of his blood.

Since then, he had been going to the most sacred and secret place in another city every year to get a lucky charm for me.

No exception for this year.

"Keep it."

Seeing me no response, he urged me with a smile as if waiting for something deeply touching.

Kaitlyn affectionately took his arm and sat down next to him.

Pointed to the lucky charm around her neck, her voice smug as if showing off.

She pointed to the amulet hanging around her neck, her voice proud, as if showing off.

"Calista, please accept it! Nolthen took me on a three-hour mountain hike to get it. Don't be embarrassed. He also got one for me."

"My bad, I have bad physical condition. I ran out of energy after just over ten minutes of hiking. Nolthen carried me up and down the mountain almost the entire time."

The man's face changed slightly. He unconsciously glanced at me and pretended to be calm, picking up a sweet shrimp and popping it into her mouth.

"You talk too much!" He chided.

His action was so natural, as if he had been done them countless times.

I coldly stared at them and pushed the lucky charm back.

"I don't need it."

The sacred and secret place had a special rule: each visitor could only ask for one lucky charm at a time.

Til I noticed -- the lucky charm Kaitlyn was holding was the one he had prayed for, while the one he gave me was just one point four dollars from a street stall at the foot of the mountain.

The air froze for a moment.

Kaitlyn gritted her teeth and her eyes immediately turned red.

"I think Calista isn't happy to see me. I'd rather go, so as not to provoke anyone."

"Don't go."

He immediately said with slightly darkened face and grabbed her.

Then glared at me and threw the lucky charm he gave me into the trash can.

"I'll throw it away since you don't need it. I've spoiled you too much."

"I was thinking of releasing your brother, but now it seems unnecessary. If you still don't know what's good for you, then let your brother stay locked up for a while longer."

He took Kaitlyn away without even looking at me.

I suddenly had a surge of blood, wanted to rush over and tell him that Chris was already dead.

But as soon as I stood up, I felt a wave of dizziness and my eyes went black and I passed out.

When I woke up in the hospital, I received shocking news.

The doctor said I was already two months pregnant.

My mind went blank.

It must have happened the night of our engagement party, when we had drunken sex.

I walked out of the hospital in a daze, with a pregnancy test report in hand, struggling whether to keep the baby or not.

I should have gotten rid of it, but it was a life.

I accidentally bumped into a woman walking towards me.

"Sorry."

I apologized immediately, looking up to meet Kaitlyn's surprised face.

When her eyes fell on the report in my hand, she clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.

I put the report away and quickly left.

She chased after me with a malicious look on her face, raising her voice and pushing me to the side of the road.

"Calista, why are you near the hospital? Are you feeling unwell? I'll take you inside."

"Nolthen not only brought me home, but also prepared some underwear for me. I have to repay you."

Attracting the attention of passersby, she punched me hard in the stomach from an angle where no one could see.

Her once harmless face suddenly turned sinister and vicious.

"I thought your brother's death would deter you, but I didn't expect you to use your pregnancy to compete for favor. I won't do as you wish."

Like a thunderbolt shattered my rationality.

"It's you!"

The one who killed Chris!

Hatred surged up and I pushed her away at all costs.

She fell backwards, frowning and weeping.

Her fair and tender palm hit the ground, blood dripping out.

"Calista, I just want to do something for you. If you mind it, fine. Why hurt me?"

She bitterly cried, successfully drawing the attention of passersby.

They helped her up, then pointed at me and cursed me.

"Vicious woman! No wonder Mr. Eaton broke off his engagement. We here saw you pushed her."

"Women like you deserve to be abandoned. Shameless!"

The more they spoke, the more excited they became. I didn't know who kicked me, but it happened to hit my abdomen. The pain made me pale and I collapsed to the ground.

"Ah!"

The unfamiliar cramping in my abdomen left me speechless.

Seeing I remained silent, they assumed I was guilty and gripped my hair even more fiercely, attempting to assault me.

Just as the slap was about to land, a large hand gripped it tightly.

"Dare to touch her?"

The man's furious voice exploded in my ears, making my mind clear for a moment.

It was Nolthen!

Seeing my pale face, he rarely felt angry with a flash of rage in his eyes.

"Who hurt her?"

A furious roar sent panic through the crowd.

"Kaitlyn?"

He stumbled upon her in the crowd and startled.

Kaitlyn visibly panicked, frantically opening her hand stained with blood and sobbing.

"I saw her feel unwell and wanted to take her to the hospital, but she blamed me for living with you and pushed me away in anger."

"If only my dad hadn't died, I wouldn't have suffered such injustice."

Seeing her bloody palm, his pupils shrank and his expression suddenly changed.

He came up to me with a gloomy face and questioned, "You did it?"

"Isn't it your own fault?"

I shook my head.

Half-unconscious, couldn't bear the pain, couldn't defend myself.