A birthday party took place at an extremely extravagant mansion. It was for the honor of Xia Yixuan’s birthday—the second daughter of the Xia Family. She was dressed in a beautiful gown fit for a princess, and her lovely face beamed out a bright smile as she basked in all the well-wishes she received.

Not far away, a little girl stood and watched. Her view was that of a beautiful, gentle mother standing next to a well-composed, mature father. A young, adorable daughter was in between them, too. Together, they looked as if they were a still picture of a perfect family painted with warmth and happiness.

The little girl curled her lips to a pout. With hands tightly clasped together, she asked her mother in question, “Mum, have you forgotten? Today is my birthday, too.” Xinxin sniffled and walked away. Before tears could even roll down her cheeks, she reached up and wiped it away.

It had been a long time since she last had a birthday celebration.

She hugged her old, worn out doll against her chest as she stood outside. Her father gave her that dol —but then again, he was not her real father. It had been ages ago since she last saw her real father; she could no longer even recall how he looked like. She could only remember him as someone handsome and full of life.

It’s not that her father did not want her anymore, but people said that he died and won’t be coming back. After that, she suddenly had a new father and a new sister.And her mother no longer loved her. Mummy only had eyes for her sister.

“Who let you in?” said a muffled voice. She turned around and hugged her worn out doll even tighter.

From the shadows, a boy wearing a black tuxedo stepped out. He was the same height as her. With lips pursed together, he hinted a slight aloofness in him. He was definitely young, but he exuded an air of arrogance far greater for his age.

“Why are you crying?” the boy—all of a sudden—walked closer to her, placing his hands on her cheeks. It felt cold.

She could only blink her eyes. “Today is also my birthday.” She pouted and suddenly felt wronged as bad memories sank in again.

She suddenly felt something hanging around her neck. She lowered her head and saw that it was a beautiful jade amulet. “This is for you,” the boy said as he placed his hand back on her face again.

“Little brother...” Her soft voice sounded exceptionally pleased.

With the corners of his lips curled up, the boy said, “I will come back. Remember, you only belong to me.” Even though he was still young, his words were already domineering.

Xinxin vehemently nodded her head, and a smile finally appeared on her tear-streaked face.

It was a pact they made when they were young. He never forgot about it and neither did she.

But it was still a mistake.

—-

Rows and rows of white roses decorated the hotel and guests gathered together on the sides. The Chu and Xia families, two of the biggest leading enterprises in the country, would soon join their families together in marriage at that hotel. However, no one was really optimistic about the wedding.

If one was to look closer, only the parents of the bride and groom were present. Mr. and Mrs. Chu had been forcing themselves to smile, while Mr. and Mrs. Xia maintained a passive look. There seemed to be some invisible hostility among them.

In the main hall, all the decorations were in white. It looked far from a wedding, and instead, it felt more like a funeral was taking place—white roses, see-through crystal glasses, and a white crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

It might have been a sign to give the newlyweds some well-wishes, yet it would baffle anyone at the lack of joy for such a festive occasion.

A lady was reapplying her makeup in the powder room. She had a satisfied smile on her face.

Out of curiosity, the woman next to her asked, “Don’t you find it strange that Chu Lui is marrying Xia Yixuan’s elder sister? It’s only been three months since she passed away. He was so in love with her.”

“Ha—” The lady finished reapplying her makeup and gave a short burst of laughter. “That’s the nature of men. They marry the elder sister if the younger one passes away. His motives may not be pure, too.”

The woman inquired again, “But don’t you think that he may have fallen for Xia Ruoxin as well?”

“Do you seriously think that a cold-blooded man like Chu Lui would fall in love with another woman?” This answer seemed to render the other woman silent this time.

After Chu Lui took over the family business three years ago, he dominated the import and export industry with his swift, relentless and ruthless methods.

Aside from having a distinguished background, he also had a well-built body and a charming face. He was the most sought after bachelor that everyone had been vying for. Nevertheless, it was common knowledge that he only had eyes for his betrothed—Xia Yixuan, the beloved daughter of the Xia family.

It was a pity that Xia Yixuan did not have a good fortune. Before she could even marry into the Chu family, she passed away in a car accident. And after her passing, every woman in town thought that they still had a chance with the bachelor. But to their utter disappointment, he ultimately chose to marry the eldest daughter of the Xia family.

After the door to the powder room closed, a pale woman silently entered unnoticed. She was dressed in a white bridal gown. It barely covered her shoulders, and it exposed her protruding collar bone. She should be smiling, but she was bawling her eyes out on her wedding day — a day which she would supposedly marry the one she loves.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror and carefully wiped her tears away, but while doing so her make up started wearing off.

She lifted her gown and walked out of the powder room. The women’s voices echoed in her ears. Their conversation had torn her heart apart.

“Do you seriously think that a cold-blooded man like Chu Lui would fall in love with another woman?”

Will he fall in love?

Will he?

Back in the bridal room, Xia Ruoxin sat quietly without care and let others fix her makeup for her—layer after layer, until the final touch of blush-on masked her pale complexion. Though she would appear to be the perfect bride in front of a crowd, the sorrow-stricken look imbued in her eyes would prove otherwise. She was not exactly a happy bride.

“Ruoxin, are you’re really going to marry him? You understand that he...”

The woman seated beside her tugged at her short hair. Even if she was Xia Ruoxin’s best friend, she could not comprehend what was going through her mind. Was she not even worried that after she marries Chu Lui, it would leave her with skin and bones if she even miraculously emerges out of it?

“I’m sorry to have made you worry about me, Jiang Yao.” Xia Ruoxin flashed a faint smile that could provoke pity from others.

“Jiang Yao, I know he hates me but I have loved him for the past fifteen years.”

It was Xia Ruoxin’s greatest happiness to be able to marry Chu Lui, even if that happiness was built upon hatred.

He hated her because she killed her own sister—the very one that he was so in love with.

The bridal door room opened, and a woman made her way inside. Jiang Yao was about to say something, but she kept her mouth shut as soon as she saw who it was that had entered.

“Jiang Yao, could you give us a moment? I want to talk to my mother alone for a while.” Xia Ruoxin nodded her head at Jiang Yao reassuring her that she would be fine. Jiang Yao hesitated for a while before walking out of the room. She was worried even as she was closing the door.

Will Ruoxin really be fine?

Shen Yijun walked in. As the head of the Xia family, there was an air of upper-class aristocracy about her. She looked at Xia Ruoxin in her bridal gown from the mirror. The corner of her lips curled into an icy smile.

“Mom—” Xia Ruoxin called out softly.

“Do not call me ‘mom’ . I don’t have a vicious daughter like you,” spoke Shen Yijun, interrupting Xia Rouxin before she could speak further. How could she even have the guts to still call her mother? Yijun regretted having conceived a daughter like her. If she had only known, she would have strangled her to death when she was still a baby.

Ruoxin wanted to explain. But no matter how many times she does, no one believed her. Still, she continued to plead, “Mom, it’s not what you think. I am not the cause of Yixuan’s death. I really didn’t—”

Xia Ruoxin remained silent.

Yes, she had loved Chu Lui for fifteen years. Was that wrong?

Shen Yijun shot her a deadly glare as if she was the enemy. She placed her hand back to her side, while Ruoxin simply covered her swollen cheek with her hand. Streams of tears streaked down her cheeks again.

This was her mother. The one who gave birth to her—her biological mother.

“Mom...” Xia Ruoxin called again.

“Enough! I am not your mother. I only had one daughter, and she died because of you.”

Shen Yijun finished talking and took her expensive purse when she walked out. She could never forgive her daughter.

But before she could exit the door, she heard Xia Ruoxin say in anguish and heartbreak, “Mom, you never even treated me like I was your daughter. You only ever had your eyes on Xia Yixuan.”

Shen Yijun stopped dead in her tracks. It suddenly hit her with an unforeseen sense of utter disgrace. She seemed to have truly forgotten that Xia Ruoxin was her biological daughter, the one that she had carried to term in her own stomach. The one she was related to by blood.

She opened the door in embarrassment and staggered out.

Jiang Yao went inside the room again. She rested her hand on Xia Ruoxin’s shoulder. “Ruoxin, a—are you alright?”

Xia Ruoxin picked up the powder puff and started patting her face. Her makeup had worn off... again. But no matter how much powder she applied, she could not hide the fact that she wasn’t beautiful. She was the ugly duckling of the family.

“Ruoxin, you don’t have to go through with the wedding, okay?” Jiang Yao pulled at Xia Ruoxin’s hand. “Ruoxin, it’s not too late to turn back now. You can leave him and go far away. There will be no Chu family, no Xia family, and no Chu Lui. Without this wretched love restricting your life, you can be yourself.”

Xia Ruoxin only shook her head. “I can’t...” She looked at her hand. Her ring finger was bare, but soon there would be a ring occupying that empty space.

“Jiang Yao, you know what?” she lifted her head and looked at her best friend in the eye. She lifted the ends of her lips into a foolish smile. “I want to gamble with everything I have. Just this one time. If I leave now, I won’t ever get to have a second chance. Even if that chance was never meant to be mine. Nevertheless, I still want to take it.”

“Even if it meant destroying yourself and losing everything you have?” Jiang Yao’s voice rang chills in the air. She could not understand why a foolish woman such as her best friend would exist on earth—one that would knowingly choose to face a future of pain and suffering? She was better off dead!

How could she be so foolish to venture ahead knowing what was coming?

A palm landed on Ruoxin’s cheek with a resounding smack.

And though she knew it would leave a red mark, it was the least of her worries.

“You dare say you didn’t mean it? That you are not in love with Chu Lui? That you are not jealous of Yixuan even in the slightest bit? That you don’t want to marry him?”