"Diana Whitfield, are you doing this or not?"

Gerald Whitfield’s face was dark as storm clouds, his voice sharp enough to cut. "I’m telling you right now—if you refuse to marry in Serena’s place today, then tomorrow I’ll have someone pull your grandma’s oxygen mask. That old woman’s already one foot in the grave anyway. She doesn’t have long left."

Jingdu. The Whitfield residence.

This was Diana’s first time coming back here since the day she was born and dumped at her grandmother’s place in the countryside. Nineteen years. Not once had anyone bothered bringing her home.

She had actually thought, for one stupid second, that maybe her trash father and vicious stepmother had finally grown a conscience. Maybe they wanted to treat her a little better.

Yeah, right.

Turns out they had called her back for one reason only—to force her to marry in place of her stepsister, Serena Whitfield, and use her as a good-luck bride.

Diana had grown up in the countryside, sure, but that didn’t mean she was clueless. Big news from the city still reached her ears.

Three months ago, Damien Caldwell, the eldest young master of the top powerhouse family in Jingdu, had gotten into a car accident. The injuries were catastrophic. He became a vegetable, and the doctors had practically declared him dead in advance, saying he likely wouldn’t make it through the year.

But Mr. Caldwell refused to accept that his most beloved grandson was slipping away. He spent a fortune hiring a spiritual master to read Damien’s fate. The result? If he married a daughter from the Whitfield family as a lucky bride, there might still be a sliver of hope.

Now if Damien Caldwell had been healthy, if he were the same untouchable heir standing at the top of Jingdu, then the Whitfields would’ve rolled out the red carpet and celebrated like crazy if he wanted Serena.

But now?

Now he was a vegetable.

And the Whitfields were unwilling from the bottom of their hearts. A hundred times over.

Still, the Caldwell family was too powerful to offend. And more importantly, the Whitfields had their eyes locked on the massive wedding gift money from the Caldwell family—hundreds of millions. So naturally, they turned their attention to Diana, the daughter who had been thrown away to the countryside all these years.

If Diana married Damien, they could protect their precious daughter, avoid angering the Caldwells, and pocket an outrageous bride price.

Three birds. One stone. What a perfect little scheme.

Once Diana figured out what they were plotting, she had sworn to herself that even if she died, she would never agree.

But then...

Her so-called father had used her grandmother to threaten her.

Diana’s mother had died giving birth to her. From that day on, the only blood family she had left in this world was her grandmother. It was her grandmother who had raised her bit by bit, through every hard year, with rough hands and a soft heart.

If there was one thing Diana feared, it wasn’t pain, it wasn’t suffering, and it definitely wasn’t the Whitfield family.

It was losing her grandmother.

So in the end, she had no choice but to give in.

She agreed to marry in Serena’s place and become the lucky bride.

Maybe the Whitfields were afraid things might change if they waited too long.

By evening, when the sky was turning dark and the last bit of daylight was being swallowed by night, the Whitfield family had already arranged the wedding car, ready to send Diana off.

In the Whitfield house, Diana didn’t even have a room of her own. Not even a corner to properly sit and breathe. She had been shoved into a servant’s room on the first floor that had only been cleared out for her at the last minute.

There, in that cramped temporary space, she changed into the red wedding dress, put on the heavy phoenix crown, and was about to be hurried out like some item being shipped away.

Diana had thought this was already the worst ending possible for her.

She thought no matter how rotten the Whitfield family was, this had to be the limit.

But she was wrong.

Way too naive.

She had still underestimated just how ugly human nature could get—especially the cruelty of her biological father, her stepmother Gloria Whitfield, and her stepsister Serena.

At the Whitfield villa, second-floor study, the door was left half open.

"Mom, Dad… are we really just letting Diana get married like this?"

Inside the room sat Gerald Whitfield, Gloria Whitfield, and Serena Whitfield.

The one speaking was Serena. But the way she said it was weirdly vague. You couldn’t tell if she meant concern or something else entirely.

Gerald sneered. "Serena, what exactly are you trying to say? Don’t tell me you want us to give that unlucky sister of yours some special treatment, send her off in style and all that. Is she even worthy?"

"N-No, Dad, that’s not what I meant. I just… well…" Serena lowered her voice, sounding hesitant. "A few days ago, one of my friends told me there’s this new kind of business going around in the city lately. They auction off a girl’s first time…"

"Serena, what are you saying?" Gloria cut in at once, putting on a shocked face like some perfect mother. "How could you even think like that? Your sister agreeing to marry in your place is already helping you more than enough."

She said it like a scolding, but it was all fake. Obvious fake.

Serena quickly played along too. "I’m sorry, Mom, Dad. I know I shouldn’t have said it. I really didn’t mean to hurt my sister. I just thought…" She paused, then sighed softly, sounding almost pitiful. "Once Diana marries into the Caldwell family and ends up tied to that comatose eldest son, her whole life is basically over. She probably won’t have any happiness at all. I was only thinking… maybe we should at least let her have what belongs to her as a woman."

Then she added, voice light and innocent, "And besides… hasn’t Dad had his eye on that piece of land in West City? It’s going to cost several hundred million. I heard this kind of deal brings in a lot of money. It could help solve Dad’s problem right now."

The way Serena said it was dripping with fake sweetness, all soft and delicate, pure white-lotus mode. But the meaning behind her words couldn’t have been clearer.

What "for Diana’s sake"?

She wanted Diana sold off before the wedding. First use her for a marriage deal, then sell her body for money too.

Absolutely vicious.

And the worst part?

Gerald actually started considering it seriously.

"Serena’s idea… doesn’t sound impossible."

Gloria hesitated. "But what about the Caldwell family…"

Gerald let out a cold laugh. "That eldest Caldwell boy is already a vegetable. Even the doctors said he won’t live more than half a year. What is there to be afraid of? And even if something does happen, we can just say Diana was shameless and couldn’t behave herself."

His tone was dark and poisonous, every word making people’s skin crawl.

Outside the door, Diana had originally come up thinking that no matter what, she should at least say goodbye before she left.

She never expected that the moment she came upstairs, she would hear something this cruel. This filthy. This horrifying.

Marrying her off once wasn’t enough.

Before sending her away, they still wanted to sell her one more time.

Diana clapped a hand over her mouth. Tears burst from her eyes on the spot, hot and unstoppable.

What kind of family was this?

Were these people really her family?

Was that man… really her father?

She spun to run, but the butler’s voice suddenly rang out behind her.

"Miss Whitfield, what are you doing outside sir’s study...?"

"Uncle Zhang, grab her!"

"Mmph—mmph..."

Their dirty little scheme had been exposed, yet Gerald Whitfield showed zero panic. If anything, he looked ready to drop the act and do it by force.

Diana Whitfield tried to bolt, but the dress on her body and all those ridiculous accessories were way too cumbersome. Uncle Zhang was quick on his feet too, insanely quick. She barely made two steps before he caught her and pinned her down. Then came a sharp chop to the back of her neck. Diana’s vision went dark on the spot, and she passed out cold.

...

"Ngh... n-no... don't..."

When Diana woke up again, she was already in a hotel room, pinned down on the bed by someone.