On the third anniversary of our engagement, I caught my fiancé Damien Foster tearing off a young influencer's clothes and taking her. After discovering me, he simply tossed over a pink diamond. "Mind your own business. You'll still be Mrs. Foster." Later, he forced me to raise his mistress's child, threatening me with my brother's future. I smiled and swallowed the humiliation. Until the night before the wedding, when my bridal car went off a cliff into the ocean and he received my final message: "May we never meet again, in this life or whatever comes after." Damien didn't know that the "body" sinking to the ocean floor wasn't actually me. He knew even less that three months later, I would marry his sworn enemy. Selena's POV I stood in the entrance hall of the Foster family estate, holding freshly packed hot pasta from an upscale Italian restaurant. Today marked the third anniversary of my engagement to Damien. It was also the seventh consecutive day Damien had been working late. Since it was late at night, the servants had all gone to bed. I tiptoed upstairs, wanting to surprise the man in his study. The study door was slightly ajar, casting an ambiguous strip of yellow light. Just as I was about to push the door open, a coquettish moan came from inside. "Damien, slow down... don't tear it, this is the evening gown Selena just ordered." My feet rooted to the spot. Through that crack, I saw Damien with his back to the door, standing beside a leather executive chair. This billionaire who prided himself on being aloof and untouchable was now gripping a woman's waist, his head buried in her neck. That woman was Violet Shaw, a social media influencer Damien had recently promoted to fame. And the light blue haute couture silk evening gown she wore was the engagement dress I had personally designed half a month ago. "This dress looks perfect on you." Damien's voice was low and magnetic, carrying an urgency and desire I had never heard before. I felt my blood freeze. The takeout box in my hand crashed heavily onto the carpet with a dull thud. Tomato sauce spilled out, pooling like thick, sticky blood. The movements inside the study stopped abruptly. Damien pushed Violet away and turned his head. His eyes flashed with momentary panic before quickly regaining their composure, even showing a trace of displeasure at being interrupted. "Why didn't you knock?" He walked out while straightening his slightly disheveled collar, his tone flat. Violet hid behind him, clutching the torn evening gown, looking like a frightened doe. I looked at him, my lips trembling. "Damien, today is our third anniversary." Damien glanced at his watch, his brow furrowing slightly. "I forgot. Selena, this was just an accident. Violet is new to the industry, she doesn't know anything. I'm just mentoring her." "Mentoring her in bed?" My voice sharpened for an instant, then filled with bitter sorrow. Damien's gaze turned cold. "Selena, don't be so harsh. I've given you the title of fiancée. As for the rest, don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong." He walked past me, heading straight for the elevator with Violet. As they brushed by, Violet turned back and flashed me a victor's smile. That night, I sat on the cold floor, staring at that pool of dried soup. I had always thought Damien was cold. Turns out, he was just cold toward me. The next morning, I woke up frozen on the couch. Damien hadn't come home all night. My phone screen lit up with a message from Violet. A photo. In the photo, Damien was sleeping on white pillows, his profile sharp and handsome, his expression relaxed. It was a side of him I had never seen-the relaxed look of him sleeping. "Selena, Damien is exhausted and still hasn't woken up. I'm afraid today's wedding dress fitting will have to be postponed." I turned off my phone and got up like a puppet on strings to wash up and put on makeup. I couldn't fall apart. My family's company was counting on Damien's investment. At ten o'clock, I stood alone in the bridal boutique in front of a huge floor-to-ceiling mirror. The woman in the mirror wore a pure white wedding dress, breathtakingly beautiful, yet her eyes were lifeless. "Miss Selena, Mr. Foster has commissioned a thousand wedding dresses for you. This is just the first one. Are you satisfied?" the clerk asked carefully. A thousand dresses. The world said Damien loved me to the bone, commissioning enough wedding dresses to fill a mountain. But only I knew that of those thousand dresses, not one had Damien personally accompanied me to choose. "I won't be trying any more," I said flatly. "Send them all back." "But..." Just then, the sound of an engine came from outside. Damien got out of the car and strode in. He had changed clothes and looked composed, carrying an exquisite jewelry box in his hand. "Sorry, I had a conference call with overseas partners this morning. It ran late." He walked over and embraced me from behind, placing a massive pink diamond necklace around my neck. "This is 'Heart of True Love,' the only one in the world. Consider it compensation." I looked at the man in the mirror whose expression seemed so tender. If not for that photo, I might have believed in his devotion again. "Damien, does Violet have one too?" Damien's hands froze, his gaze deepening. "Selena, I told you not to mention her." "She sent me a photo last night." I turned around, looking directly at him. "Damien, you buy me diamonds while sleeping with another woman. Aren't you tired?" Damien's patience seemed to run out. He released his hands, saying coldly, "Selena, your family's company had a $300 million shortfall last month. I covered it." It was a threat. I was left speechless. He always knew exactly where to step on my pain points, leaving me unable to live or die. "Choose whichever wedding dress you like. The wedding proceeds as planned." Damien took a phone call and left in a hurry. He didn't even notice my nails digging deep into my palms, drawing tiny spots of blood. I looked at the pink diamond called "True Love" in the mirror. It was too heavy. So heavy I couldn't breathe.
Selena's POV Damien's "cold violence" intertwined with "material affection" continued for half a month. During this time, Violet became the ghost haunting my life. Violet would send photos of Damien working in his study, of limited edition bags Damien casually gave her. She even sent photos of silk lingerie Damien bought for her. I pretended not to see any of it. Until my father's birthday banquet. It was an occasion where New York's elite gathered, and as Damien's fiancée, I naturally had to attend. Damien's parents were also present. Halfway through the banquet, Damien's mother suddenly walked over with a wine glass, saying condescendingly, "Selena, you and Damien have been engaged for three years. Why aren't there any children yet?" I smiled awkwardly. Before I could respond, Damien's cool voice came from the side. "What's the rush? Selena's health isn't good. She's not ready yet." Damien's mother sighed. "But that Violet, I hear she's already pregnant." My mind went blank with a buzzing sound. I whipped my head around to look at Damien. Damien's drinking motion froze, his eyes showing a moment of evasion. Damien's mother continued, "To ensure Damien's assets don't fall into outside hands, once the child is born, we'll publicly announce that you obtained this precious child through surrogacy. You'll be responsible for raising this child as your own, as the first-in-line heir to the foundation." I felt the world spinning. They wanted me to raise Damien and his mistress's child? What did they take me for? A wife in name only, a nanny who doesn't have to give birth but has to raise the child? "I won't agree to this." My voice was hoarse but exceptionally firm. Damien's mother's expression immediately darkened. "Selena, why are you being so unreasonable? As long as you hold the position of Damien's wife, you shouldn't care about these things." I looked at my father standing to the side. My father avoided my gaze, saying softly, "Selena, think of the bigger picture." Everyone in the world was telling me to think of the bigger picture. No one asked if I was in pain. I pushed back my chair and ran out of the banquet hall, ignoring everyone's stares. Outside, the sky was overcast, with pouring rain. I walked aimlessly through the rain. A black Maybach slowly stopped beside me. Damien lowered the window, his expression extremely displeased. "Get in the car. Stop making a scene." I stopped walking, rainwater streaming down my face into my neck. "Damien, is Violet really pregnant?" Damien was silent for a moment, irritably loosening his tie. "It was an accident. I wasn't planning to let her keep it. But my mother wants that child. There's nothing I can do." "You have no choice?" I laughed, tears mixing with rainwater. "Damien, you're the one in control of the company. If you don't approve, who can force you?" Damien pushed open the car door and forcibly pulled me into the car. His grip was strong, squeezing my wrist painfully. "Selena, just behave. After the wedding, I'll reduce my contact with her. You'll still be my one and only wife. What exactly are you making a fuss about?" "What am I making a fuss about?" I looked at the rapidly retreating scenery outside the window. What I wanted was never the position of some wealthy wife. What I wanted was that fifteen-year-old Damien who promised me in the sunset that I would be his "one and only" for life. But that boy had long since died in power and desire.
Selena's POV That night, Damien didn't take me home. He took me directly to his private villa in the suburbs. That place used to be my favorite secret hideaway. But when I pushed open the door, there was a pair of bright high heels in the entrance hall. My heart sank. "Damien, you're back? The baby kicked me today." Violet, wearing a sheer silk nightgown, came running out. The moment she saw me, her smile froze, then turned somewhat awkward. "Selena... I'm sorry, I didn't know you were coming too." Damien frowned. "Why are you here?" Violet's eyes reddened, her voice soft and sweet. "I was scared staying alone at the main estate. Mrs. Foster said I could stay here for a few days. There's security." Damien looked at me, his eyes showing a trace of helplessness and appeasement. "Go to your room and rest first. I'll handle this." I said nothing and walked straight into the living room. Delicate desserts were on the table, along with a "Expecting Mother's Handbook." These things pierced my eyes. I felt like an intruder disrupting this family of three's happiness. "Damien, this is what you call 'reducing contact'?" I turned around, my voice so cold it had no inflection. Violet spoke up first. "Selena, don't blame Damien. I know my status is lowly, that I don't deserve to give birth to this child. But I really can't bear to part with it... If you're willing, I can give you the child. I'll disappear..." As she finished speaking, she actually collapsed onto the floor beside the couch, clutching my dress hem and crying pitifully. Damien immediately bent down to help her up. "Get up. You're pregnant. What are you making a scene for?" His movements were so careful, as if afraid of hurting Violet's belly. I looked down at them, finding the scene absurdly ridiculous. "Damien, let's cancel the wedding." I calmly spoke these words. The air froze instantly. Damien's hand supporting Violet suddenly tightened. He looked up, his eyes filled with hostility. "Selena, dare to say that again." "I said, I want to call off the engagement." I spoke each word deliberately. "I'll find a way to repay the debt my family owes you. Consider these three years as my debt to you. I'll even give you my life if needed. But this marriage-I can't stay in it for another second." Damien laughed coldly. He stood up and strode over to me. He reached out and gripped my chin tightly. "Call off the engagement? Selena, have you forgotten that your brother is still in a lab in New York? With just one word from me, his future-even his life-won't be safe." My whole body trembled. I looked at Damien, my eyes filled with terror. This man would use my only family member as leverage just to keep a fiancée he didn't even respect. "Damien, you're insane." "You drove me insane." Damien lowered his head and kissed my lips roughly. It wasn't a kiss. It was devouring, a declaration of ownership. It tasted of punishment. Violet sat on the floor to the side. From the corner of my eye, I saw her staring at us intently, a flash of intense malice in her eyes.
Selena's POV For the next half month, Damien kept me under house arrest. My phone was confiscated, the villa's internet disconnected. Every day, only servants delivered meals at set times, along with Damien's late-night returns to take what he wanted. He seemed to want to use this method to smooth out all my rough edges. I became increasingly silent. I no longer resisted, no longer mentioned calling off the engagement, didn't even bring up Violet's name anymore. I became like an exquisite porcelain doll, letting Damien manipulate me however he pleased. Damien thought I had compromised. Late one night, emboldened by alcohol, Damien embraced me from behind. "Selena, the wedding is set for the eighth of next month. Stop making trouble, okay?" He nuzzled my neck, his voice carrying a rare trace of exhaustion. I looked out at the pitch-black window and answered softly, "Okay." Damien seemed pleasantly surprised. He turned my face to look at my expression. I cooperatively showed him an obedient smile. "Damien, I want to pick out a necklace for the wedding. I accidentally lost that 'Heart of True Love' from last time." Damien paused slightly, then showed some distress. "If it's lost, it's lost. I'll buy you something even better. Tomorrow I'll have my assistant Adam take you. I still have a contract to sign." "Okay." The next day, accompanied by Adam, I went to New York's largest jewelry store. Violet somehow got wind of it and showed up with her bodyguards too. "Selena, what a coincidence." Violet, her belly not yet obviously showing, paraded through the lobby. She walked up to me and pointed ostentatiously at the necklace around her neck. It was another pink diamond. Though smaller than the one I had lost, the design was identical. "Damien said he was worried I'd be bored alone at the villa, so he specially gave me this." I glanced at the diamond, my expression indifferent. "It suits you." Violet's triumphant expression froze, as if she hadn't expected my reaction. But I simply walked calmly toward the VIP room. As I passed Violet, I suddenly stopped and said in a low voice: "Violet, everything you want, I'll give it to you very soon." Violet frowned. "What do you mean?" I didn't answer. I went to the counter and selected several heavy pieces of jewelry, then excused myself to go to the restroom. In a bathroom stall, I quickly pulled out a new phone hidden in my clothes. I had secretly bribed a maid to buy it for me. I dialed a number. "Prepare a car for me. Tomorrow afternoon, pick me up at the back mountain dock." A low male voice answered on the other end. "Selena, are you sure you want to do this? If Damien discovers you're not dead, the consequences will be unthinkable." I looked at my pale reflection in the mirror and gave a self-mocking smile. "He'll see my 'body.'" "As long as he believes I'm dead, he won't pursue it anymore." After hanging up, I dismantled the SIM card and flushed it down the toilet. I walked out of the restroom to find Adam waiting at the door. "Let's go. Back to the villa." I still had one final act to perform. An act about death. Only a dead Selena could truly gain freedom. And Violet, pregnant with Damien's child, would be the best supporting player in my plan. Since Damien so desperately wanted a child and a docile wife. Then I would grant his wish. I would vacate this position completely.
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