To celebrate my mom's birthday, I fly back from abroad.

At the same time, I plan to meet my fiancé, Kylo Winston, whom I have never met before, to discuss calling off the engagement.

Unexpectedly, the custom cake I ordered for the special occasion gets knocked over. Kylo's childhood sweetheart, Nora Cullen, even falsely accuses me of dirtying her limited-edition designer bag.

She screeches, "Who do you think you are? How dare you get engaged to Kylo? I'm his real wife! As long as you kneel and beg for mercy and say you're a worthless good-for-nothing, I'll let you off. Otherwise, I'll let you have a taste of what the Winston family of Silverlake is capable of!"

I look at the ruined cake in my hands and smile frostily.

What perfect timing. I'm planning to break off my engagement with Kylo anyway.

So, I dial his mother's number and say, "I just heard the Winston family has two future daughters-in-law. Is that true?"

I had just stepped off the plane and headed straight to the bakery. To surprise my mother, Liliana Lane, I had commissioned a custom cake half a month in advance.

But before I could reach it, a figure came charging at me, and the cake went flying through the air, hitting the ground in a ruined mess.

"Are you blind? Can't you see me standing here?"

I crouched down, my hands shaking as I tried to salvage what I could. The cream was already smudged. It was completely destroyed.

The woman stomped on my fingers, and I gasped at the sharp pain.

"You're the cheap woman engaged to Kylo, aren't you? Dressed up like that, who exactly are you trying to impress?"

I looked up sharply, instantly understanding what was happening. This was Kylo Winston's childhood friend, Nora Cullen.

Before returning home, I investigated the two of them. Marriage required caution, after all. When I discovered their affair, I decided to come back in person and call off the engagement.

I never expected her to come looking for trouble first.

Nora must have thought she intimidated me. A satisfied smirk curved her lips as she raised her hand and slapped me.

"That whole outfit probably costs less than 50 dollars. You still want to climb into Kylo's bed? Keep dreaming.

"Get on your knees right now and beg for mercy. Then stand at the door and call yourself a shameless slut. Maybe then I'll be merciful enough to spare your pathetic life."

I gathered all my strength and struck her hard across the right cheek. Nora's face swelled visibly. Her eyes widened in fury as she glared at me.

"You deliberately crashed into me and ruined my cake, then even laid a hand on me. Do you really think you own this city?

"If you know what's good for you, pay me for the cake and apologize. Otherwise the Cullen family will pay the price along with the Winstons."

A beat of silence passed before she erupted in mocking laughter. Nora's bloodshot eyes turned vicious. She dialed Kylo's number.

"Kylo, come quickly. Someone's saying they'll destroy both our families and make you step down as CEO."

I heard an angry roar from the other end before the call disconnected. Nora stared at me triumphantly, then raised her high heel and aimed a vicious kick at my stomach.

I dodged quickly. She lost her balance and fell face-first into the remnants of the ruined cake.

The bystanders' expressions changed. Some of the bolder ones called out to me to run.

"No one in Silverlake can fight the Winston family. Her life is over."

"Even the heavens can't save her now."

I scoffed. Two local thugs thought they could turn this city upside down? They seemed to have forgotten that the Winston and Cullen families weren't the only influential families here.

The words had barely left my mouth when the screech of tires sounded. Kylo strode through the crowd, tenderly lifting the cream-covered Nora into his arms. When his gaze turned to me, his eyes instantly turned cold.

"So you're Eleanor Lane? I didn't expect your jealousy to run this deep. You just got back, and you've already come looking for trouble."

Rage surged through me. I pointed sharply at the ruined cake at my feet. "Today is my mother's birthday. She was the one who crashed into me."

I thought he would distinguish right from wrong. Instead, Kylo froze for two seconds, then let out a cold laugh.

"So that's your excuse for hitting Nora? Forget about some cake. Believe it or not, I could make today your mother's death anniversary instead."

I couldn't believe what Kylo had just said. For a moment, I thought I misheard.

My voice shook as I told him to repeat himself.

"I don't know what tricks your mother used, but mine actually listened to her. She even threatened me with the family's future and forced me to marry a woman like you."

Kylo glanced at the cake on the ground, then at the cream smeared on Nora's bag. His voice dropped lower. "Nora's bag is a global limited-edition worth millions. You'll pay full price for the damage. As for that slap, I'll make sure you get it back tenfold."

I clenched my jaw and spat at his feet. "Kylo Winston, I'm calling off this engagement."

Not only that, but I would also make him kneel before Mom and apologize in person.

The murmurs from the crowd clearly reached my ears. Kylo's face flushed dark red, humiliation twisting his expression.

"So she's the rumored fiancee? She actually dumped him?"

"Guess money can't buy everything. He still got rejected."

His eyes went cold as he tried to suppress his rage.

Nora gestured to one of her assistants, who brought over a small pig. The animal trotted forward, snorting as it licked the cream off the ground.

"See that? That's the difference between us. What you treasure is pig feed to us."

This was too much.

Rage shot through me. My fingers trembled as I dialed Kylo's mother's number. "Diane, I heard your family has two daughters-in-law now?"

There was a brief pause before Diane Longford responded, her tone sharp.

"Who is this? How dare you meddle in Winston family business? So what if there are two? That just proves how desirable my son is. What does it have to do with you?"

The call ended abruptly. Nora's lips curved into a faint, smug smile.

Perfect. So Diane had known about their improper relationship all along. She deliberately used her friendship with Mom as leverage and begged her to arrange Kylo and my engagement.

What a calculated scheme.

Mom's birthday banquet was starting soon. Panic rose in my chest as I rushed to find another gift for her. I barely made it out of the bakery before Kylo grabbed my wrist and slammed me against the glass wall.

"You think you can just walk away after causing trouble? Not a chance."

His grip tightened around my wrist. Pain shot through my arm as I frowned, trying to reason with him. "You can't afford to offend the Lane family. Let go. The three great families of Silverlake are the Winstons, the Cullens, and the Lanes. Surely you know that."

Kylo froze, as if processing the information. I thought he finally understood. But Nora let out a light scoff beside him.

"Stop flattering yourself. Everyone knows the third great family of Silverlake is supremely powerful and has remained hidden for years. How could they possibly be related to you?"

A sly glint flashed in her eyes as she continued fanning the flames. "Kylo, she's the one who said she'd destroy the entire Winston family just now."

He released my wrist immediately. When he looked at me again, his gaze was filled with disgust.

"That depends on whether you actually have the ability. Someone grab her and throw her out on the street."

Traffic rushed past me from both directions. I screamed and dodged vehicles, nearly scraping my leg.

A truck suddenly swerved around the corner. The driver shouted in alarm when he saw me and jerked the wheel, crashing into the landscaped median.

My heart pounded. I couldn't hold back anymore.

"Kylo Winston! Do you have no regard for human life? With all these people around, if someone gets hurt, are you prepared to deal with the consequences?"

He raised an eyebrow and casually pulled out a stack of hundred-dollar bills, tossing them into the street. The crowd that had been watching the spectacle forgot all about the danger. They dove into traffic, scrambling for the cash.

"See that? You're just like them to me. Worthless."

He pulled Nora close and kissed her provocatively right in front of me, a vicious glint in his eyes. "Nora, anyone who provokes you will pay the price. Now, anyone who slaps her gets a reward."

No.

Greed lit up their eyes. They all turned toward me at once, cracking their knuckles as they advanced toward me.

Slaps rained down on me one after another. My vision blurred, and blood filled my mouth.

"You'll regret this, Kylo! You're going to destroy the Winston family yourself!"

I turned my head and spat out blood, then grabbed Nora's raised wrist and twisted it hard in the opposite direction.

A sharp crack echoed. She screamed in pain.

Her dislocated wrist hung limp in the air. Kylo strode over to her side, his eyes red with disbelief that I'd actually fought back.

My watch buzzed with a call from Mom. I answered on speaker, and her voice sounded urgent. "Eleanor, you said you had a surprise for me today. Why aren't you here yet?"

Tears stung my eyes. My voice came out choked as I gave her the bakery's address.

"Mom, please come quickly. Kylo and his mistress are hurting me."

Mom went silent on the other end, then asked in disbelief. "Kylo Winston? He's your fiance. Why would he hurt you with someone else?"

Before I could explain, Kylo snatched my watch and smashed it on the ground. "I don't care what tricks you used. Your daughter will never set foot in our family."

He shouted for his security guards and ordered them to bring over two large buckets of cream. They smeared it all over my face until I could barely breathe.

Survival instinct kicked in. I fought back, grabbing one of the buckets and dumping it over Kylo's head. Before I could run, the guards shoved me hard. I hit the ground, nearly losing consciousness.

"Wait!"

The crowd parted. An elderly figure appeared, leaning on a cane.

It was James Winston, Kylo's grandfather.

Diane stood beside him. "I got a call from Eleanor's mother saying you were hurting her. Where is she? What have you done with her?"

Diane's sharp gaze swept across the crowd. When she saw me, her eyes widened in shock.

All the color drained from her face. Her voice trembled.

"Who... who did this to her?"

Nora thought she was about to be praised. She eagerly stepped forward.

Then a slap rang out.

"Do you have any idea who she is? Even if our two families joined forces, we couldn't match a fraction of her family's power."

Kylo couldn't bear seeing his beloved get hit. His gaze turned murderous.

"Just look at her cheap outfit. She's probably some streetwalker. Mom, don't let her fool you."

Mr. Winston Senior's fury erupted. He raised his cane and brought it down hard on Kylo's back.

"That is the eldest daughter of the Lane family, the most powerful family in Silverlake!"