Love, Fate and Destiny

Winter nights in Atheton were extremely cold.

Kaylee Hadley was shoved out of home in nothing but thin, flimsy clothes.

She was only thirteen years old, but she was very thin for her age. The biting cold seeped through her clothing and into her bones. It was impossible for her to survive this brutal winter night without shelter.

Freezing, she shivered violently.

Her mother, Josie Hadley, who was standing by the doorway, looked at her in disgust. "Fuck off! I refuse to house an ungrateful daughter like you! How dare you bully your sister?"

Kaylee burst into helpless tears and explained herself in between sobs. "Gemma's the one who took my necklace without permission! It's my most prized possession..."

As Kaylee spoke, she looked at her younger sister Gemma Hadley, who was standing beside Josie, hands akimbo.

Gemma rolled her eyes at Kaylee and slipped the beautiful sapphire necklace into her pocket. "I like this necklace. Why can't I wear it for a few days?"

Josie took Gemma's side. "She's right! Why are you being so selfish? She is your sister. If she wants your necklace, you should've just given it to her. How dare you accuse her of stealing your 'most prized possession'? This is the house of our Hadleys! Everything in this household belongs to every family member. So the necklace is just as much hers as it is yours!"

Kaylee's eyes were bloodshot from crying, a stark contrast to her pale face. "Mom... Aren't I your daughter, too?"

Hearing that, Gemma glared at her and shouted ferociously, "No, you're not! You're just an orphan! My parents adopted you to replace me! Now that I'm back, you don't belong here!"

Indeed, Gemma was the biological daughter of the Hadleys. However, she went missing not long after she was born.

In an effort to cope with their grief, the couple decided to adopt Kaylee, a baby from the orphanage.

And Kaylee's first twelve years with the Hadleys were blissful. They treated her very well, and she was also very popular at school. But everything changed when Gemma was found a year ago.

The Hadleys stopped treating her well. On the contrary, they started beating and scolding her. And when Gemma was enrolled at her school, she gathered a group of students and made them bully Kaylee.

At first, Kaylee didn't understand why their parents treated her and Gemma differently. Now, she had her answer.

Kaylee shook her head in denial. "I... I don't believe it."

Gemma snorted complacently. "Mom, tell her!"

Josie nodded without hesitation, as if this was all Kaylee's fault. "Kaylee, you're not my daughter!"

Gemma cracked a smug smile. "Did you hear that? You don't belong here. Fuck off!"

Gemma always resented Kaylee because she got all the love and care that should've been hers, enjoying life as the daughter of an affluent family. She also hated Kaylee because she was excellent in school, had many friends, and was so beautiful!

Kaylee was just thirteen years old, yet while everyone around her was gaining weight and breaking out, Kaylee had blossomed into a beautiful young girl. Whenever Gemma saw her pretty face and perfect figure, she'd seethe with jealousy.

So Gemma was hell-bent on ruining Kaylee's life. She'd speak ill of Kaylee in front of their parents so that they'd grow to hate Kaylee, eventually driving her out of their home.

After shooting Kaylee one last glare, Gemma pulled her mother into the house and slammed the door shut.

Kaylee was left outside, alone in the cold.

Her pale face was stained with tears. The cold wind lashed at her ruthlessly, making her shiver uncontrollably.

She shouted at the closed door, "Mom, please-"

But before she could get another word out, a glass was thrown out from the window on the second floor, smashing at her feet.

Kaylee jumped backwards in shock. Realizing that she really wasn't welcome here, she had no choice but to wander the streets listlessly.

The Hadleys had gradually been starving her over the past few days, which was why she was so thin. She painstakingly kept on walking despite feeling weak, dizzy, and cold.

All of a sudden, Kaylee saw a passer-by tossing a burger away onto the road. Her eyes lit up. She rushed towards the thrown burger, fearing that it'd be snatched by someone else. However, before she could reach for the burger, a luxury car suddenly turned into the street from the corner.

Startled, Kaylee quickly jumped out of the way. Then there came the deafening screech of the car's brakes.

Caught off-guard, Kaylee wasn't able to balance herself. She fell on the cold, hard ground, grazing her hands and knees. The shooting pain made her gasp sharply.

But what really broke her spirit was the sight of the crushed burger underneath the car's tire.

The driver of the luxury car wasn't expecting that someone would suddenly rush towards the road.

When he saw that the person he almost hit was just a miserable-looking teenage girl, he cursed at her angrily. "Get out of the fucking way, you beggar!"

The car didn't really hit her, but Kaylee was in so much pain that she couldn't move for a long time. Exasperated, the driver got back in his car and drove around her.

Misfortune never came alone.

Lying on the ground weakly, Kaylee didn't have the strength to even stand up.

The snow kept falling on her frail body, and soon, she was buried in it.

----

Nine years later.

"Kaylee, you're so lucky to marry into the Stephens family. Stop being so ungrateful!"

In a pristine wedding dress, Kaylee was looking at herself in the mirror in the dressing room when a sharp voice broke the silence.

Josie barged in and looked at her up and down with a frown.

Hearing her scolding, Kaylee could only chuckle dryly.

The Stephens family was one of the most powerful families in Atheton. There was an arrangement between the Hadleys and the Stephens; originally, Gemma was supposed to marry Elijah Stephens, the second son of the Stephens family.

But everyone in Atheton knew that Elijah was a naughty playboy. No one in their right mind would want to marry a man like him.

Gemma was no exception. She refused to marry him.

However, the Hadleys didn't dare to call off their agreement with the Stephens, so they had no choice but to find Kaylee, their adopted daughter that had been driven out many years ago, and make her replace Gemma as the bride.

Kaylee smiled at Josie coldly. "You're right. But it's such a pity to let me reap such a wonderful benefit, don't you think? How about I take off the dress and let Gemma wear it?"

Kaylee's underlying threat didn't escape Josie. Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief and she shouted, "How dare you threaten me?"

She squinted at Kaylee's disfigured face and wrinkled her nose in disdain. "If we didn't take you back, did you really think an ugly woman like you would ever get married? You are so ungrateful!"

The wedding dress hadn't been zipped up yet, exposing the delicate rose-shaped birthmark on Kaylee's back.

Even from behind, she already looked so graceful, which made people wonder just how beautiful the woman's face would be.

Unfortunately, there was a scar on Kaylee's otherwise delicate face, and the scar ran across half of her face.

Josie's insults didn't anger Kaylee. On the contrary, she pretended to be sad, touching the terrible scar on her face gently. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Hadley. I shouldn't have said that."

Unbeknownst to all, the so-called scar wasn't real. Kaylee had deliberately attached it to her face because her real face was too eye-catching, which had caused a lot of trouble before. So she simply pretended to be ugly to avoid unnecessary trouble. In truth, her face was not disfigured at all.

But her apologetic attitude made Josie feel a little better. She rolled her eyes and snorted complacently.

When Josie wasn't looking, a trace of mockery appeared in Kaylee's eyes.

Kaylee had agreed to replace Gemma and marry into the Stephens family not because she was under the control of the Hadleys, but because she had her own agenda.

When Kaylee was driven out of the house and almost died on the street all those years ago, it was an elderly street cleaner, Diana Byrd, who found her and took her in. Since then, Kaylee had been treating Diana as her own grandmother. Unfortunately, Diana was poisoned and there was nothing Kaylee could do to cure her. She did, however, find out that the source of the poison might have something to do with the Stephens.

And the other person who had once saved her was a Stephens. She wanted to see him after she married into the Stephens family.

Soon, it was time for the wedding.

The wedding venue was decorated beautifully, setting the stage for the event to come. The bride was already waiting by the altar, but the bridegroom hadn't appeared.

After ten minutes of awkward waiting, the guests started to whisper.

"Did Mr. Stephens ditch the wedding? Maybe it's because he thought Miss Hadley is too ugly!"

"Oh, my God! If I were in Miss Hadley's shoes, I would die from humiliation!"

Standing calmly by the altar, Kaylee turned a deaf ear to the guests' discussions.

Twenty minutes later, a waiter ran in and shouted in between pants, "Mr. Stephens asked me to tell you that he... He..."

The waiter scratched his head awkwardly, as if he was embarrassed to finish his sentence. "Mr. Stephens said he is with a beautiful woman at the hotel now, so he has no time to get married today."

As soon as he finished speaking, the guests burst into an uproar. They either mocked or sympathized with Kaylee.

Josie felt so humiliated that she shouted angrily, "If it was Gemma who married Elijah today, he wouldn't have left the bride at the altar! He didn't come because Kaylee is too ugly!"

It was no secret that Elijah Stephens was a treacherous playboy. Seeing how he hadn't even shown up to his own wedding, the guests knew that the gossip was true.

The man even had the audacity to ditch his bride and be with another woman on his own wedding day!

Amidst the guests' heated discussions, Kaylee strode towards the waiter and asked politely, "Which hotel is he in?"

The waiter was stunned. "R-right here," he stammered.

Kaylee said calmly, "Which room? Could you please show me the way?"

Kaylee carelessly lifted up her veil, revealing her hideous face with the scar completely. Everyone gasped in shock.

"Oh, my God! I didn't expect her to be so ugly!"

"No wonder Mr. Stephens didn't want to marry her!"

"I'd rather marry a stinky beggar than her!"

But Kaylee didn't seem to hear these harsh words. She simply followed the waiter calmly to the door of the hotel room Elijah was in.

She didn't bang on the door hysterically as everyone expected. On the contrary, she looked perfectly calm.

After looking around, she walked over to the hotel housekeeping cart and reached for a freshly-laundered white bed sheet.

When she returned to the waiter, she asked casually, "Do you have a lighter?"

The waiter had no idea what was going on, but he quickly pulled a lighter out of his pocket and said, "Here."

A smile tugged at Kaylee's pink lips as she reached for the shiny lighter. Her face was no longer expressionless and indifferent, and her eyes were bright.

Despite the scar that dominated her face, she looked inexplicably charming, and her clear eyes were particularly attractive.

Without saying a word, Kaylee lit the white bed sheet and threw the burning fabric to the door of the room. Seeing this, the waiter was shocked.

Thick smoke triggered the smoke detector, which in turn triggered the deafening fire alarm.

As soon as the sprinklers in the room went off, a scream and a hoarse curse came from inside.

A few shuffled footsteps later, the door was opened, revealing a sopping-wet Elijah.

Seeing that he was neatly dressed, Kaylee raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You haven't started with the woman yet? Or are you done already?"

Elijah didn't expect her to ask such a question. He looked down at his wet shirt and said, "Just finished."

As soon as he said this, he saw that there was pity in Kaylee's eyes.

"Oh, okay. That... was quick." Kaylee looked him up and down with a small smile.

The waiter had to stifle his laughter.

Frowning, Elijah shot the waiter a cold glance. The waiter immediately fell silent and dared not move.

Suppressing his unhappiness, Elijah ran his fingers through his wet hair. "You're the one who set the fire?"

As if she failed to notice the fiery anger in his eyes, Kaylee looked at him calmly and nodded.

"Yes. Please go to the banquet hall on the third floor and marry me first."

Her tone was extremely indifferent, as if she was talking about the weather today.

Elijah's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He didn't expect that his bride would react like this. Wasn't she mad that he had sex with another woman on their wedding day?

"What if I say no?" he asked with a smile, staring at her scarred face.

It had to be said that Elijah was quite good-looking.

He had chiseled features, and his wet hair added to his charm. His handsome face must've made countless women swoon.

Kaylee's expression darkened. She grabbed his arm and said, "We have to get married today."

Then she turned to the waiter with a smile and said sweetly, "My husband will pay for the bed sheet. Thank you."

Her smile would've been lovely, but the terrible scar on her face made her look scary.

Kaylee wasn't the kind of person who would let people walk all over her. Even if she couldn't take revenge on them right away, she would definitely find a way to make them suffer. Since Elijah stood her up at the altar, she was determined to embarrass him.

Kaylee's voice was very pleasant to hear. At the mention of the word "husband", Elijah was a little stunned and ridiculously, even a little turned on.

But... No matter how pleasant her voice was, just looking at her face was enough to turn him off completely.

Elijah wanted to shake off her hand, but before he could do so, he vaguely caught a glimpse of a small, scarlet birthmark on her back.

Could it be? It seemed very similar to the rose-shaped birthmark on that girl's back...

Elijah froze. He narrowed his eyes and wanted to take a closer look, but then Kaylee adjusted the veil to cover her back.

She held his arm and strode forward firmly, while he followed closely behind like an obedient puppet.

Finally, Kaylee turned to him and said, "Thank you for cooperating, Mr. Stephens."

Kaylee's pleasant voice brought Elijah back to his senses. He found that they had already made it to the banquet hall, and he wasn't as frivolous as usual. On the contrary, his face was unusually serious.

He couldn't help but start to ask, "You..."

But before he could get another word out, he was interrupted by Kaylee. "Let's get this wedding over with as soon as possible. Then you can go back to do whatever you want."