Chapter 1

After Anna Briggs had been kidnapped, she developed aphasia.

Despite the swirling rumors, Braeden Hayes stood by her side unwaveringly.

He even defied the pressure and swiftly announced their engagement and built her an idyllic estate-a utopia crafted just for her.

It was universally said that Braeden cherished Hank as his own life.

Yet, he had postponed their wedding nine times for various reasons.

On the eve of their tenth wedding attempt, Anna accidentally overheard news of Braeden's engagement to another woman.

"Are you really planning to keep Hank in the dark forever? Luckily for your quick thinking, you managed to pull off nine weddings without a hitch."

Anna's blood ran cold instantly.

After discovering the truth, she did nothing but quietly leave.

Then she set the estate ablaze and vanished without a trace.

Braeden, however, went mad searching for her everywhere.

"Anna, I really can't live without you. Please come back with me, won't you?"

Braeden's pleas were abject, like a dog fawning for scraps.

...

On the fifth anniversary of their relationship, Anna braved the pouring rain to visit the club Braeden frequented, hoping to surprise him.

At the private room's entrance, she dabbed at her damp strands of hair.

At her follow-up appointment today, the doctor told Anna there were promising signs of recovery from her aphasia. If she kept up with the treatment, it might not be long before she fully regained her speech.

Her fingers had just brushed against the door when a male voice, laced with laughter, reached her from inside the private room. "Braeden, your wedding with Carol is just a week away. Have you thought about how to explain it to Anna?"

"That's easy." Braeden's voice, tinged with the soft warmth of wine, remarked, "I've kept her like a bird in a gilded cage in that estate for two years. As long as she doesn't step outside, she'll never know about my grand wedding with Carol."

Anna's hand stilled, the gesture freezing mid-air.

Her heart seemed to skip a beat.

Braeden continued, "Since developing aphasia, Anna has become too self-conscious to venture out. It's simply impossible for her to have discovered my new marriage."

Anna stood frozen, and her hand was suspended in mid-air.

She desperately wanted to push the door open, but a crushing sense of inadequacy and the fear of losing what little she had left stripped her of the courage to face what lay beyond.

Laughter echoed from the room, but Anna felt ice-cold. Her blood seemed to have congealed.

She remembered the nine postponed weddings with Braeden in the past two years.

The first time, he took her to his bachelor party, where she drank too much and missed the wedding.

The second time, her cat went missing, and Braeden spent the whole night helping her search for it, leading to another cancellation.

The ninth time, Braeden was on his way to pick her up when a car accident landed him in the hospital.

After he recovered, he held her tightly. "Anna, don't worry. For the tenth time, I promise you the most unforgettable grand wedding."

Anna held onto this hope and longed for it.

But she learned that he was marrying another woman instead.

The nine failed weddings had, over time, sunk Anna into a quagmire of self-doubt and emotional exhaustion.

It was Braeden who repeatedly comforted her and held her in his arms. "Good things take time, right?"

Anna trembled uncontrollably. She tried desperately to hold back tears, but they ran down uncontrollably.

Braeden's voice was heard again from the room. "I'll keep Anna on the estate forever. She'll never know the truth."

"If she hadn't insisted on coming to see you and surprising you back then, she wouldn't have been kidnapped. But let's not dwell on the past," a friend of Braeden's remarked. "You're smart enough to have postponed nine weddings."

"One can hardly blame me. The woman the Hayes family marries must be a virgin. The Moore family is our business partner, and Carol is a virgin. It leaves no room for criticism."

"A virgin? Braeden, are you saying that you've already..."

Braeden chuckled. "Do you even need to ask? We had done it for a whole night and used a lot of extra care. I personally verified it. She is a virgin."

Anna's mind buzzed.

Everything she had believed to be the most sacred love had been nothing but an elaborate fraud.

Two years ago, Braeden had spent countless nights by her side in the hospital. He had vowed to watch over and protect her for a lifetime.

She had believed that Braeden was the light of her life.

But now she realized he had always despised her.

She had thought that she could spend the rest of her life under Braeden's protection.

But he was now giving another woman the grand wedding.

Anna's heart felt torn into pieces, shattering to the floor.

The people in the room continued talking, but Anna no longer had the courage to listen to them.

She fled into the cold rain.

She had wanted to tell him face-to-face that she wasn't raped and that her aphasia was almost cured.

She had hoped to tell him herself that they could love like a normal couple, get married, and live happily ever after.

But it seemed that none of that was necessary now.