In A World Without Color, You Were My Miracle

"Brenna, you're stepping in for Noreen to get engaged today. Get back here right now and stop embarrassing this family! If you don't-" The line went dead the second Brenna Fuller ended the call.

Brenna had been abducted and sold off at three years old. It took her more than twenty years to track down her biological parents, and she had only reunited with them a month ago. Now they were demanding she marry in place of their precious younger daughter, Noreen Walsh.

A sharp crack suddenly tore through the alley.

Brenna recognized the sound as gunfire instantly. Without wasting time, she scooped up her pharmacology textbooks and prepared to slip out of the alley.

Before she could take two steps, someone slammed into her.

The man wore a silver mask that covered most of his face, leaving only a clean, sharp jaw exposed. His tailored suit jacket was darkened with spreading blood, proof that he was badly hurt.

"Don't move..." Vincent Todd rasped, his voice low and edged with warning.

Assuming she was another assassin sent by his enemies, he raised his hand, intent to subdue her, but the moment he saw her face clearly, his hand stalled midair.

Their gazes locked. Amber eyes met his, bright and steady, and her lips stood out in vivid red against skin marked by heavy burn scars. Yet in his eyes, she didn't look damaged. She looked alive.

For more than ten years, his world had been nothing but black and white. Now, standing in front of her, he felt as if color had suddenly returned.

Footsteps pounded closer from the alley entrance.

"Move! He's wounded. He can't have gone far!" a man shouted.

Silence pressed in after that, broken only by tense breathing.

Brenna's gaze flicked toward the approaching figures. Each of them had a swallow tattoo inked on his neck. She knew exactly what that meant. Notorious assassins.

"I didn't see anything," she said calmly, ready to walk away and leave him to his fate.

Without giving her space to step away, Vincent closed the distance and pinned her between himself and the cold brick wall. "If you get me out of this, name your price," he said, his tone low but steady.

His gaze didn't leave her face. Everything around him still looked drained of color, yet when he focused on her, the world sharpened and brightened in a way he couldn't explain. Who exactly was she?

Outside the alley, the sound of boots striking pavement grew louder.

Brenna narrowed her eyes and let out a quiet breath. "Such a headache," she muttered.

Then, her hand shot up and caught his collar. She pressed her palm flat against his chest and shifted her tone in an instant. "Honey, don't you think this is a little too bold for a public place?" she said sweetly.

Strips of white gauze hung overhead, swaying slightly and casting a hazy veil over them. From a distance, they looked like a couple tangled up in an intimate moment.

The approaching footsteps slowed for a second and then resumed, edging closer.

The next moment, Vincent wrapped an arm firmly around her waist and pulled her flush against him.

"Why act shy now? We picked this quiet spot for a live stream, remember? If someone stumbles onto us, it'll just bring more viewers." His breathing turned heavier as he spoke.

Standing only inches away from her, he caught the light, crisp trace of her scent in the air, and he could clearly see the glow in her amber eyes.

As Vincent leaned in and Brenna tilted her head back, shielded by the white gauze, they appeared to be a passionate young couple.

The assassins hesitated. None of them wanted to risk being filmed, so after a few annoyed curses, they turned and ran toward another direction.

Once their footsteps faded, Brenna finally relaxed. "Two million," she said calmly. "That's my price."

Even through the thin fabric between them, she could feel the heat from his broad palm resting at her waist, steady and unmistakable.

No matter how tense the situation was, Brenna couldn't ignore the obvious. The man in front of her was built well. From where she stood, the top buttons of his shirt had come undone, exposing the firm lines of his chest. Even with half his face hidden behind a mask, the cut of his shoulders and the taper of his waist gave off an undeniable presence.

"Give me your contact details," Vincent said, his gaze still locked on her. "I'll send the money over now."

He couldn't bring himself to tear his gaze away from her, almost as if he was trying to memorize every detail.

When their eyes met again, a chill ran down her spine. There was something dangerous in his stare, sharp and focused, like a predator sizing up its prey. Her pulse quickened before she could stop it.

"This account," she said briskly, pushing against his chest to create distance while handing him a backup account.

She took a deep breath. The strange tension from earlier had to be her imagination. She had gone out of her way to make herself look as unattractive as possible. Her best friend had even joked that the burn scars makeup made her look completely ruined. No sane man would be drawn to that.

Moments later, a group of disciplined bodyguards rushed into the alley.

"We apologize for the delay. The targets have been neutralized..." the lead guard remarked, only to stop when he noticed Brenna standing beside Vincent. His expression hardened at once. "Is she part of them? Do you want us to handle her?"

They had seen assassins disguise themselves as fragile women before. Still, this was the first time they had seen one disguised as an ugly woman.

Brenna was momentarily at a loss for words. So this was why this man had transferred two million without blinking. They were ready to silence her.

Clicking her tongue, she straightened her posture and lifted her chin. "Watch your tone," she snapped. "I'm Vincent Todd's fiancée. The Todd family doesn't tolerate disrespect. Think carefully before you touch me."

As soon as the bodyguards heard her words, they looked at one another, and then they broke into loud laughter. Fiancée? There was no way their boss would ever marry someone they thought looked so ugly and small.

One of them spoke up. "Don't be ridiculous. Do you even have any idea who our boss is..."

Before the guard could finish speaking, Vincent cut him off coldly. "Enough. She saved my life. Apologize." He swept his bodyguards with a hard look.

The shift in his tone made every bodyguard tense instantly. Cold sweat formed along their temples. Without another word, they lowered their heads at the same time. "Please forgive us," they said in unison. "We should not have said what we did."

None of them dared question Vincent. Whatever reason he had for concealing his identity, the fact remained that she had pulled him out of danger. That alone made her untouchable.

For a brief second, Brenna simply studied them in silence. "It's fine," she replied calmly. "I was compensated. That settles it. I'll be leaving now."

She had barely taken a step when someone blocked her path. Vincent stood in front of her, tall and unmoving, his presence impossible to ignore.

"You handled yourself well back there," Vincent said, and this time, there was no edge in his voice. "You were brave."

Vincent knew he was supposed to be engaged today to Brenna Fuller, the Walsh family's eldest daughter, who had spent years away from home. People claimed she had suffered a disfiguring injury, that she had only returned to her family last month, and that others often picked on her. Even after coming back, she still kept the last name of the couple who had raised her. The rumors painted her as timid and completely useless, as if she could not do anything right. Yet the woman standing in front of him now bore no resemblance to the incompetent person those stories had described.

"We'll meet again soon, Miss Fuller," Vincent added, his tone steady but layered with meaning.

Brenna wasn't surprised. She had already revealed her identity as Vincent's fiancée, so it made sense for this man to have heard of her and know her last name.

"Nice guess, but I don't want to meet you again," she said lightly, crossing her arms. "And a piece of warning. You should take a look at your watch."

With that, she turned and walked away. She had already been delayed and needed to attend her engagement party.

The guards exchanged confused looks. "That watch is a gift from your grandfather, Mr. Todd," one of them said carefully. "We examined it thoroughly before. There wasn't anything wrong with it."

A crease formed between Vincent's brows. The warning Brenna gave hadn't sounded like a joke. Without pausing to question it, he pulled out a dagger and forced the back of the watch open.

The casing split with a sharp snap. Fine white powder spilled into view from inside.

Vincent's eyes turned cold at once. "Send this to the hospital. I want a full analysis."

Shock rippled through the bodyguards. They had checked that watch carefully before and found nothing suspicious. "Mr. Todd, we truly have no idea what went wrong!" one of them blurted out. They were professionally trained, yet none of them had detected the hidden substance. How had that woman seen through it in seconds?

Vincent's face gave nothing away. "Go accept your punishment."

"Yes, Mr. Todd!" they answered in unison.

By the time Vincent lifted his head, Brenna was gone. The alley looked as if she had never stepped into it.

...

An hour later, Brenna stepped into the hotel hosting the engagement banquet.

Sarah Walsh, Brenna's mother, was already waiting in the lobby. She surprisingly reached out and took Brenna's hand. "You ran back to that rundown place a few days ago without saying a word. I thought you were acting out, so I might've spoken too harshly on the phone."

The engagement between the Walsh and Todd families had been arranged years earlier.

Among the elite, the Todd family's name stood at the very top when it came to influence and wealth.

Yet, rumors painted Vincent as unattractive and morally corrupt. Countless women had suffered at his hands, and very few people had ever seen his face.

Unwilling to sacrifice her cherished younger daughter Noreen, Sarah had brought back the long-lost eldest daughter Brenna to step in as the bride.

Tears clung to Noreen's lashes as she stepped forward, her voice soft and trembling. "Brenna, Mom really does have your best interest at heart. That's why she decided to give the engagement back to you."

A faint, humorless laugh slipped from Brenna's lips as she withdrew her hand from Sarah's grasp. If it hadn't been linked to Noreen's lifelong happiness and the Walsh family's advancement, they probably wouldn't have bothered looking for her at all.

Brenna had no patience left for their carefully staged concern. Turning toward the hotel staff, she spoke with a loud voice. "Please inform Vincent that I'd like him to come out earlier. I'm not feeling well."

Before the demise of the couple who had raised her for years, they had told her to retrieve the biological chip hidden somewhere in Todd Manor.

Unexpectedly, on the day she reunited with the Walsh family last month, they pushed her straight into an engagement with Vincent. If she had to step into this mess anyway, she might as well use it.

Sarah's composure nearly cracked at Brenna's bluntness. She thought Brenna lacked basic decorum. Before she could say a word, a servant had already hurried off toward Todd Manor.

"Mr. Todd, Miss Fuller is requesting that you come out ahead of schedule," the servant reported respectfully.

Vincent was seated inside the study, and his striking features stood out even more in the quiet light. His long lashes cast shadows over his charming eyes. "Let her know I'll join them shortly," he answered calmly.

The servant lowered her head. "Yes, Mr. Todd."

Silence settled back into the room once she left.

Across from Vincent, a man with red curls stretched lazily and yawned.

"So your ugly fiancée has quite the nerve," Felix Hewitt said, amusement flickering in his tone. "This morning, when you were pursued by a group of assassins, are you sure you didn't mistake someone else for your savior? Word is that Brenna is timid and easy to push around."

Vincent's expression stayed unreadable. "I am not certain," he replied evenly. "But that woman is the only person who's ever brought color into my world. I'll search high and low if I have to find her."

Felix clicked his tongue in disbelief. "You must have been hallucinating from blood loss this morning. After all, even the doctor said your eyes are still the same."

Honestly, Vincent had harbored the same doubt. Everything he saw still looked drained of color. Yet, the hospital results were undeniable. The substance hidden in his watch was a slow-acting toxin. That meant she had saved him twice already.

His gaze lifted slightly, resolve sharpening in his eyes. "Whether it's her or not, I'll know soon enough!"

Inside the banquet hall, Brenna stood quietly, yet her thoughts kept drifting back to the masked man from this morning. Something about him left her slightly uneasy.

A sudden stir broke out near the entrance. "Mr. Todd actually came!" someone whispered urgently.

The lively chatter died down in an instant. Guests stepped aside, clearing a path without being told.

Curiosity tugged at Brenna, and she lifted her gaze toward the door.

Vincent walked in at an unhurried pace, dressed in a fitted black shirt that outlined his build. His sleeves were casually rolled up, exposing toned forearms that made the look seem effortless rather than staged.

The rumors had painted him as grotesque and unpresentable. The man standing there was anything but. His features were sharp and defined, with deep eyes, a straight nose, and a clean, sculpted jaw.

"Is that really Mr. Todd? He's so dashing," someone murmured in disbelief.

"I've never seen him this close before. He looks like a movie star!"

"Good looks aside, they say he's got a terrible temper..."

"Keep it down. He's ruthless. If you cross him, he won't go easy on you."

An uneasy chill spread through the crowd.

Brenna found herself staring longer than she intended. Those eyes of his felt strangely familiar.

When their gazes met across the hall, something shifted.

For the briefest second, Brenna sensed recognition flicker in his expression. His posture tightened ever so slightly, and surprise crossed his face before he masked it. Was he reacting to her appearance? The heavy burn makeup had fooled plenty of people.

Meanwhile, Vincent felt his pulse spike. He leaned slightly toward Felix and whispered, "It's her."

Vincent's eyes stayed on Brenna without wavering. The longer he looked, the clearer it became that the woman from this morning was not a hallucination.

After the car incident years ago, color had vanished from Vincent's world. Doctors called it trauma-induced damage, and no treatment had restored it. Over time, he had learned to live with endless shades of gray. Yet ever since she appeared, something had shifted.

Felix blinked in disbelief. "You're certain?"

"Yes," Vincent answered quietly. "I see colors around her. A lot."

A fracture seemed to form deep inside him, as if something long sealed away was finally breaking open. Brilliant hues gathered around Brenna like light drawn to a single point. The wine in her glass glowed amber. The dark fabric of her dress caught light in subtle layers. Everything else remained muted and lifeless, but she stood vivid and impossible to overlook.

Felix's tone lost its teasing edge. "Stay here. I'll have someone investigate immediately."

Numerous top specialists had failed to cure Vincent for years. If he really saw colors again, this was a miracle.

A crease formed between Felix's brows as a thought struck him. "So, do you still plan to go through with the engagement?"

Vincent did not take his eyes off Brenna, his tone unwavering. "Of course. I am definitely going to marry her!"

Felix stared at Vincent, stunned. Even if this woman somehow restored Vincent's color vision, marriage was an entirely different matter. What was driving him to decide so quickly?

Before the exchange could continue, Sarah approached with a polite smile. "Mr. Todd, my husband and son weren't expecting you this early. They'll be here soon."

Without hesitation, she nudged Brenna forward. "Why don't you take a proper look at her first? You two knew each other as children. She was meant to be your bride back then, but circumstances separated you. Now that she's returned, it's only natural for the engagement to continue."

She spoke lightly, as if the switch in daughters were a minor detail that required no attention.

Standing nearby, Noreen felt her cheeks heat up. She hadn't imagined Vincent would look this dashing. Regret began to creep into her heart. If she had known he was this cute, she would never have handed him over to that ugly woman Brenna.