Chapter 1 The Origin of Entanglement
Seventeen-year-old Anna Bennett, with her pure and charming beauty, was a 10th-grade student brimming with excitement to celebrate her boyfriend Ryan's birthday. She had scrimped and saved for two long months to purchase an exquisite fountain pen, fantasizing about the look of surprise on Ryan's face when he received the gift.
Holding the pen, she opened the door to Ryan's house with a fluttering heart. A pungent, unfamiliar perfume assaulted her nostrils. By the entrance, a pair of red crystal high heels stood out garishly. In the living room, red shawls, silk stockings, and men's shirts and trousers were strewn in disarray. The ambiguous sounds coming from the bedroom made her heart plummet. As she slowly approached the bedroom, the sight that met her eyes felt like a thunderbolt—Ryan and her friend Evelyn were caught up in a passionate embrace.
Upon seeing Anna Bennett, Ryan showed no trace of guilt. Instead, he said coldly, "Anna, let's be honest. I pursued you just because of a bet with my friends. Look at you, plain-faced and dressed so shabbily. How could you ever be good enough for me?" Evelyn also stared at Anna Bennett provocatively, her eyes filled with triumph. Anna Bennett suppressed the pain in her heart and forced a smile. "So, how much was the bet? You couldn't have won without me. Give me half!" With that, she turned and walked away, her back straight, though tears welled up in her eyes.
After the breakup, Anna Bennett was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of pain. She went to a bustling, seedy bar in the city, drowning her sorrows in glass after glass of alcohol, trying to numb herself. That's when Lily, her so-called stepsister, appeared. Lily feigned concern and, when Anna wasn't looking, slipped a pill into her drink. Lily had been drowning in debt from loan sharks and saw this as the perfect opportunity to sell Anna Bennett to clear her debts. She led a sleazy - looking man over, pointed at Anna Bennett, and said, "There she is, my sister. Three million, - negotiable." The man eyed Anna Bennett greedily and nodded in agreement.
After consuming the drugged drink, Anna Bennett's mind grew hazy, and her steps became unsteady. As she tried to stand up, she stumbled and crashed into the arms of a man. This man was Ethan Sterling, a member of the prestigious Sterling Family. With his chiseled features, he exuded an air of elegance and coldness. As the Young Master of the Sterling Family, he was known for his arrogance. Ethan Sterling frowned in distaste at the woman who had thrown herself at him. But when their eyes met, he was suddenly stunned. The broken yet defiant light in Anna Bennett's reddened eyes was like a beam that pierced straight into his heart.
In that moment, the chaos of the bar seemed to fade away. The gears of fate began to turn quietly, and Anna Bennett's life was irrevocably changed. She had no idea whether her encounter with Ethan Sterling would bring salvation or plunge her into even deeper hardships. Could she escape Lily's treacherous plot and emerge from this painful ordeal?
