Chapter 1

The night before my wedding, my fiancé took me to meet his friends.

He was all over me, showering me with affection throughout the dinner.

His buddies kept gushing, "Your fiancée is so pure, you really hit the jackpot!"

He smirked proudly. "My future wife is the best, unlike all those sluts out there."

But when I went to the restroom mid-dinner, I overheard him bragging in a low voice outside the door:

"Pure? What good is pure? She's like a dead fish in bed. If it wasn't for her being Stella's twin, looking exactly alike, I wouldn't even bother touching her."

The next day, at the wedding, Stella showed up with a baby bump.

Just as I expected, he told me to "make peace" and step aside.

I scoffed, ripping off my veil.

I walked down the aisle and stopped in front of Julian Hayes, who was sitting in a wheelchair.

"They all say you like me. Well, I'm single now. Are you brave enough to marry me?"

"Hahaha, Anya has lost her mind!"

"Choosing a cripple? She's so desperate!"

"What an embarrassment! She's dragged the Reed family name through the mud!"

The guests' piercing jeers sliced through the air.

Every word felt like a needle stabbing my heart.

My father's face turned scarlet, and my mother rushed onto the stage, clutching my arm tightly.

"Are you insane?! Ruining your own life just to spite him?!"

Below the stage, Liam Miller had an arm around Stella Reed, a smirk plastered on his face as he watched the drama unfold.

"I underestimated her. She actually has guts."

Stella let out a delicate sneer. "Guts? I think she's just lost her mind. Anya, are you really going to spend your life with a cripple?"

She deliberately caressed her visibly swollen belly, her eyes filled with a mix of provocation and triumph.

My heart felt like it was being brutally torn apart.

I'd thought tearing off my wedding veil would bring freedom, but all it brought was deeper humiliation.

Julian stood up, limping towards me.

Compared to the dashing and polished Liam, he was a world apart.

Suddenly, I regretted it.

Impulse is a devil. Why did I choose a disabled man?

Did I really have to spend my entire life with him?

Julian stopped in front of me and pulled a ring from his pocket.

The band was set with tiny, dull diamonds, not even a single carat.

The diamond ring Liam gave Stella was a whopping three carats, sparkling brilliantly.

In comparison, this ring looked pathetically meager.

The laughter from the guests grew louder.

"Hahaha, even the ring is so cheap!"

"Anya, are you really settling for this?"

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Since childhood, when had I ever endured such humiliation?

But then, Julian took my hand, and I froze.

His hand was warm, steady.

"I am."

Two words, firm and resolute.

Unlike Liam's flowery words, unlike the guests' cold mockery.

Just two simple words, but they made my heart tremble.

"Are you sure? I might bring you trouble."

"I'm not afraid."

There wasn't a hint of hesitation in his voice.

The audience erupted in even louder jeers.

"Two losers together!"

"A cripple and a crazy woman, a perfect match!"

Liam called out loudly, "Anya, don't be childish. Come back. Stella's baby needs a father, and you need a whole man."

A whole man?

I scoffed.

What kind of a "whole man" was Liam?

Betrayal, deception, toying with his fiancée's feelings—was that his version of "whole"?

I looked at Julian. His leg might be broken, but his spirit wasn't.

"Yes, I do."

I held out my hand, letting him slide the dull ring onto my finger.

The ring was small, but it fit perfectly, as if it had been custom-made for me.

A commotion broke out among the guests.