: The Disabled Good-for-nothing

My father swapped my engagement with his illegitimate daughter's.

So, she came to gloat, arm in arm with the internet nouveau riche. "Sister, so sorry, but you'll have to be the one to marry that disabled wreck!"

Right.

I looked at the stern, unsmiling man who held immense power in the elite circles.

Pray tell, which part of him was supposed to be the wreck?

1

I had just gotten back from a business function.

My stomach throbbing with a dull ache, I lay on the sofa to rest.

As the company's General Manager, it was unavoidable that people would take turns plying me with alcohol.

"If you keep drinking like this, you'll develop stomach problems sooner or later!"

My head swimming, I recalled the family doctor's warning and couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

'It's not that I want to, but the company was my mother's life's work.'

Just then, Lynn Hawthorne came downstairs, arm in arm with the internet nouveau riche.

Her pale yellow, form-fitting dress set off her fair skin, making her look cute and playful.

The man beside her was dressed in a matching color scheme—anyone could tell at a glance they were wearing couple's outfits.

She stopped in front of the sofa, a smug smile on her face as she flaunted their relationship.

"Bevin and I are truly in love, and Dad has already approved our marriage."

"Sister, I'm so sorry, but you'll have to be the one to marry that disabled wreck!"

Her words shocked me sober.

: Marry Fu Yanzhe?

2

Marry Zane Sterling?

That man who, according to the rumors, is cold-blooded, heartless, and incredibly cruel?

The cripple Lynn Hawthorne was talking about was originally her betrothed.

A powerful boss who exists only in rumors, whose true face no one has ever seen.

A man of such overwhelming power would naturally not be matched with the illegitimate daughter of a minor family.

But that's only if he were able-bodied.

A car accident a few years ago took Zane Sterling's parents.

He was lucky to survive, but his legs were crippled, and he's been unable to care for himself ever since.

A master on the streets read his fortune and said he was a cursed loner, and anyone with a weak constitution who got close to him would meet with terrible misfortune.

Under this twofold blow to his body and spirit, he became cold-blooded, cruel, and taciturn.

And Bevin Keane was my fiancé in name.

He now gave me an apologetic smile.

"Zella Hawthorne, love doesn't follow a schedule. From the moment I saw Lynn, I knew I was completely smitten."

"I hope you won't blame her. If you have to blame someone, blame me for being unable to control my feelings."

Typical scumbag and bitch talk. It was nauseating.

My stomach churned, and with a SPLAT, I vomited all over the two of them.

3

After throwing up, I actually felt much better.

My head wasn't spinning, my stomach didn't hurt, and my body was brimming with energy. Taking out a two-faced witch with a single punch would be a piece of cake.

"It stinks! Help me! The smell is going to kill me!"

Lynn Hawthorne screamed and yelled with a theatrical expression, and Bevin Keane, standing beside her, didn't look much better.

"Zella Hawthorne, did you do that on purpose?"

I ignored them and just pretended to gag again.

The two of them stumbled back in unison, terrified.

Given the immense power of my vomit, they didn't have time to continue gloating and instead ran off to the bathroom to wash up.

After they left, my father appeared in the hall at some point.

"Dad, so you can just swap fiancés whenever you feel like it? What do you think this is, a game of The Sims?"

"Does Zane Sterling know about this? What if the boss gets angry and decides to ruin our family?"

I called out, stopping him as he was about to head upstairs.

He looked visibly guilty.

My father has a tell when he lies—he unconsciously touches his nose with his right hand. His words, however, remained stubborn.

"I'm an open-minded parent. I believe in letting my children love freely and would never force them into a marriage."

"As for the Sterling family, I only said I'd have a daughter marry into their family. I never specified which daughter, so you don't have to worry."

"Lynn and Bevin are truly in love, and that's more important than anything else."

He seemed to have thought of everything. Everything, that is, except for my opinion.