Lily never thought she would be the one walking down the aisle.When her stepfather's debt to the wealthy Chen family could no longer be ignored, a marriage arrangement was made — their daughter would wed Ethan Chen, the young master of the estate. But whispers had long painted Ethan as a sickly, disabled man, and her stepsister wanted no part of it.So quietly, without fanfare, they sent Lily instead.She arrived with a small bag, a humble heart, and no expectations. She was prepared for cold halls and a lonely life beside a man the world had written off.She was not prepared for Ethan.Strong, warm, and achingly handsome, he was nothing like the rumors. And as the days passed, Lily discovered that behind his walls lived a man who was kind, gentle, and lonelier than she ever imagined.Two people brought together by deception begin to find something neither of them planned for — something tender, something real.She came as a substitute.She stayed as his choice.