Before the engagement ceremony began, Bowen Green was nowhere to be found.
He merely left me a message. "Rosie had a heart attack. I must go and stay with her. Let Bowen handle today's wedding ceremony for me. It's just a formality anyway."
Dressed in my wedding gown, I stared at the photo of him and Rosie Price embracing tenderly in the hospital. My fingernails dug into my palm.
At that moment, I didn't show my anger.
The door opened, and Brice stepped in, clad in a black suit. He was tall and imposing, with a suppressed darkness swirling in his eyes.
I looked up at him, rumored to be cruel, and suddenly smiled. "Brice, do you dare to marry me?"
Brice's eyes deepened, locking onto me like a wolf. "Leyla Yates, you're asking for it."
...
The engagement party between the Green and Yates families was a lavish event that spared no expense, renting out all the hotels on the peninsula.
Bowen stood beside me and glanced at his phone screen as it lit up.
The name "Rosie" flashed across it.
He frowned instantly and shed his usual nonchalant demeanor.
He answered the call immediately. His expression changed dramatically. "Do you have chest pains? Stay there. I'm coming right away."
Hanging up, Bowen was about to leave. He was in such a hurry.
I reached out to stop him.
Bowen paused and looked back at me. He looked frustrated. "Let go, Leyla. This is important."
I stubbornly held onto his sleeve, and the metal edge of his cufflinks dug painfully into my palm. "Bowen, if you walk out that door today, there's no going back for us."
Our marriage was merely a union between two families. Bowen never loved me. I always knew that.
Yet I naively believed that after we dated for years, he must have some feelings for me.
But Bowen violently shook me off. His gaze was as cold as if he were looking at a stranger. He used enough force to make me stumble back, crashing into the edge of the table with the champagne tower on it.
"Leyla, we are getting married out of benefits. What right do you have to control me? Don't take yourself too seriously!" He removed the engagement ring from his finger and tossed it aside.
The diamond ring arced through the air and landed precisely in the arms of the man seated at the head table.
He was Brice.
He was the eldest son of the Green family, Bowen's half-brother. Brice had cleaned up Bowen's countless messes.
Brice picked up the ring with his fingers, and his expression was inscrutable.
Bowen didn't even glance at Brice. The former said hurriedly, "Brice, cover for me. You know how soft-hearted Leyla is. She'll be fine as long as you coax her a little bit."
With that, Bowen dashed out of the banquet hall without looking back.
The doors slammed shut with a loud bang.
The guests erupted in astonishment.
The room filled with mocking laughter and sneers, overwhelming me.
I stood there, and my palm was empty.
Brice walked up to me. His towering shadow engulfed me completely.
He looked down at me, and his deep eyes swirled with emotions I couldn't decipher.
"Leyla Yates." It was the first time he addressed me by my full name.
Previously, he'd always followed Bowen's lead and treated me as his "sister-in-law," distant yet polite.
Brice took a step closer and invaded my personal space.
His faint scent of sandalwood and cigarettes was intensely aggressive.
"What do you say to a change of groom?"