Chapter 1 Arranged Marriage

Night. Rain poured down in heavy sheets as lightning flashed. Dragging her suitcase behind her, Claire Schmidt wandered aimlessly in the rain. “Claire, Joshua didn’t leave you because he won the lottery, but because you didn’t fulfill your obligations as a wife.” “Claire Schmidt, aren’t you bored of this yet? I’ve wanted a divorce for a long time. Are you against it because you’ve got your eyes set on the family fortune?” Claire did not know if it was rain or tears on her face. Her vision was blurred. A silver Bentley careened toward her at breakneck speed but Claire, who was drowned in her sadness, did not notice. She did not react until the car was nearly in front of her, but her brain was fogged over and she could only stand rooted to the spot and watch dazedly as the car drove straight towards her. Screech! You could estimate the driver’s skills as the silver Bentley swerved sharply and collided into the guardrail because of the speed. Claire’s heart raced as she stood rooted to the spot. The silver Bentley did not move again after crashing into the guardrail. It was late at night, in a quiet area where no cars passed by. Claire stood still for a few seconds before snapping back to her senses. She raised her hand to wipe away her tears vigorously before dropping her suitcases and running over to the silver Bentley. It was pitch black inside the car. Pressing against the car window, Claire could make out the shape of a man leaning against the steering wheel. Claire slammed on the car window. “Sir, sir, are you alright?” He had hit the guardrail because of her. If anything were to happen to him, she would have to take responsibility! Hearing a click, Claire hurriedly opened the car door and leaned in. “Are you alright? Ah…” Her voice was still quivering. Before Claire had finished speaking, the man lying on the steering wheel reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her in. Bang! The car door closed and locked. After a crazy night… The fingertips of the man in the car moved. Mason Yeich’s sharp, dark eyes snapped open as he sat up. The sweet scent of the woman still lingered in the air, but he was the only one present at the scene. Had she escaped? Mason’s gaze darkened and became tinged with something more complex as it fell on the red stain on the seat. How troublesome! Calling his assistant, Simon, Mason spoke in a chilly voice, “Immediately locate my position, and find out who that woman from last night was.” He did not wait for his assistant to respond after he finished before he hung up. * Claire had escaped in the middle of the night. Taking advantage of the heavy rain, she returned to her maiden home in disgrace. “Claire.” Madam Schmidt pushed the door open and gave her a cup of hot chocolate. “Thanks, mom.” “So have you and Joshua ended things completely?” At the mention of Joshua Lane, Claire lowered her eyes and sipped listlessly at her hot chocolate, obviously not wanting to talk about it. “Divorce is fine too. Your father will arrange another marriage for you anyway.” Heart thudding, Claire raised her head. “Mom?” “Even though he has leg problems, you’re the one who has been married before, so don’t be picky.” Claire asked, “Mom, what are you talking about?” Madam Schmidt stood up and looked at her angrily. “The wedding is scheduled to happen in a month. You’ll have to get married even if you don’t want to.” “Joshua and I just got divorced this evening, how did you guys know?” Claire shuddered inwardly. “To be honest, the marriage was supposed to be your sister’s, but since you’re divorced, you can take her place.” Madam Schmidt took a deep breath and looked profoundly at Claire. “He’s got a troubled leg. Claire, the Schmidt family can’t have both daughters be ruined.” Claire felt a dull pain in her heart. Her hands, which were holding onto her hot chocolate, began trembling. Her lips quivered as she said, “Mom, I’m your daughter…” “Evee is your little sister. Can you bear to see her suffer?” “What about me?” “Either way, it’s settled. You must be married to the Yeich family in one month! Your father and I could never live if we knew that both our daughters were ruined.” On the day of the wedding, Claire’s little sister, Yvonne came to visit. “Sis, I’m sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose, but mom…” Claire stared at her, her gaze motionless. “You’re sorry? Then would you be willing to put on this wedding dress and get yourself married?” “Sis, I…” Yvonne curled her hand into a fist and clenched her teeth together before going slack and saying dejectedly, “I have a boyfriend, but you’re divorced…” Claire withdrew her gaze and lowered her eyes. “Yeah, I’m divorced… Take care of mom and dad. They’ve done all they could to get me to agree to this.” Getting married to someone with a troubled leg meant that she would have to take care of him for the rest of her life. If this had always been her destiny, she would have accepted it. Yet, it was supposed to be Yvonne’s. She, Claire Schmidt, had returned to her maiden home to be comforted after being betrayed by her husband. She never thought that what she would receive instead was the news that she would be taking her sister’s place in marrying into the Yeich family. Just because the other party had a troubled leg, her parents did not want Yvonne’s life to be ruined. What about her? Just because she was divorced, meant that she deserved to suffer in her place? It was ridiculous! However, they were her parents who had given birth to her and raised her. She had no choice but to accept. The Yeich family had prepared an elaborate wedding. Because Claire was taking Yvonne’s place to marry into the Yeich family, she had been brainwashed by the Schmidt family beforehand. Although no one knew her, Claire felt guilty, so she kept her head down the entire time in an attempt to prevent others from taking notice of her. Luckily, the groom was in a wheelchair and his mannerisms were so cold, the scene of the wedding nearly froze into icicles. Therefore, everyone’s attention was mostly focused on him. Although the wedding had a large turnout, the proceedings were kept simple. Mason did not make any toasts, and his chilly aura prevented anyone from egging him on. When the wedding was over, Claire was brought to her room. The old servant stood before her and said, “Second Young Madam, although the Second Young Master has a troubled leg, he is still the Second Young Master of the Yeich family. You will have to take good care of him after marrying into the family.” Ever since she got soaked that night and was told by her mother that she would be taking Yvonne’s place to marry into the Yeich family, Claire had come down with a high fever that did not go away for a few days. After that, her illness recurred and she never recovered completely. She had even taken medicine before putting on her wedding gown today. At that moment, her eyelids were so heavy that she could only nod repeatedly at the servant’s words and say, “I know that, could you let me rest first?” She was on the verge of collapsing. The old servant looked at her in disgust and left the room while gossiping about her. The minute she left, Claire paid no heed to the fact that she was wearing a wedding dress and fell asleep immediately. As she slept, she felt that a sharp gaze fell upon her face. How odd.