Chapter 1 Married To My Enemy

I, Selena Grant, was the most cherished daughter of the Grant family in Seaview City, a princess in all but name. Countless men longed to draw near, not for love, but for the status and glory that came with me.

But men never interested me. My only passion was my work, and my ambition was to see my empire stretch across the globe.

For a long time, I believed I would burn out in my relentless work, destined to grow old alone.

Until the day I woke in a bathtub.

From the phone came a voice, sharp with impatience, "Why aren't you dead already?"

A stranger-a servant-told me I was married, and that I had degraded myself time and again, staging suicide attempts just to win a glance from this man.

I didn't believe a word of it.

I could be relentless for my work, but never for a man.

I picked up the phone and glanced at hundreds of rejected call records and countless unsent messages, all beginning with the same desperate words, "I love you."

In that instant, I believed it.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips as I stared up at the ceiling.

Although I had lost three years of memories from this marriage, anyone who dared to treat me with such contempt would not escape the consequences.

.....

"Ugh!"

I was jolted awake by the warm water choking my lungs, a finely carved knife still clutched in my right hand.

Moments ago I had been in my office, buried in documents. How had I ended up in this strange place?

"Can't do it yourself? Want me to finish the job for you?"

The impatient male voice came from the phone resting on the bathroom shelf.

As the call clicked off, several women in neat uniforms rushed in from outside.

From their attire, they were clearly the housemaids.

"Mrs. Harlow, our time is valuable too. We don't have the patience to sit through another one of your suicide shows."

"Mrs. Harlow, your little scare tactics don't fool anyone. Mr. Harlow's fed up, and so are we."

In my confusion, the maid at the back sneered, "Every time you scream about killing yourself, you don't even scratch the skin. Total waste of time-no wonder Mr. Harlow dumped you."

Their voices dripped with irritation and disgust, making my skin crawl.

I rose from the tub and walked toward them.

"Mr. Harlow-Leonard Harlow?"

The maid at the back gave a scornful laugh, "Mrs. Harlow, if it weren't for the decent treatment Mr. Harlow gave us these past three years, we wouldn't waste our time looking after a lunatic like you! Out of tricks already? So now you're putting on the amnesia act?"

I stared into the bathroom mirror-my face was the same, yet so gaunt it looked as if I might die the very next moment.

So... I was married?

And I had married my sworn enemy, Leonard Harlow?

And I had truly lost every memory of the three years since becoming Leonard's wife?

I stared at the disconnected phone, a cold laugh slipping past my lips.

Leonard, you've grown bold, daring to speak to me like that now.

After drying myself off, I returned to the bedroom.

Shock rippled through me-what kind of wretched life had I been living all these years?

This bedroom wasn't even as big as my walk-in closet, and the mattress was coarse and unyielding compared to the one I used to sleep on.

After tossing and turning, I lay back and ordered the maids to tell me everything that had happened in the past three years.

They told me I had been madly in love with Leonard. Even knowing his heart belonged to his secretary, Nora Ansel, I had resorted to every scheme imaginable.

In the end, Leonard had been forced to marry me, but there was no wedding, no blessings.

Afterward, though I was Mrs. Harlow in name, everyone knew Leonard's true wife was Nora.

They would kiss beneath the spotlight as if I didn't exist.

On social media, they even called each other husband and wife.

Unable to endure such humiliation, I tried to drive them apart by threatening suicide.

But Leonard never yielded-if anything, he became even more ruthless.

He drove me out of the mansion in the city center and confined me to this villa on the outskirts.

He brought Nora home and granted her every privilege of the Harlow family's mistress.

And now, just to see him, I had to wager my life.

By the end of their account, every gaze on me brimmed with annoyance.

I nodded to show I understood, then dismissed them.

I could hardly blame them. If I had to face a lunatic threatening death every day, I'd be sick of it too-perhaps even tempted to end her life myself.

Just as I was about to lie down, Leonard appeared before my eyes.