Chapter 1

Everyone in our circle knew I was Dean Davies's untouchable. I was the delicate flower he cherished, held close in his palm.

When I was twenty, kidnappers snatched me away. My parents thought I was dead. The police said my chances were slim.

But Dean? For three days, he didn't eat or sleep. Then he just stormed into the wilderness alone and found me. At that moment, I was convinced. No one would ever love me more.

Later, our engagement date was set. But right before the ceremony, another girl show up.

....

Arlene Hayes POV

Everyone in our circle knew I was Dean Davies's untouchable. I was the delicate flower he cherished, held close in his palm.

When I was twenty, kidnappers snatched me away. My parents thought I was dead. The police said my chances were slim.

But Dean? For three days, he didn't eat or sleep. Then he just stormed into the wilderness alone and found me. At that moment, I was convinced. No one would ever love me more.

Later, our engagement date was set. But right before the ceremony, another girl appeared by his side.

I remember it all. The first day she showed up, Dean fought half-dead in an underground boxing ring just to win a necklace to make her smile.

The seventh day she appeared, I couldn't reach Dean at all. So I called the police, reporting him missing. They found him in a hotel room, and there she was, lying in his arms.

The twenty days after she appeared, he brought her into our home - the very home where he had vowed to “spend his life with me.”

No one could believe that Dean, who'd once treasured me as his life, would actually bring another woman home.

He was quite the playboy back then, I knew that.

In the first few years we were together, women often tried to tempt him.

But those women vanished like thin air the next day.

From then on, I truly believed his heart was only for me.

But I was wrong.

Today, I came home early from work. The moment I opened the door, I froze.

In the living room, he was pressing a woman down on the sofa. She was completely naked, her moans piercing my ears.

My breath hitched. I looked around, spotting the coffee pot on the coffee table.

I walked over, said nothing, grabbed the pot, and splashed it directly over them.

"Ahh!"

A scream tore through the air, mingling with the sound of scalding liquid.

I saw Dean throw himself in front of her, his body taking the full force of the hot coffee.

My heart gave a sickening, visceral wrench. He would go that far for her.

"Scarlett, are you okay?"

His voice was so gentle it almost made me gag.

And the woman, Scarlett Vance, trembled, clutching his arm, softly saying, "I'm fine, but you... does it hurt?"

I sneered, "Cut the act. Get out."

Scarlett's face went pale.

But Dean stood in front of her, looking down at me, his voice cold as ice. "Apologize."

The Dean I'd known for seven years had never shown me such a cruel expression before.

I clenched the pot in my hand, my knuckles turning white.

"Dream on."

I gritted my teeth, squeezing out each word, then turned and walked upstairs.

The moment the door closed, tears completely broke free.

I never thought he could be so gentle with someone else.

He betrayed me, yet he wanted me to apologize.

And I caught him, of all days, right here in our home.

I pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from my pocket. It read. "I was just over a month pregnant."

That was the report I'd gotten today.

I knew he'd been spending a lot of time with that woman lately.

But she was just a waitress.

I thought he was just messing around. Even if he wasn't serious, seeing this report, he should understand what truly mattered.

But I was horribly wrong.

I collapsed onto the bed, clutching the report, tears splattering onto the pillow.

I don't know how long passed. Suddenly, I was roughly pulled up and thrown to the floor.

Looking up, Dean's icy face loomed over me.

"What are you doing?" I asked hoarsely.

He didn't answer, just grabbed my shoulders.

"The coffee scalded her today. She might have a scar."

I froze, then laughed aloud. "So? Are you going to douse me now?"

He was silent for a long time, then sighed, "Arlene, why are you targeting her? I promise you, I'll still marry you in a month. But for what happened today, you have to apologize to her."

"Dean..."

Before I could finish, a sharp pain shot through my shoulder.

He actually poured hot water on me!

I gasped, almost laughing through the pain."You want me to apologize? Never!"

His face completely darkened. He grabbed my chin, "Think about your family's company, think about your parents. Now answer me - are you apologizing or not?"

His words hit me like a lightning bolt, tears blurring my vision.

"You know exactly what means the most to me, and you'd use my parents against me?"

A complex emotion flickered in his eyes, and his tone softened. "Arlene, Scarlett is different from you. She hasn't had an easy life. Everything you have, she doesn't. Why do you have to be so petty with her?"

"So, I should even give my own man to her?"

He paused. "No matter what I do this month, my fiancée will still be you. My wife's place, your place, will always be yours."

I closed my eyes, my gaze utterly lifeless.

"Fine, I'll apologize."

He dragged me in front of Scarlett, who was still wearing my pajamas.

I lunged forward, trying to rip the pajamas off her. "Those are my pajamas!"

Dean just said, "It's just pajamas. I'll buy you new ones. Hurry up and apologize!"

Dean gripped the back of my neck until I apologized. Only then did he release me, satisfied.

Watching the smirk on his face, my heart shredded into a million pieces.

I thought this whole ordeal was finally over.

But the next day, his people escorted me to the hospital.

He didn't even look at me, just said, "Go in."

A cold operating table, blinding lights, an expressionless doctor, a needle glinting coldly.

Before I could even understand what was happening, I heard him say from outside -

"Scarlett is very upset about the scar on her shoulder. Give her a skin graft."

Before I could even react, my consciousness faded into darkness.

When I woke up, the white ceiling swam, making me dizzy.

Dean's friend Evan quickly helped me sit up.

"Arlene, you're awake. I'll go get the doctor."

Evan hurried off to find a doctor, leaving his phone on the stool. I saw Dean and his friends' Snapchat group chat pop up on Evan's phone.

"Dean, what's going on with you and Scarlett? Are you really dumping Arlene? The engagement's in a month!"

"Didn't say I'm dumping her. But Scarlett's a type I've never seen before. She's so sweet, so innocent. I just melt whenever I see her."

"What about Arlene, then? She doesn't tolerate any nonsense."

"Don't worry. Her family's company still needs our family's investment. She won't leave me."

I clenched the phone, my knuckles white.

In that moment, I finally understood. In his eyes, I was just a pawn to be used.

I smiled, pulling out my own phone and making a call.

"Mrs. Davies, I don't want to marry Dean anymore."

Dean's mother on the other end seemed to ask something urgently.

I answered softly, my voice strangely calm.

"No, it's not that I don't want to marry into the Davies family."

"I just... want a different person."

"I want to marry Dean's older brother, Ryan Davies."