Chapter 1

Chapter 1:
It was Candice Blake’s wedding night.
She had finally married Greyson Harman.
It was a milestone moment, a day she had anticipated for a decade.
Yet, as night fell, her husband still had not come to her.
Candice sat in the exquisitely decorated suite, thoughtfully arranged by the Harman family, her heart fluttering with nervous anticipation.
Surely he was mingling with the guests below, but it was getting late. When would he appear?
Candice was uncertain.
Greyson did not love her. He had another woman in his heart. He married her only because his family had forced him to.
Candice clung to the fantasy that marriage and time spent together would eventually kindle love in his heart.
As she was lost in thought, a rush of heat coursed through her. Something was wrong…
The door burst open, and a towering figure stormed in.
An ecstatic Candice turned to the man. “You’re here…”
Before she could properly see him, he pounced on her like a predator catching its prey, pinning her to the bed.
He pressed his head against her neck, his teeth sinking into her flesh with primal ferocity, sending a shiver of fear through Candice.
“Stop… Release me…”
Her pleas fell on deaf ears. His overpowering grip rendered her helpless. His dominance left her cornered.
This man was not Greyson!
“No… Don’t touch me, don’t… Ah!”
It was so hot… too hot…
The man’s impassioned kisses and assertive movements overwhelmed her. Pinned beneath him, she endured until she lost consciousness.
“You’ve got some nerve, plotting against me. Here’s ten million. Take it and vanish.”
Find what you love at gⱯlnσν𝓮𝓁s․𝒸𝗼𝗺
An unfamiliar, deep voice echoed in her ears just as she came to her senses.
Then, a checkbook, thrown like a knife, struck her face.
His words were icy, his tone condescending. “Administer the morning-after pill yourself and leave Ploville. Cross me and you’ll regret you were ever born.”
Suddenly, she was wide awake.
Lifting her heavy eyelids, she glimpsed the man’s cold, dismissive silhouette.
She held the checkbook in her hand—the weight of ten checks, each worth one million dollars—pressing down on her heart like a suffocating burden.
A hefty ten million for her departure? He was a man of considerable wealth.
But his money held no allure.
His unexpected intrusion had shattered her world, and now he dared to dismiss her with a cash offer.
Who did he think he was?
Candice’s voice failed her. She struggled to her feet, tore the checks into shreds, and hurled them at the retreating man.
Unfortunately, the door was firmly shut, and he didn’t notice.
Only fragments of the checks fluttered down like snowflakes.
Wrapping herself in the quilt, she tried to rise but was met with searing pain; her body was void of strength.
The man’s identity remained a mystery. She had only caught a glimpse of his back.
Even she didn’t know what was wrong.
Why had a stranger intruded on her wedding night?
Why had this happened?
Confusion spiraled as her mind raced to understand.
Suddenly, the suite’s door was flung open again.
The sudden illumination from the bedroom lights made her recoil involuntarily, shielding her eyes from the intense glare.
Before Candice could react, a sharp slap landed on her face.
A tirade of insults followed.
“You bitch! Last night was your wedding night, yet you were having sex with another man in the suite? You have disgraced the Harman family!”
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