The Forsaken Bride

Hot, so hot... Elena Vance restlessly unbuttoned her collar and opened her eyes. Immediately, the overwhelming presence of a strange man assaulted her senses as he kissed her! In the darkness, Elena panicked. How could there be a man in her bed? Was her cousin, Daphne Vance, really planning to ruin her?

​The man's strength was immense. Lately, Elena had been forced to give blood every three days to treat her sister's illness. Already weakened, she was no match for him.

​"Let me go... who are you? Let go!" Elena struggled desperately. The man pinned her arms down, stopping her from pushing him away. They were so close she could feel his heavy breath and racing heartbeat. His kisses trailed from her lips down to her collarbone. Weak and helpless, her voice cracked with tears. "Please... don't touch me..."

​His breath was domineering, and his hoarse voice commanded, "Kiss me."

​"You jerk, let me go!" Elena cried out, but the man took her into the depths of despair.

​The Morning After

​When she woke, it was almost dawn. Elena looked at the man beside her his back turned and cried her heart out. Her cousin, Daphne Vance, was truly heartless! To please her own sister, Daphne had forbidden Elena from seeing her sweetheart, Jackson Reed, and arranged for a stranger to ruin her purity. Now, Elena felt she could never face Jackson again.

​However, this was an opportunity to escape. She refused to be a permanent prisoner, supplying bone marrow and blood to her sister. Elena scrambled into her clothes, intending to sneak away. In her haste, she didn't notice a jade pendant bracelet slip from her wrist onto the carpet. Before vanishing, she caught one glimpse of the man in the dim light: a prominent lion tattoo across his broad back.

​The Swap

​In a nearby alley, Elena was intercepted by Daphne Vance. "Trying to run? Not so easy!" Several burly men grabbed Elena, muzzling her and dragging her toward a van.

​Daphne then hurried back to the hotel room to retrieve the hidden camera footage, intending to use the video of the "sleazy old man" to destroy Elena's reputation. But when she watched the screen, she gasped. The man in the video wasn't the drunk she had hired.

​"It's... it's Cillian Thorne! His legs..." Daphne smashed the device in a jealous rage. She couldn't believe Elena's luck. But then, a vicious plan formed. She called the driver in the van: "Release Elena. Let her run!"

​"What?" the driver stammered.

"I said let her go! Did you not hear me?" Daphne's voice was icy. Only if Elena disappeared could Daphne step into her place.

​The Emperor's Search

​In the suite, Cillian Thorne woke with murderous intent. The woman from last night was gone. He called his assistant, Philip Woods. "Investigate the woman from last night. Find her and kill her without mercy."

​Cillian had been set up and drugged, stumbling into this room in desperation. He assumed the girl was part of the trap. But as he stood up to shower, he stepped on something: the jade charm bracelet.

​His heart stopped. This was the token he had given a little girl who saved his life years ago. Could it be her? He pulled back the sheet, seeing the maiden's mark left behind. His cold heart softened.

​He immediately called Philip back.

"Change of plans. Find the woman. Check if she has a ghost orchid birthmark on her shoulder. If she does, bring her to me... and prepare the wedding. I'm going to marry her."

​One Month Later

​Elena Vance emerged from a small clinic, clutching a positive pregnancy test. She was overwhelmed by despair. She was pregnant, and the doctor warned that her weakened state made an abortion life-threatening.

​She had been hiding in the slums of North City, scavenging to survive, away from the Vance family's reach. But as she stood on the sidewalk, a black limousine pulled up.

​"Are you Elena Vance?" a man in a suit asked.

"No... you have the wrong person," she whispered, backing away.

​The man ignored her, reporting to the figure in the car: "Young Master Seven, she has been found."

The window rolled down, revealing Cillian Thorne's stern profile. "Take her away."

​Elena was forced into the car, blindfolded. In the struggle, her pregnancy test fell to the pavement. Philip Woods picked it up, his brow furrowing as he read the result.

​When the blindfold was finally removed, Elena found herself in a room decorated in wedding crimson. Before her sat Cillian Thorne in his wheelchair, radiating an intense, suffocating pressure.

​His first words struck her like lightning:

"Surgery or a medical abortion which do you prefer?"

​"No! I can't! I won't have an abortion!" Elena Vance reflexively refused, the doctor's warning echoing in her mind: an abortion in her weakened state would leave her permanently infertile.

​As soon as the words left her mouth, a heavy ceramic teacup flew across the room, striking Elena's forehead. The skin split instantly. Blood mixed with scalding tea, trailing down her pale cheek in a gruesome streak. Already frail from years of forced blood draws, the impact sent her collapsing onto the carpet.

​"...Cillian Thorne? Why did you bring me here? What does my pregnancy have to do with you?" Elena's voice was hoarse with desperation. She remembered her cousin mentioning that Cillian was the "Emperor of the Capital" and was set to marry into the Vance family. But because Cillian was wheelchair-bound and her sister was already involved with Jackson Reed, the family had been in an uproar.

​Cillian stared at her, his gaze like a predatory animal. "Mrs. Thorne, you've been running from our wedding for a month. It was quite a challenge to track you down."

​"And yet, you've spent that month carrying a bastard in your belly," he added, his voice devoid of any warmth. He flicked the medical report at her face. The sharp paper edges left red marks on her skin, joining the blood from her forehead.

​A terrifying realization washed over Elena. The Vance family, unwilling to sacrifice their favored daughter to a "disabled" man, must have used Elena as a substitute. Cillian believed she had fled the wedding because she was already pregnant by another man.

​The Devil's Mercy

​"Don't you have anything to say?" Cillian asked coldly. "Or do you want to head straight to the operating table?"

​Elena bit her lip until it bled. She was trapped. Cillian suddenly barked, "Come here!"

​Terrified, Elena approached him. Despite being in a wheelchair, Cillian's presence felt like a mountain looming over her. Suddenly, he reached out and jerked her into his lap. The faint, sweet scent of her skin stirred a flicker of familiarity in him-it was so similar to the woman from that night. But he dismissed it instantly. That girl had been innocent; Elena, according to the rumors, was a "vulgar social climber."

​He gripped her chin so hard she could barely breathe. "If you get rid of the child, maybe I'll keep you around as a pet," he whispered cruelly.

​"I won't do it... I can't," Elena sobbed. "The surgery will kill me!"

​Cillian scoffed, "You don't have much longer to live anyway." He turned toward the door. "Philip Woods! Prepare the OB-GYN unit. I want the procedure done immediately."

​The Operating Room

​Elena was dragged from the room and forced into a black car. At the hospital, she was surrounded by bodyguards and shoved onto a cold, metallic operating table. The sterile smell and the bright lights triggered her deepest traumas the years she spent being bled dry for her sister.

​Under Cillian's orders, her hands and feet were bound. A cloth was stuffed into her mouth to silence her screams. She could only watch through a blur of tears as Cillian wheeled himself into the corner of the room to watch the procedure personally. He was a monster, far more ruthless than any Vance she had ever known.

​"Prepare for the ultrasound and the anesthesia," the doctor commanded. "Followed by a full curettage."

​Elena shook her head frantically, her eyes pleading with Cillian for mercy. He remained a statue of ice. As the anesthesiologist approached with a long needle, Elena let out a muffled scream. She knew that if she went under, with her current health, she might never wake up again.

​The needle pierced her skin, and the world began to tilt into darkness.

"Wait, don't administer the anesthesia yet!" The ultrasound technician suddenly spoke, her expression grave. Every head in the operating room turned. "There seems to be something in her uterus."

​The head surgeon and the anesthesiologist exchanged a tense look. The syringe was immediately withdrawn. After checking the monitor, the surgeon confirmed, "There is indeed a small shadow!"

​Elena Vance was in tears, her heart racing with a mix of terror and a sliver of hope. She nodded frantically, her eyes pleading. Because of the years spent as a human blood bank for her sister, her body was fragile and irregular. If they cut into her now, she knew she wouldn't survive the table.

​The head surgeon walked over to Cillian Thorne. "Mr. Thorne, there is an unknown shadow in this young lady's uterus. If we force the surgery, it will involve other blood vessels. It would be extremely dangerous."

​"So?" Cillian asked, his fingers tapping slowly on the armrest of his wheelchair. The sound was rhythmic and intimidating. "If we do the surgery, will she die?"

​The surgeon hesitated, then nodded. "Yes."

​Cillian's powerful aura turned glacial. He glanced at the trembling Elena with utter indifference. "Continue the surgery. If she can't make it through, she can only blame her bad luck."

​Elena shivered. His voice was a death sentence. The rumors were true: Cillian Thorne was a demon who viewed human life as a mere statistic. She was being sacrificed for a sister who didn't love her, to a man who wanted her dead.

​"Mr. Thorne, are you sure?" the surgeon asked, his voice shaking. "What if someone dies..."

​"Our family can afford the life of one woman," Cillian replied. "Daring to marry into the Thorne family while carrying a bastard child? She should have been prepared for the consequences."

​The Reprieve

​Knock, knock, knock!

​The door flew open. Philip Woods shouted from the hallway, "Young Master Cillian, Madam is here! She is right outside and demands to see you."

​Cillian frowned. Why was his mother here? He gestured to the doctors. "Hold the surgery for a moment."

​Outside in the hallway, his mother's face was stern. "Cillian, Elena Vance cannot die yet. Don't be impulsive."

​"She's pregnant with a bastard, Mother. Are you aware of that?"

​"Even so, we need her alive," she hissed. "The Vance family gave us the item, but we can't unlock it without them. That chip has a password, and Jason Vance is holding back. He's afraid you'll take the technology and abandon his daughter."

​She sighed, her eyes cold. "He said that in three months, if you and Elena are 'on good terms,' he will provide the password. Just bear with her for now. Treat her like a toy, a dog the Thorne family can afford to feed one more mouth. Once we have the code, you can kick her out."

​The New Nightmare

​Inside the operating room, Elena was suddenly untied. Instead of being operated on, she was hauled back to the Thorne estate. Servants scrubbed her body, dressed her in revealing, provocative clothes, and applied heavy makeup. Still dazed from the small dose of anesthetic, Elena felt like a doll being prepped for a shelf.

​She was soon stuffed into the back of Cillian's luxury limousine. The space felt cramped under the weight of his presence. He sat with his eyes closed, seemingly napping.

​"Elena Vance, what are you and your father plotting?" Cillian's eyes snapped open, meeting hers with aggressive intensity.

​"W-what?" Elena stammered. As she moved, the sweet fragrance of her skin filled the car. It was that same scent-the one from the night Cillian had been drugged. His irritation flared. How could a "shameless" woman like Elena have the same scent as the innocent girl he was looking for?

​He leaned closer, trapping her against the car window. Elena instinctively closed her eyes, her breath hitching. For a second, his aura reminded her of the man from the hotel strong, overwhelming, and possessive.

​If Cillian was the father... she thought, then immediately dismissed it. The man from that night had been athletic and powerful. How could it be Cillian, whose legs were paralyzed?

​Cillian saw her closed eyes and mocked her. "You don't actually think I'm going to kiss you, do you?"

​Elena opened her eyes, blushing with shame. Cillian's tone suddenly turned hauntingly gentle, though his eyes remained like knives.

​"Today is our wedding day, a joyous occasion. As your husband, I feel I should fulfill your wish."

​Elena's heart sank to her stomach. Fulfill her wish? What kind of twisted "celebration" did a demon like Cillian Thorne have in mind?