Night.

Heavy rain poured down, thunder cracking across the sky.

Vivian Lane dragged her suitcase, aimlessly walking through the downpour.

“Vivian, Jack didn't leave you just because he won five million in the lottery. He left because you failed to be the wife he needed.”

“Do you have to keep going on about this, Vivian? The divorce was decided ages ago. You didn’t want to separate; what, hoping to snag some of the assets?”

Rain mixed with tears blurred Vivian’s face. She couldn’t tell anymore where one started and the other ended, with her vision now hazy and unfocused.

A silver Bentley sped down the road, heading straight for her. Too lost in her grief, Vivian didn’t notice it until the car was impossibly close. By the time reality caught up with her, her brain froze—she simply stood there, stunned, staring at the vehicle racing toward her.

Screech—

The car swerved sharply, tires screeching before slamming into the guardrail. The driver’s skills were evident, but the speed had been too much to handle.

Vivian remained rooted in place, her heart pounding wildly against her ribcage.

The Bentley stayed motionless after the crash.

The night was late, the area quiet, with no signs of other passing cars.Vivian stood frozen for several seconds before snapping out of it. She quickly wiped her tears away, her hand trembling, then abandoned her suitcase and bolted toward the silver Bentley.

The car's interior was shrouded in darkness, but pressing against the window, Vivian could faintly make out the silhouette of a man slumped over the steering wheel.

She knocked hard on the window, her voice urgent, “Sir? Sir, are you okay?”

After all, it was because he tried to avoid her that he'd hit the guardrail. If something happened to him, she'd bear the responsibility.

A soft click of the lock startled her. Reacting swiftly, she opened the door and leaned in, her voice still shaky, “Are you alright? Uh—” She hadn't finished her sentence when the man, sprawled over the steering wheel, suddenly grabbed her arm and yanked her inside.

Bang!

The car door slammed shut, then locked.

Vivian fell across the man’s lap, his hands gripping her waist like shackles and holding her in place.

“Let... let me go…” Feeling an overwhelming sense of danger, Vivian stammered nervously, her voice faltering as she tried to plead with him.

“Are you suicidal or what?” the man muttered, his deep voice resonating like smooth, dark whiskey.

Vivian froze for a moment, realizing he was referring to her walking in the middle of the road. Her head jerked as she shook it frantically, “I—I didn’t mean to!”"No matter if it was intentional or not, you came to me yourself, so don’t blame me..." With those words, the man lifted her up and placed her on his lap.

Caught off guard by his dominance, Vivian’s head buzzed as she stammered, "What... what are you doing?"

"What do you think?"

He leaned in, his cold, thin lips pressing against hers without hesitation.

Vivian felt her mind explode into chaos.

His kiss was invasive, aggressive, yet somewhat unrefined at first, quickly finding its rhythm.

Her mind went blank for a long moment, then a sharp sting snapped her back to reality. Panicked, she started punching him with all her might.

Unyielding, Nathan pushed the seat back flat, pinning her beneath him...

The rain poured relentlessly throughout the night, seeming to cleanse the city of its sins.

After a night of wild madness...

A hand in the car twitched slightly, and sharp, dark eyes abruptly opened. Nathan sat up straight.

The air still carried traces of the woman’s sweet fragrance, yet the space was now empty—just him.

She ran away?

Nathan's gaze darkened as it landed on the red stain on the seat, flashing with a mix of emotions. What a hassle.

Reaching for his phone, he dialed Ethan. His tone was icy as he ordered, "Track my location right now and find out who that woman was last night." After finishing his words, he didn’t wait for his assistant to respond before hanging up.

*

Vivian Lane fled in the middle of the night, dragging herself through the pouring rain and ended up back at her family’s house.

Despite being married for years, she had never shared a bed with her husband. Yet tonight, she slept with a complete stranger. The thought drove her into a frantic panic.

She made the decision to run as soon as she woke up.

“Vivian.”

Ms. Lane walked in, carrying a bowl of ginger tea for her.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Are things completely over between you and Jack Morgan?”

At the mention of Jack's name, Vivian lowered her gaze and sipped the ginger tea absentmindedly, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

“It’s just as well that you’re divorced. Your dad has already arranged another marriage for you.”

At those words, her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively looked up. “Mom?”

“Well, the man has a leg condition, but considering you’ve been married before, you shouldn’t be too picky.”

“Mom, what are you saying?”

Ms. Lane stood abruptly, frustration written all over her face. “The wedding is set for next month. Whether you want it or not, you’re getting married.”

“But Jack and I only finalized our divorce tonight. How could you already know?” Vivian felt a sudden chill seeping into her heart. "To be honest, this marriage was supposed to be Sophia's, but now that you're divorced, you can take her place."

Saying this, Ms. Lane took a deep breath and stared at her with a piercing gaze. "The groom has a leg condition, Vivian, and the Lane family can't let both daughters suffer."

A dull ache spread through her chest as Vivian's hands trembled holding the ginger tea. Her lips quivered as she whispered, "Mom, I'm your biological daughter..."

"Sophia's your little sister. Can you bear to see her suffer?"

"And what about me?"

"Anyway, it's settled. A month from now, you're getting married into the Knight family. If both of our daughters' lives are ruined, your father and I won't survive this..."

The day she was to marry, Sophia came looking for her.

"Sis, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean for this to happen, but Mom…"

Vivian looked straight at her, her eyes unblinking. "Sorry? Then are you willing to wear the wedding dress and marry him yourself?"

"Sis, I..." Sophia clenched her fists tightly, biting her lip before finally letting them drop. Her voice deflated. "I have a boyfriend, Sis, but you're already divorced..."

Vivian dropped her gaze, her voice faint. "Yeah, I'm divorced now... Take care of Mom and Dad, alright? They really put their all into this, pulling every string to get me to agree." Marrying a man with a leg disability meant that she would have to take care of him for the rest of her life. If that had always been her destiny, she might have accepted it.

But this was supposed to be Sophia’s life, not hers. Vivian Lane, after her husband’s betrayal, had returned to her parents’ home seeking comfort.

Instead of comfort, she’d been given the shocking news: she was to marry into the Knight family in place of her sister.

Why? Just because the groom had a disability, her parents didn’t want Sophia’s future “ruined.”

And what about her? Did being divorced mean she deserved to suffer this way?

How ridiculous. Yet, they were her parents—they gave her life, raised her—and she couldn’t refuse them.

The Knight family pulled out all the stops for the wedding. The ceremony was grand and elaborate. Since Vivian was standing in for Sophia, her parents had spent days prepping her, coaching her on what to do and say.

She kept her head down the whole time, avoiding attention as much as she could. Maybe it was guilt, or maybe it was the overwhelming pressure. She was just grateful that the groom—Nathan Knight—was seated in a wheelchair the entire time. His intimidatingly cold aura seemed to have frozen the entire ceremony, keeping most eyes on him instead of her.

Despite the grandeur, the wedding wasn’t overly complicated. Nathan Knight didn’t toast the guests, and his chilling presence prevented any attempts to liven up the event.

Once the ceremony ended, Vivian was swiftly taken to the bridal room.The elderly housekeeper stood in front of her, trying to assert her authority: "Mrs. Knight, even though our Second Young Master has a leg condition, he’s still the Knight family’s Second Young Master. Now that you’ve married into the family, you need to put in more effort to take good care of him."

Ever since that night she got drenched in the rain and her mother broke the news that she had to marry into the Knight family instead of Sophia, she's been battling a fever. It only subsided after days, but her illness kept relapsing. Even today, before putting on the wedding dress, she had to take cold medicine.

Her eyelids felt unbearably heavy now. Hearing the housekeeper’s words, she could only nod repeatedly, forcing herself to say, "Got it. Can I rest for a bit?"

She was at her limit.

The housekeeper shot her a disdainful look and began muttering complaints about her as she left the room.

With the housekeeper gone, Vivian didn’t care about the fact that she was still in her wedding dress—she collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep immediately.

In her sleep, it felt like there was an intense, piercing gaze fixated on her face. It felt... strange.