Chapter 3

News of Jake Miller breaking off our engagement spread quickly.

The expected beating from my father didn't come.

However, I lost contact with my younger brother and sister, who were studying abroad, once again.

I knew this was my father's usual way of venting his rage.

He and my stepmother, Brenda, began frantically searching the city for a suitable husband.

They wanted to marry me off to maintain the Reed family's wealth and status.

But soon, vile rumors started circulating.

They said that over the years, to please Jake, I’d done anything and everything, that I was "used up," even infertile.

No one in Newport City would ever accept a woman like me.

My father's temper grew worse.

My days became increasingly unbearable.

Two months after Jake broke off our engagement, another explosive piece of news about him spread through our social circle.

He was getting engaged again—to Amber Stone.

Jake had even defied his parents for her.

The usual crowd, always looking for a spectacle, made sure the news reached me.

I knew what they wanted to see.

They were bored, and probably missed the drama I, their former clown, used to provide.

"Lana, I actually think Jake still likes you."

"Your life must be tough now, right? Why don’t you go beg him?"

"He's soft-hearted. If you cry a bit, or even pretend to be suicidal, he might change his mind."

"Amber can’t compare to you, Lana. You’re much prettier than she is."

I saw those messages but didn't reply to any of them.

Instead, I focused on preparing for my own wedding.

Just a week prior, I had knelt for an entire night.

Finally, my father relented, agreeing to let me, instead of my newly adult younger sister, marry into the Sterling family in Silverport as part of a strategic alliance.

I'd heard that Dax Sterling, the eldest son of the powerful Sterling family in Silverport, was ruthless and held immense power, being the head of Silverport's most influential family.

But because of a leg injury, he was also supposedly volatile and cruel.

Yet, I wasn’t scared at all.

If it meant escaping the Reed family, if it meant my siblings could be free, I was more than willing.

Besides, I couldn't stand to stay in Newport City any longer.

Silverport might just offer me a lifeline.