Chapter 1 Wedding Night

"It's late now. Why not go to bed?"

The man's deep and charming voice resounded, pulling back Meagan's wandering mind into her body. Meagan Allison, a newly-wedded lady, looked up and met her husband's deep eyes. She found them conveying unpredictable emotions that she couldn't read.

At this moment, Meagan nervously held the hemline of her dress, feeling her heart beat faster and faster by the second.

Ever since entering this room, she had been sitting on the edge of the bed and didn't move much. Hence, her back went stiff from keeping this posture for a long time. In fact, she hadn't taken off her wedding dress yet. She didn't know what to do or expect. The moment the man finished taking a shower and walked out of the bathroom, it finally dawned on her that they were about to spend their first night as a married couple. It wasn't just any ordinary event. It was their wedding night.

When she thought of this, her entire body trembled. She hadn't even had the opportunity to know her husband well. After all, she was merely a substitute, a replacement for another woman.

As an illegitimate daughter of a rich family, she was made to marry this poor man in place of her half-sister, in order to complete the engagement arranged by the elders of the two families. Furthermore, it was also expected that she would acquire a considerable amount of dowry from this marriage.

With this money, her mother's medical expenses could be paid for, her little brother could continue studying, and her whole family could live a good life. All this burden was passed onto her.

Dwelling on the realization that her life had now changed, Meagan took a deep breath and shakily walked toward the bathroom. "I... I'm going to take a shower as well..."

At these words, the man's eyes suddenly dilated.

Finally, Meagan got to the bathroom door. As she went inside and was about to lock the door, she noticed that there wasn't even a lock on the shabby wooden door. She couldn't help but swallow hard. Although her previous life was not a bed of roses, it wasn't as abysmal as this.

Soon enough, tears welled up in her eyes. She wanted to cry and release her frustrations. But she could only stand there in the bathroom for a while, not even able to take off her dress.

The man outside seemed to have understood what was going on in her mind, so he said in a deep voice, "I'm going out for a smoke. You can take your time in there."

Meagan seemed to be a little relieved. To check if he really was going out, she leaned against the door and listened carefully. As he walked out of the room, the door closed with a creaking sound. Afterward, she no longer heard anything from the other side of the door.

The day before their wedding, a vicious typhoon wrecked the city. Massive billboards were dragged down, and even huge trees got uprooted and broken in half—this was the current state of the roads in every part of the city. Despite all this predicament, Meagan's wedding still went on.

Not only did she not have a decent wedding car to pick her up, but she also had to walk quite a long distance just to ride an inconspicuous minibus to take her to the village. Her shoes and wedding dress were soiled by the wet mud. Everything seemed to be a total mess.

As superstitious people, the elders said that marrying in such a condition would only result in a miserable future.

However, Meagan hadn't cared about her own happiness for so long. So, whatever happened in the future, she figured it was pretty much all the same for her.

After taking a shower, she dried her hair and finally stepped out of the bathroom.

It seemed that her husband was yet to come back from smoking outside.

All alone, she looked around and gazed at the two-room adobe house, only to see that there were leaks in some spots. But to her surprise, although the house was a little dilapidated, some maintenance and cleaning up could make it look good enough. Meagan finally found herself letting out a faint smile. Then, she decided to tidy up the room before her husband came back.

However, as she knelt on the sheets to make the bed, the man suddenly appeared.

She was caught by surprise, so she forgot the fact that she was only wearing a bath towel. With her sudden movement as she turned around, she didn't notice that it had already slipped down her body. Feeling a little chilly, Meagan screamed and quickly wrapped her chest with her arms after realizing what had just happened.

However, even before she could cover herself up, the man had already seen her naked body as clear as day.

Panicking profusely, Meagan pulled the quilt on the bed to hide her body. She was so embarrassed that her face turned red.

Unable to forget the scene he had just seen, the man swallowed, and the look in his eyes became more profound and complicated. This time, he walked slowly to her side and spoke in a low, cold voice that somehow implied a bit of intimacy. "It has gotten late. Let's go to bed now."

Earlier, his statement sounded like a mere suggestion. But this time, it was as if it became imperative.

Meagan's heart pounded so hard that she could imagine it jumping out of her throat. With her eyes closed, she eventually felt an arm going around her waist. Slowly and steadily, she fell into the man's arms as her back was pressed into his chest.