Chapter 1

"Matt, you're marrying Nat in a few days. What about me?" "Don't worry. I've got everything planned. I paid a fortune for a traditional wedding. All you have to do is put on the veil and marry into the Foster family in Natasha's place. "Once the ceremony has completed, even if my dad favors Natasha as his daughter-in-law, he won't risk the family's reputation to stand up for her." On the phone screen, the surveillance footage showed Matthew Foster and Nicole Bradley tangled up on the bed, half-naked. They were breathing heavily between their conversations. The scene was so obscene that it would make anyone watching blush. "Shameless bastards!" Natasha Bradley's best friend, Liana Gray, gritted her teeth. "Nat, let's storm that hotel together. We'll strip those cheaters and drag them out onto the street for everyone to see!" She shoved the car door open as she spoke. However, Natasha grabbed her arm when she was about to get out. "Liana, I'll go alone." Natasha's tone was ice-cold. She never imagined that the man who once risked his life to save her would one day team up with her half-sister to set her up. "Liana, bring the reporters over once I'm inside!" She was going to ruin this pair personally. Seeing how determined Natasha was, Liana didn't argue further. She patted her chest confidently and said, "Don't worry, Nat. I got this." "Great." Natasha stepped out of the car. The vibrant red of her dress billowed around her as she walked, a stark contrast to the phalanx of black-clad bodyguards behind her. Her presence was commanding. With a loud thud, the bodyguard kicked the hotel door open. The room was a mess. Clothes were scattered everywhere, and rose petals covered the bed and floor. The air was heavy with the scent of sex. On the bed, Matthew scrambled to cover himself and the woman beside him with a blanket. "Natasha? Why are you here?" Natasha smiled coldly, a flicker of pain in her eyes. She'd prepared herself for the worst, but seeing it with her own eyes still made her heart ache. Her gaze shifted to the woman hiding behind Matthew. Her red lips curved into a cold, mocking smile. "My dear sister climbs into my fiancé's bed before our wedding. Do you think I wouldn't show up for a show this dramatic?" Having already been caught, Nicole made no further attempt to conceal herself. She then peered out from behind Matthew's shoulder. Her fair cheeks were flushed from sex, but her tearful eyes were full of grievance. "Nat, Matt and I truly love each other. Please let us be together!" "Truly love each other?" Natasha was disgusted by her words. Matthew had dated her for seven years. He'd always played the perfect gentleman who was kind, considerate, and loving. And now, Nicole suddenly became his true love right before the wedding, "Nicole Bradley! Since we were kids, you've always loved fighting with me over toys, clothes, and jewelry. I let it all go. But I never thought you'd steal my man too! How shameless can you be?" Matthew's expression twisted with anger when he heard Nicole being called out. "Natasha, don't go too far! You're the one who has no fun. You never even let me touch you in all these years…" "So that's why you slept with my sister? You couldn't wait to replace me?" she cut him off, her eyes filled with coldness and disappointment. The perfect gentleman she thought he was turned out to be just another man who couldn't control himself. She had to be blind to fall for someone like him. With things completely exposed, Nicole dropped the act too. She looked at Natasha with a sneer and said sweetly, "Nat, stop clinging to Matt. You lost your mom early, and you're dull. Dad never even liked you. I'm the one who grew up pampered in the Bradley family. Of course I'm the better match for Matt." Nicole's mother was her stepmother. Natasha had lived like an outsider her whole life. Her father only cared about Nicole and her mom. He never treated Natasha well. Outsiders thought she was the well-loved heiress of the Bradley family. However, behind closed doors, she was treated like a stray. Her status in the family was sometimes even lower than that of the housekeepers. That was why Nicole dared to seduce her fiancé so brazenly and taunt her without fear. If Matthew's father, Steven Foster, hadn't liked Natasha and insisted on this marriage, Nicole and Matthew wouldn't even have needed to scheme in secret. They would've openly pushed her aside by now. "Is that so? Then why don't you say all that in front of the reporters?" Natasha's lips curved into a smirk, but it didn't reach her eyes. As soon as she spoke, a crowd of reporters rushed in. Flashbulbs exploded like fireworks, catching every detail in the room. "You…" Who the hell would bring the reporters to catch a cheating couple? Did she really want the whole world to know that she was being cheated? He pulled Nicole close and shouted at Natasha, "Did you really have to go this far?" "Did I go too far? You're the one who betrayed me. You're the one who slept with my sister before our wedding. And now I'm the one going too far?" Tears welled in Natasha's eyes as she stared into the cameras. She played the heartbroken fiancée to perfection. "Matthew, I must've been blind to fall for someone like you. I'm calling off the wedding. We're done!" With that, she turned and walked away without looking back. "Natasha…" Matthew tried to get up and explain. However, the blanket slipped down his chest, nearly exposing both of them in a naked state. Even so, the cameras had been shoved right in his face. Everyone knew about the engagement between the Bradley and the Foster family. The invitations had been sent. Canceling the wedding now would disgrace the Foster family. Outside, the hotel lobby was ablaze with lights and noise. It was full of people. But as Natasha walked through the crowd, a cold emptiness spread through her chest. No matter how calm she looked, she couldn't stop the pain from seeping into every part of her. Seven years of love and trust had just turned out to be a joke. Just then, a tall figure brushed past her. A light scent of cologne mixed with tobacco drifted past her nose. It was clean and restrained, yet oddly familiar. Her head snapped up, her gaze catching the sharp angle of his jaw and the smooth line of his profile. Suddenly, a memory from ten years ago came rushing back. In the pouring rain, she had fallen into the lake by accident. She thrashed and cried out for help, but her strength was quickly fading. Just as she was on the verge of losing consciousness, a strong arm pulled her out of the lake. She vaguely remembered that the man had been wearing a black shirt that had been completely soaked through. Rain dripped from his hair, blurring his features. Back then, she thought Matthew had saved her. That was why she fell for him at first sight when they met again in university. She approached him and gave him her heart. However, why did that man just now feel so familiar? Could it be… Before she could think it through, she took off after him. "Wait!"