Chapter 1 The Upcoming Marriage

"Hanna, I've prepared a special birthday gift just for you. I really hope you love it."

As Brynn Murphy stood laughing boldly beside the bed, Hanna Murphy was unable to move at all.

She didn't know what substance Brynn had slipped into her drink. Though she was now awake, she could not move her lips or hands.

She lay still on the bed, as motionless as a fish on a cutting board.

Brynn turned off the lights as she left, plunging the room into complete darkness.

Time slipped by, though Hanna had no way of knowing how long it was.

Bang!

The door burst open, and a piercing cold swept through.

"Help me detox, and I will repay you."

A man's voice, affected by some drug, sounded deep and raspy, almost as if it came from another dimension.

With heavy steps, a tall figure staggered to the bedside.

At that moment, Hanna felt as if her breath had stopped.

"Save me."

In the darkness, Hanna could not see the man's face, only his eyes, which appeared profound yet icy, carrying an eerie and dignified presence.

Hanna was still trying to understand what was happening when she passed out.

The following morning.

A middle-aged woman in a formal suit approached a Bugatti parked by the roadside and tapped on the car door.

After being allowed in, she opened the door with care and entered, then reported respectfully, "Shadow Master, the girl who saved you last night is named Brynn Murphy."

"Are you sure?" the man, referred to as the Shadow Master by the woman, asked with a cold, deep voice.

"I'm completely sure of it. Miss Murphy has the ring you lost last night. I asked her myself, and she even confessed to having saved you."

In the dim light of the car, it was difficult to make out the man's face, yet his piercing, icy eyes radiated an eerie and dignified presence. "Send someone to propose to the Murphy family for me. I intend to marry her."

The usually calm and composed woman was visibly stunned by the man's abrupt decision. "Shadow Master, there are other ways to repay a debt. Moreover, last night, you weren't in your right mind. Your status is exceedingly high, and marriage is a serious matter that should be thought over..."

Under the man's serious look, she quickly stopped talking and reluctantly said, "Alright. I'll make the arrangements."

When Hanna woke up, it was already the afternoon of the following day.

She found herself not in the hotel but in a flowerbed beside the road, her clothes in disarray.

Upon inspecting herself, she discovered bruises all over her body, with each pore throbbing painfully.

Tears streamed down Hanna's cheeks.

She had never imagined losing her virginity on her twentieth birthday.

Upon reaching her home in the Serenity Villas by the sea, Hanna saw Brynn and Jessie Murphy on the living room sofa, drying their eyes as they talked.

Brynn, who had conspired against Hanna the day before, was her half-sister, sharing the same father.

And Jessie was Hanna's stepmother.

"Mom, look!"

"Hanna! You're finally here!" A moment ago, Jessie was filled with concern, yet now her face lit up with happiness.

"Where have you been? I've been calling you all day. Why didn't you answer?" Jessie asked.

Ignoring her, Hanna grabbed a vase from the windowsill and smashed it at Brynn's face.

But she missed.

The vase struck Brynn's chest with a heavy thud before crashing to the floor and breaking.

Despite her pain, Brynn clenched her teeth, her eyes brimming with anger. "You bitch, have you gone insane?"

"You're the one who's insane! You know very well what you've done. Today, I'll ruin that hypocritical face of yours and get my revenge!" The trauma and humiliation of losing her virginity had consumed Hanna. She seized a fruit knife and charged at Brynn.

She was done with all of this!

For fourteen years, she suffered abuse and endured a cruel life in this family. Brynn had always tormented her mercilessly. Today, she was determined to stand up for herself.

"Stop!" A thunderous voice filled the air.

Then, a stout middle-aged man rushed to Hanna's side.

Driven by a fierce need to protect Brynn, he grabbed Hanna by the hair and threw her to the floor.

He used all his might and Hanna hit the floor hard, her nose bleeding.

For a moment, Hanna couldn't get up, realizing the one who hit her was her own father, Cristian Murphy.

"Hanna, look at yourself! As the elder sister, how can you stoop to fighting with Brynn like a thug? Brynn merely played a prank on you naughtily. You're making too much of it."

Cristian glared at Hanna, whose face was smeared with blood, his eyes full of disgust.

"Merely... played a prank?"

Even though Hanna was in excruciating pain at this moment, she sarcastically laughed.

"If our roles were reversed and I had played a trick on Brynn as she did to me last night, you wouldn't call it a prank. You'd have punished me severely, wouldn't you?"

"You..." Cristian, feeling the sting of guilt, was at a loss for words.

In that moment, Brynn kicked Hanna fiercely in the back.

With her hands still pressed against the floor, Hanna was knocked down once more, coughing up blood and feeling as though her back had been torn apart.

However, she pressed her lips together tightly, determined not to let a single tear fall.

Cristian was Hanna's biological father.

When Hanna was just a little girl, Cristian had treated her kindly.

Fourteen years earlier, after Jessie drove Hanna's biological mother to madness and moved into this house with her and Cristian's illegitimate daughter Brynn, Cristian's demeanor changed drastically.

He adored Jessie and Brynn, treating them like precious jewels, while Hanna was subjected to routine domestic abuse.

From that moment on, Cristian was dead to Hanna.

She resolved never to cry in front of him again.

"You pissed me off. You're my daughter too. Why must you be so troublesome?" Cristian was visibly angry.

Jessie positioned herself in front of Cristian.

"Cristian, it's clear Hanna has been rebellious for a while now. Please, calm down. Don't hit her again. If you end up killing her, who will marry into the Collins family in Brynn's place?"

As if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, Hanna shivered deeply.

"Hanna, this morning, representatives from the Collins family came to propose. They specifically asked for Brynn to marry into their family. Your father and I did our best to persuade them to consider you instead of Brynn."

Jessie gazed down at Hanna with a smug grin.

"As you know, the Collins family is the most distinguished in Zreles. This marriage is an excellent opportunity. You will marry Kayce Collins in six days."

It finally clicked for Hanna.

Jessie wanted her out of the picture. In the past, Jessie wouldn't bother to call her, even if she vanished for a month...

But today, after waking up in the flowerbed, Hanna discovered over a dozen missed calls from Jessie on her phone.

Clearly, Jessie's recent interest was solely to have her step in for Brynn in the upcoming marriage!

Huh!

Everyone in Zreles knew that Kayce Collins was severely ill and could die at any moment.

It was more accurate to say that Jessie and Cristian were exploiting her to curry favor with the Collins family.