Love in Silence

The bell rang, and a flock of white doves flew from the church, spreading their majestic wings against the blue sky.

"Now, please welcome the bride!"

The melody of Wedding March filtered through the air, and the large doors of the hall swung open slowly.

Dressed in a lovely white wedding dress, Ariana Edwards composedly entered the church with a bouquet of fresh flowers in her hands. Her clear eyes were filled with expectation and unease.

But when she looked around the inside of the church, the hope and expectation in her eyes suddenly diminished.

Not only was there not a single guest at the scene, but the groom himself was absent.

Other than the priest who was standing on the stage with the Bible in his hands, only her stepmother, Glenda Edwards, was standing nearby and gazing at her with a smile.

"What happened?" Ariana froze in her tracks. She looked at Glenda with apprehension mounting in her heart.

Glenda ignored Ariana's question and walked to Ariana's side as if nothing was wrong. She took Ariana by the arm and dragged her to the front of the priest.

"Let's begin." Glenda instructed the priest to carry out the wedding process.

The priest nodded and began to read Bible. Then he asked the bride, "Miss Ariana Edwards, do you take the groom, Theodore Anderson, as your husband and vow to stay by his side, in sickness, and in health, till death do you part..."

When she heard the priest state the groom's name, Ariana thought she was experiencing an auditory hallucination.

Her groom-to-be should be Jasper Anderson, the second son of the Andersons.

Theodore was Jasper's elder brother. Three months ago, he was involved in a terrible car accident that rendered him a vegetable. Now he was still lying on the bed!

"You've made a mistake! My boyfriend is Jasper Anderson, and the groom-to-be should be him! How could it be Theodore?" Ariana stumbled back in a panic, stepping on the long hem of her wedding dress behind her. The material pulled, and she staggered and almost fell.

Glenda's sharp eyes glared at her stepdaughter, and she sneered, "There is no mistake. You and Theodore were meant to be the bride and groom of this wedding from the very beginning. Theodore has become a vegetable and only has a few days left to live. An IUI procedure must be implemented using his preserved sperm so that he can have a child before he dies. You are the chosen container for that embryo."

"This is ridiculous! Where's Jasper? He won't allow you to do this!" Ariana demanded, her eyes red. She couldn't accept any of it.

Glenda didn't answer Ariana. Instead, she raised her hand impatiently. The bodyguards lurking in the shadows rushed over immediately, grabbing Ariana and trying to get her to finish the wedding by force.

Ariana tried her best to struggle, flailing and twisting. Her intricate wedding attire untangled as her hair scattered and her dress tore and dirtied. She was like a fierce desperado, trying every way she could to fight her way out.

She hit the bodyguards with her high heels and managed to free herself from their grasp. Then she ran toward the door of the hall as fast as her legs could carry her, desperately trying to escape her pursuers.

The church was a vast building. Ariana gasped for air as she ran without a destination.

The bodyguards were still chasing after her. She could hear their heavy footsteps close behind, but she didn't dare to stop to look. Ariana fled into a white villa beside the church in panic.

She looked for a place to hide, trying to stay quiet and calm her heavy breathing.

When she went upstairs and passed the first room on the corridor, Ariana suddenly stopped.

The door was slightly ajar, and a familiar giggle came from the crack of the door.

Ariana's heart sank in dread. Lifting her dress and holding her breath, she approached the door quietly and peered through the crack into the room.

A man and a woman, both half-naked, were embracing each other on the sofa in an intimate posture. Ariana instantly recognized who they were, and her breath hitched in her throat. The woman on the top of the man was Ariana's stepsister, Brielle Edwards. But the man underneath her was Ariana's current boyfriend, Jasper, whom Ariana had expected to marry and had been desperately looking for.

"Why are you so distracted? Are you still thinking about Ariana at this point?" Brielle complained, grabbing Jasper's collar and making him look up at her.

"I've just tricked her into marrying another man. Why would I still think about her? I'm just afraid that something might go wrong. I won't be sure unless I go there in person," Jasper answered impatiently. He gently pushed Brielle and made a move to stand up.

But Brielle didn't take it seriously. She held firm and lowered her head, kissing Jasper passionately. She pulled away for a breath and said, "My mother's there. Ariana can't run away."

"You're right." Jasper relaxed his body and lay back on the sofa. He smirked, slipped his hand under Brielle's clothes, and said, "Ariana is such a gullible woman. Once the wedding's over, I'll make up another lie to comfort her and let her ruin the operation. Then, after Theodore dies, I'll be the only remaining heir of the Anderson family."

As Jasper's hand moved, Brielle groaned coquettishly. She trembled with pleasure and fell into his arms weakly. She chuckled. "Ariana loves you so much. She's been looking forward to the wedding for months. But it turns out to be a fraud planned by the person she loves. You're such a bad boy."

"Don't you like me bad?" Jasper turned over and pressed Brielle onto the sofa, kissing her eagerly.

The next second, their voices trailed off and were replaced with pleasurable whimpers and moans.

Ariana staggered away from the door, her legs shaky and weak.

It turned out that everything had been a schemed ruse from the very beginning!

All the sweet words and promises Jasper had told her were to use her and cheat her! He even personally planned this wedding and tricked her into marrying someone else!

A painful lump formed in her throat, and hot tears fell from her eyes. The cruel truth made Ariana feel as though it were crushing her chest.

Her pale fingers clenched her dress tightly, the moans from the room still audible in her ears. The sound was like a stab in her heart, and she gnashed her teeth with hatred.

The suffocating feeling and heartache were so overwhelming that she nearly collapsed. She knew she had to get away from here. As if she were in a trance, she walked through the villa. She even forgot how she left that place which made her sick.

Her eyes were red, and her face was tear-stained as she walked to the garden dejectedly. The bodyguards found her and soon surrounded her, preventing her from escaping again.

Not that she had the heart to flee again. Ariana was like a walking body without a soul. The misery had been so intense that she now felt numb. She lowered her head and laughed bitterly at herself. After a moment, she suddenly looked up at the bodyguards with cold, hard eyes and snapped, "You don't have to take me back. I'll go back myself and marry Theodore."

She knew she couldn't escape, but now she didn't want to.

At this moment, the hatred in her heart broke out.

She wanted revenge. She wanted to compete with Jasper for the Anderson family's property, and she wanted to see them all go to hell with her own eyes!

As evening fell, the Anderson family's mansion lit up dazzlingly.

As soon as the wedding ceremony ended, Ariana was sent to the mansion and then escorted by the housekeeper to Theodore's room.

This was the first time Ariana was seeing her husband.

When she and Jasper were together, the only impression she got of Theodore was the continuous curses and complaints Jasper made behind his back.

According to Jasper, Theodore had a nasty temper and an unlikeable character, topped off by a ruthless personality. He held the same sentiment regardless of who he directed it to, even his own family. Jasper used all the horrible words he could think of to describe Theodore, including the appearance of ugliness.

Ariana believed his words, which was why she braced herself to come face-to-face with a horrendous husband.

When she entered his room, the last thing she expected was that the man in front of her was the complete opposite of what she had imagined-he was extremely handsome. Despite being gaunt and slumbering in a coma, his inherent noble temperament was still apparent and strong.

She stood beside his bed in a daze, her eyes trailing over Theodore's angular and exquisite features. When she returned to her thoughts, she fell into doubt.

So Jasper was spouting bullshit the whole time?

Suddenly, the door burst open behind her, banging loudly. Drunk, Jasper swaggered in with a bottle of wine in his hand and a smirk on his face. He was wearing a light shirt and a tie hanging loosely around his neck, his hair tousled. He reeked of alcohol.

"I'm so sorry, Ariana. We were both cheated. I had no idea your stepmother made a deal with my father. They changed the groom at the wedding without us knowing. It was too late by the time I found out. My father locked me up. I couldn't do anything." Jasper dramatically placed his hand over his face as if he were in anguish, his eyes wet and bloodshot.

If Ariana hadn't happened upon him and Brielle in the middle of a tryst that afternoon, she might have naively believed everything that came out of Jasper's mouth again.

Ariana watched Jasper in silence. She didn't want to speak just yet, lest her fuming hatred was exposed through her voice.

"Ariana, please, say something, even if it is to blame me. At this point, we can't turn against each other. We can only find a way to make it right." Jasper wiped his face wearily, but soon the feigned emotion in his eyes disappeared. Clearly, he was getting impatient with putting up the act.

Now was not the right time to begin her revenge, so Ariana had to endure her revulsion and forced herself to cooperate with Jasper. "It's okay. I didn't even blame you for a second. There was nothing you could do."

"I knew you would trust me." Jasper gazed at her fondly. He put down the wine bottle in his hand and beamed at Ariana brightly. "Fortunately, my brother is still in a coma, so the wedding isn't substantiated. As long as you ruin the operation tomorrow and ensure Theodore has no descendants, then I'll be the only heir of the Anderson family. Then, I'll have all power at my disposal and no one will be able to stop me from marrying you!"

Ariana's hands, hidden behind her back, clenched tightly into fists. She almost couldn't bear it. But if Jasper suspected that something was wrong with her now, he might think of other ways to ruin the operation tomorrow. If that happened, her chance to trick him and compete with him for the Anderson family's property would be ruined.

"Okay, I'll try my best to ruin the operation tomorrow." Ariana agreed, faking a sweet smile back. Pretending to be still infatuated with him, she widened her eyes innocently and whispered, "Jasper, I love you so much. How can I have a baby with another man? I'll wait for you to marry me."

Jasper seemed delighted to hear that. He stepped closer and spread out his arms to hug Ariana.

Ariana's stomach turned. It was already too much pretending to like him, so she couldn't help but refuse, "It's late. You'd better leave now. After all, this is your brother's room."

But her words didn't work. Jasper's bleary eyes roamed over Ariana's curvaceous body, taking her in from head to toe, and he suddenly had an obscene thought.

In the past three years of dating, Ariana had never once agreed to sleep with him. If he could sleep with his brother's newly married wife right in front of his brother's bed today...

Jasper grew excited at the thought of it, so he turned around and locked the door, flipping the room light off. Then he turned back around to face Ariana with hungry eyes and began to approach her step by step.

Ariana felt fear clench in her chest and she stepped back cautiously. "Jasper, what are you trying to do?"

"Ariana, tonight is your wedding night. Don't waste it. We can't be a legal couple yet, but we can still be a loving couple in secret."

With a depraved grin on his face, Jasper abruptly pounced on Ariana, the potent stench of alcohol all over his body. The smell made the hairs on the back of her neck raise, and she continued to step back, trying to keep her distance.

This bastard didn't take Theodore seriously at all. How dare he try to covet his sister-in-law in front of his elder brother!

Trembling in outrage, Ariana shoved Jasper away from her as hard as she could and hissed, "Don't! You'll attract others."

"Don't worry. No one will come to the living dead's room." Jasper was overtaken by desire and could care less about being caught. He grabbed Ariana's shoulder to prevent her from moving and was about to forcibly kiss her.

Ariana couldn't stand it anymore. She grabbed something in hand and raised it in the air, prepared to physically fight Jasper out of desperation. But, suddenly, Jasper froze and his face changed dramatically.

She raised her head in bewilderment and realized that Jasper was staring, wide-eyed, at something behind her, looking so terrified it was as if he had seen a ghost.

"Th-Theodore..."

Jasper immediately took to his heels.

Ariana was confused. What was wrong with him? Did Theodore wake up?

She quickly turned around, but she didn't notice anything odd. Theodore was still lying on the bed, and his breath was as steady and quiet as before.

The only difference was that one of his hands was out of the quilt.

Ariana tilted her head and studied the hand for a while. It looked limp, so she felt that it probably fell out when she bumped into the bedframe while trying to dodge Jasper.

"Theodore?" Ariana called tentatively.

There was no response.

She leaned forward and called out more firmly, "Hey, Theodore!"

Still, she got no response.

Ariana swallowed hard and slowly walked to the bedside. She carefully took hold of his hand and put it back under the quilt. Theodore still didn't move a muscle during the process. This eased her mind greatly. It turned out he was still in a deep coma.

Perhaps Jasper had hallucinated in his drunken state.

Ariana patted her chest as she breathed a sigh of relief.

The room returned to its usual quietness again. Ariana's heart was still beating fast. For some unknown reason, she feared that Theodore would suddenly open his eyes. She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at him closely. A while later, she dozed off due to tiredness.

The next day, Ariana woke up to find herself lying on the edge of the bed. She quickly turned her head to look at Theodore. To her relief, he didn't seem to have moved an inch the whole night. Ariana felt the weight of uncertainty drop off her shoulders now.

She finally ruled out the possibility that Jasper had really seen Theodore move last night. It appeared the drunk man was only hallucinating.

Ariana went to the bathroom to wash up. While she was brushing her teeth, her eyes fell on a red mark on her neck. It wasn't there before. It looked like someone had pinched her there recently.

When Ariana remembered the struggle with Jasper last night, she reasoned that the red mark was his doing.

Disgust surged inside her at the thought of that betrayer.

Ariana set down her toothbrush and went back into the bedroom. She put on a turtleneck top to cover the mark.

When she was all dressed up, she went downstairs.

She had just gotten to the bottom stair when Jasper appeared out of nowhere and pulled her into a cubicle nearby.

"Did Theodore wake up last night?" he whispered into her ear, fearing that someone would hear them.

Ariana felt sick to her stomach at the sight of Jasper. She took two steps back and replied expressionlessly, "No, he didn't."

"That's good to know. I had too much to drink last night. My eyes tricked me. For a second, I thought Theodore opened his eyes and stared daggers at me. Thank goodness it was just an illusion." Jasper took a deep breath, feeling relieved. He flashed his usual sunny smile.

This smile used to send excitement through Ariana's body in the past. But now, she hated it. She lowered her eyes so he wouldn't see the resentment in her eyes.

Oblivious to the real reason, Jasper felt that she was unhappy because of what happened last night. He apologized softly. "I'm sorry about what happened, Aria. The wine intoxicated me. I didn't mean to be rough with you."

Ariana forced a smile. "Okay, it's fine."

She then made up an excuse so she could leave the cubicle immediately.

When she got to the dining room, she saw that Darian was already seated at the table. He was a stern man who rarely smiled. After Ariana greeted him, he only nodded slightly. He exuded a cold and uncaring aura.

On the other hand, Sharon, Theodore's stepmother, was enthusiastic. She was Jasper's biological mother, so she probably knew about his plan. It was the only logical explanation for her excessive warmth and friendliness.

Ariana felt uncomfortable throughout breakfast.

Once they were done eating, Darian took her to the private hospital owned by the Anderson family.

Jasper came along. When Ariana was being ushered into the operating room, he gave her a knowing look.

Ariana took the hint.

She smiled to assure him that she hadn't forgotten the plan. But the moment she turned around, her smile vanished. She walked into the operating room with a cold face.

Fear slowly crept into her heart at this time. But when she remembered how Jasper was making love to her stepsister and how he had killed her father, she gritted her teeth and balled her fists. She was hell-bent on getting revenge and taking back what rightfully belonged to her.

The insemination took about an hour. Ariana, whose face was pale, was wheeled out in a wheelchair. The doctor took off his mask and said to Darian, "Everything went well, Mr. Anderson. Now, we have to wait for about a month to confirm if it is successful."

Jasper's face darkened as soon as he heard this.

In contrast, Darian's usually cold face lit up with a smile. Even a blind man could see that he was pleased with the news. He looked at Ariana with an expression of satisfaction. Afterward, he ordered one of his drivers to drive her and Jasper back home.

On the way, Jasper's face was red with anger. Several green veins became visible on his forehead and temples, but he didn't utter a word.

Ariana didn't bother speaking to him. She looked out of the window, lost in thought.

Once they got out of the car, Jasper flipped out. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the garden to give her a piece of his mind.

"What the hell, Ariana! I thought we agreed that you would ruin the operation. Why didn't you do so?" Jasper growled.

As far as Ariana was concerned, she didn't owe this backstabber an explanation. He disgusted her. She shook off his hand and said coldly, "Mind the way you speak to me, Jasper. I'm your sister-in-law now!"

Jasper held his head and let out an angry laugh. He kicked the tree nearby. "What did you just say? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Ariana's heart skipped a beat when she saw his bloodshot eyes. She spun on her heels, but Jasper pulled her back.

"Did I tell you to leave? Don't even dare walk out on me, Ariana! I'm not done speaking to you!" Sparks of fury burned in Jasper's eyes.

Ariana was both scared and annoyed. She tried to break free while glaring at him. "Let go of me!"

"Bitch!" Jasper grabbed her with both hands and leaned over. "This wasn't what we agreed on. Are you trying to pull a fast one on me now that you are married to Theodore? Just so you know, you can't get rid of me. There's no telling that you would get pregnant. Even if you do, Theodore won't be able to protect you and that little bastard."

"Bah! How are you so sure about that? Theodore is still alive, isn't he?" Ariana sneered. "No matter what happens, I'm still your sister-in-law. You better come to terms with it now!"

This comment drove Jasper nuts. He raised his hand to slap her.

But before that could happen, a servant rushed out of the house and shouted, "Ma'am! Mr. Theodore Anderson just woke up. He wants to see you!"