hest, and Alina quickly protes

th disdain and menace, "The Hayes family has already taken p

t Jessica Hayes. My name is Alina Riley. We happened to get married on the s

flooded her thoughts as she trie

arranged for her. None of it made sense, and the situatio

r her with a slow and calculating intensity. "The Hayes family will answer for

Kellan leaned down once more, at

t his face. The instant she touched him, heat radiated from his skin, and she realized som

"Mr. Gilbert, I already have a fiancé, so I cannot let this mistake continue

Acting without hesitation, she reached for the silver needles she always

e unbearable heat coursing

k to Alina, something unreadab

mind. She possessed such p

ina quickly rose to her feet and reache

, her gaze landed on Kellan's

half of Kellan's face, while the visible s

ual, and it became clear that the scars were not real. Beneath that

, she couldn't understand why he cho

rt, as I explained earlier, there must have been a mix-up with the c

lieve that on your wedding day, with so many people around, both you and Jessica som

ry in his tone, Alina could not deny

ld already be underway, and her a

would have come looking for her t

silent, and not a single m

n her chest, and it li

gain. "If you refuse to believe it, th

moved quickly through the lavish hallway toward the exit. Waiting

er seemed to already know where to take her. Soon after, the car b

caught sight of Alan in his formal sui

na followed after him a

sounds from inside made

ogether now, even if we ha

'll find a way to make

asing tone, she spoke again. "Alan,

ou. If today was not part of the plan, I would have ended thing

e embrace on the sofa. Doubt crashed over her as she struggled to believe the man b

tumbled backward as if her st

ina contributed a lot to your company. Are you c

ose were minor tasks at best. Someone like her is only suited to stay at home. You are nothing like that, Jessica. You are intelligent, you are stunning, and you have a career at Oqr

ina pulled out her phone and

lls-Royce, Alina leaned bac

et vow never to allow Alan

e, the sadness was gone, and

over only because she believed Kellan was scarred and powerless. If the truth

aken pride in herself and looke

aded back to the Gilbert family's reside

he scars on his face appeared unsettling, the way he carried himself rem

lickered in Kellan's eyes. "

t toward him, and placed

nt of cherry blossoms from her lingered in the air. That fleeting contact made him awar

na had already pulled away and p

ven more convinced that the scars

's the meaning of this?" Did stepping out make you change