A Crown of Strength

Everyone said Xander Fuller loved me deeply.

If it had been a day earlier, I would have believed it too.

But then I saw him through the hospital window, holding a sobbing woman tightly in his arms. "Don't overthink it! She's just your stand-in. If I didn't play the part, what if my enemies went after you? Thank goodness the explosion didn't hurt you, or I'd regret it forever!"

I looked down at my scarred hands and gave a bitter smile.

When my life hung by a thread, Xander saved me and gave me a love that felt one-of-a-kind.

Back then, I naively thought I had found happiness.

But when enemies kidnapped and tortured me to threaten him, he acted indifferent, even showing a hint of relief in his eyes.

I didn't understand why back then, but now it all made sense.

I touched my mother's portrait and dialed a number I hadn't called in ages.

That night, bodyguards surrounded the hospital entrance, bowing respectfully to me.

"Welcome back, Miss!"

...

After learning none of Xander's enemies survived the explosion, I knew my marriage to him was over.

He no longer needed me to shield his true love from danger.

The hospital at night felt eerily quiet.

When Xander walked in, I had just finished my final bandage change for my hand injury.

Unlike before, he didn't check my wounds or offer comfort.

He stood in front of me and placed a prepared divorce agreement on the table. "Sign it."

"Did you ever love me?" My voice trembled as I forced the question out.

Though I knew the outcome, I still wanted an answer for the love I poured into these years.

Three years ago, when my uncle Kory Curtis hunted me over family inheritance, I fell into the sea and nearly died. Xander saved me.

From then on, I stayed by his side, and he treated me well.

The day I learned he wanted to marry me, I was so excited I didn't sleep for days.

Back then, I innocently believed this was the love and happiness my mother spoke of.

At my words, Xander let out a mocking laugh. "Love? What's your status to think I'd love you? I will only ever love Dorothy. Saving you was just because you were an orphan. If you died, no one would care. You were perfect as Dorothy's stand-in. Now that I've eliminated all threats, it's time you gave her place back to her!"

Looking at his impatient face, my anger made my hands tremble as I gripped the divorce agreement. "So, Xander, all your talk of loving me and spending our lives together was a lie!"

He sneered with disdain. "If I didn't say that, would you have willingly stayed by my side as Dorothy's stand-in for three years?"

Before I could respond, he roughly grabbed my freshly bandaged hand. "Sign it quick! Why didn't that explosion kill you too? If you were dead, I wouldn't even need to sign this!"

The gauze and medicine rubbed against my unhealed wounds, and pain made sweat bead on my forehead.

But Xander didn't care. After I signed, he grabbed the agreement and left my room eagerly.

Watching his retreating figure, I gave a cold laugh.

He'd pay for his betrayal.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a familiar number.

That night, bodyguards surrounded the hospital entrance.

They bowed respectfully and addressed me.

"Miss."

The next morning, I boarded a ferry heading to the open sea.

At my feet, a trembling man was bound tightly. "Lorraine, I was wrong! Please spare me, I beg you!"

I sneered and kicked him hard in the stomach. "Kory, when my mother and I begged you like this, what did you do? Didn't you still throw us into the sea for those shares?"

I recalled that day. The seawater was freezing, and my mother held me tightly, warming me with her body.

It was the first time I ever saw her cry.

Her once-youthful face turned haggard as she wept. "Lorraine, I've dragged you into this. If you survive, I only hope you stay away from conflict and live safely and healthily with someone you love..."

Her words now pierced my heart like a knife.

I thought of Xander's cold, almost icy gaze, and I gave a bitter laugh. "Mother, you were wrong. A man's love isn't reliable. Only power lasts forever."

The man I once loved, the one I thought was my salvation, used me as bait to lure his enemies and then detonated the bomb without hesitation.

He even cursed why I didn't die with them when I survived.

If that was how it was, I would take back everything that belonged to me.

I bent down, grabbed Kory Curtis's hair, and forced him to look up at me. "I regret not killing you sooner."

He no longer had the arrogant air he once carried.

His voice was hoarse, tears streaming from his eyes. "Lorraine, I'm your uncle, your only family in this world! You can't do this to me!"

I scoffed and slammed his head onto the deck. "So you remember you're my uncle."

Ignoring his wails, I ordered my men to throw him into the open sea.

Just before he went under, Kory cursed at me. "Lorraine, you think killing me will make the company yours? Keep dreaming!"

Under his shocked gaze, I held up the board's appointment letter in front of him. "Die in peace. The company is mine."

I laughed wildly. A few young bodyguards trembled, their eyes showing a mix of fear and awe.

Satisfied, I clapped my hands and had Kory dragged by the ferry into the deep sea.

The black water was oppressive, and blood seeped from the wounds where the ropes cut into him.

As expected, he would soon become a shark's feast.

Sure enough, not long after the ferry moved away, I heard Kory's gut-wrenching screams.

To me, they were nothing short of music.

I scanned my men and said in a low voice. "I don't tolerate betrayal. I hope you understand."

I ran my fingers over a photo of Xander. "You're next..."

I returned to the company, where everyone stood respectfully in a line.

Looking at the familiar surroundings, I took a deep breath.

I was back, back to this battlefield of ambition and gain.

My heels clicked sharply on the marble floor, each sound striking fear into those around me.

"I am Lorraine, Curtis the new chairman of Curtis Group. As for your former chairman, Kory Curtis, he is dead."

My cold words made several of Kory's loyalists collapse in fear.

I kindly helped them to their feet. "Whatever you took from this company, you'll return it today. Otherwise, I don't mind reuniting you with Kory."

Watching their trembling figures, I placed the investigation files in front of them. "My patience is limited."

Within hours, news of Curtis Group's new chairman and its massive overhaul spread like wildfire.

Panic swept through the company.

I sat in my office, leisurely sipping coffee.

Back then, Kory wanted me dead most of all because of my remarkable business talent and the shares I held, which threatened his position.

Just like my mother, whose brilliance earned her half the company's shares.

That drove Kory mad with jealousy.

To seize full control, he didn't just target me-he targeted my mother too.

"Ms. Curtis, about the merger..."

I looked at Leo's weathered face.

A pang of emotion hit me. He was my mother's most trusted assistant, the best in the industry.

But when Kory took over, he fired Leo immediately and blacklisted him from the industry.

Upon hearing of my return, Leo came to my side without hesitation.

I flipped through the files and nodded lightly. "Curtis Group is now officially renamed Midsummer and will merge with my Shining Group."

The news sent shockwaves worldwide.

The once-crumbling Curtis Group, on the brink of bankruptcy, came back to life under its new chairman.

It even merged with the world's largest conglomerate.

While everyone speculated about the new chairman's identity, Xander was among them.

He sent me an invitation to his engagement party.

The name Dorothy Walton on the invitation stung my eyes.

Once, Xander used the Fuller family's gold-embossed invitations for me.

He said only those could show his affection for me.

I attended his engagement party as promised.

The Fuller estate looked just as I remembered, filled with blooming roses.

I wore a tailored black suit, moving through the venue.

From a distance, I saw Dorothy in a custom gown, clinging sweetly to Xander's arm.

She held a vibrant bouquet of red roses.

Guests around them gushed over their pure love.

"Mr. Fuller is so devoted! To protect Ms. Walton, he lived with a woman he didn't love for three years!"

"It must've been tough for Mr. Fuller. If it were me, even a day with someone I didn't love would feel disgusting."

"Thank goodness it's over. Mr. Fuller and Ms. Walton are finally together!"

I sipped the estate's champagne, listening to their chatter indifferently.

It felt like none of this concerned me.

Amid the praise, Dorothy giggled shyly. "Okay, okay, stop it, or someone might get upset. It's time to toss the bouquet! Get ready, everyone. Xander and I want to share our happiness!"

Looking at the exquisite bouquet, my guarded heart still tightened painfully.

Back then, I wanted a rose bouquet too. I heard the estate's flowers symbolized a lifetime of love, so I wanted to pick some here.

But Xander cut me off harshly, the first time he ever got angry with me.

He said those things weren't for me to touch or even think about.

Now I saw it clearly-his "lifetime" was always meant for Dorothy alone.

I gave a cold laugh. Xander had to pay for using me.

As I thought this, the bouquet flew straight toward me.