Chapter 1
The explosion had horribly disfigured my face. Now it was completely wrapped in bandages.
My mother sat by the window, her eyes red and swollen from crying. The moment she saw me wake up, she took my hand and tried to comfort me. "As long as you're alive, that's all that matters. Don't worry. I've already contacted the best doctors. They'll help you recover. Mom will spare no expense."
I was so weak that even breathing made my wounds ache. I forced a faint smile and shook my head to show her I was all right.
Still shaken, my mother gently smoothed my hair. "Those kidnappers are dead now. I brought people to negotiate with them at the docks, and they promised they'd let you go. So how did you end up hurt this badly? Annie, what happened? Why wasn't Ava hurt?"
I said nothing. The scene from that day replayed in my mind.
The words Logan Grant and Colton Hayes had spoken that day echoed in my ears. I could still see the tenderness in their eyes when they looked at Ava, a tenderness I had never seen from them before.
Tears slid down my face. By then, I had already lost all hope.
"It's fine. It's over now."
When my mother saw that I didn't want to relive it, she stopped asking questions.
My father, meanwhile, handed the marriage contract to my mother.
"The family is under intense scrutiny right now. We have interests in too many businesses, which makes us easy to target. And now you've been disfigured. The wedding has to be moved up."
My mother wiped away her tears and picked up a pen. "Right. Annie, tell me who you want to choose. Now that your face is disfigured, the Hayes family or the Grant family may use it as a reason to reject the marriage alliance. After all, no family wants an ugly Donna."
But I didn't want either of them.
Even before I was disfigured, all their attention had been on Ava.
'Why would things be any better now?'
Mistaking my silence for indecision, my mother suggested, "What about Colton? When you and Ava were kidn*pped, no one was more frantic than he was. And after he brought you to the hospital, he promised he'd still marry you no matter what you looked like."
I shook my head and said quietly, "I want to take over the family's arms-trafficking route in Rivermark. Can I?"
My mother stared at me in surprise.
She looked like she wanted to ask more, but when she saw the resolve in my eyes, she squeezed my hand and quietly agreed.
After she left to arrange my trip, the door to my hospital room was suddenly kicked open.
Before I could see who had come in, something heavy slammed into my chest, sending a bolt of pain through me.
Colton had thrown the food container he was carrying at me. Soup splashed all over me. The slightest movement tugged at my injuries, making my whole body ache as though my bones were being pulled apart.
Ava rushed over with red-rimmed eyes and tried to stop him.
"Don't do this. None of this is my sister's fault. I've already forgiven her."
I stared at them in confusion. Colton clenched his fists so hard that his face went pale with rage.
Ava turned to me, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Annie, I don't blame you anymore. Don't let it bother you. The most important thing is for you to focus on recovering."
Logan stepped forward and pointed at me, his face tight with anger.
"How far are you going to push Ava? One of us has already agreed to marry you. What more do you want? How could you hurt Ava this badly? Good thing we got there in time. Otherwise, Ava really would've died at the hands of the kidnappers you hired!"
Colton scoffed. "Why bother talking to her? She'd even go so far as to disfigure herself just to hurt Ava. She got what she deserved."
