Love Mistaken

Chapter 3: The Wedding Preparation

Lucas took Bella back to the bedroom.

"From today on, wherever you go and whatever you do, Ethan will be with you."

"You're monitoring me."

"No, I'm protecting you."

"I don't need your protection. No one will hurt me. You're taking away my freedom."

Bella ran towards the door but was blocked by the bodyguards. Lucas hugged her from behind.

"From now on, you will live here with me. When you have classes, I will arrange a driver to take you to school and take you back afterward."

"I don't want to live here. I want to go back to my apartment. Don't touch me, you madman."

"What did you say?"

"I said, you're a madman!"

"I won't allow you to speak to me like that."

Lucas angrily grabbed Bella's hand, dragging her to the desk and forcing her into a chair. He pointed at the computer screen. "Look! What is this?"

Bella looked at the screen. It was surveillance footage of someone sitting in a chair, hands tied behind the back, eyes covered with tape. The person looked familiar.

Oh my God, it was Grace.

"Lucas, what have you done? Why did you lock up Grace? Don’t hurt her."

"Behave, and I won't harm her. But if you don’t..."

"No, whatever you want to do, do it for me. Don’t hurt my friend." Bella started crying.

Lucas shut off the computer and carried Bella to bed.

"Get some rest. I'll check on you later." He kissed her forehead.

Bella lay on the pillow, crying silently. Her tears soaked a large part of the pillow. She felt helpless, unable to save Grace or herself.

For the next week, Bella stayed at Lucas's house.

The tailors had started working on her wedding dress, but Bella had no interest in any of it.

She had a plan—to escape on the day of the wedding.

First, she needed to convince Lucas to let Grace go.

One evening, Ethan told Bella that Lucas wouldn't be home for dinner.

After dinner, Bella sat on the living room sofa, waiting for Lucas to return. She waited and waited until she fell asleep.

When Lucas came home, he saw Bella asleep on the sofa.

He felt a warmth he had never felt before—no one had ever waited for him to come home.

To him, this house had always been cold and empty, but now it felt like a home.

He walked over and gently picked Bella up, carrying her to the bedroom. He laid her on the bed and kissed her forehead.

"Hmm, you're back," Bella murmured.

"Yes, I'm back."

"Why so late tonight?"

"From now on, I'll come home earlier."

Lucas realized he had never cared about coming home early before. Now, he wanted to.

"Lucas, let Grace go. I don't want her to be part of our wedding."

Lucas was angry. "Why?"

"I don't need bridesmaids."

"Is it that you don't need bridesmaids, or you don't want to marry me?"

Bella was silent.

In the quiet of her silence, Lucas conceded.

"Alright, I'll let her go, as long as you stay with me."

Bella reached out and hugged him, making Lucas happy.

"Lucas, can my sister come? I miss her."

"Okay."

After finishing his night routine, Lucas came out of the bathroom and climbed into bed, hugging Bella from behind.

He inhaled the scent of her hair and quickly fell asleep.

But Bella lay awake, staring out the window at the faint shadows cast by the moonlight, lost in her thoughts.

The next day, Bella's sister, Vicky, arrived.

When Vicky came, Bella was sitting in front of the vanity mirror, surrounded by various pieces of high-end jewelry.

"Bella, how exactly did you seduce Lucas? Why does he want to marry you?"

Vicky saw the array of jewelry on the table and felt intense jealousy. She longed to marry Lucas herself.

"Vicky, do you want to marry Lucas?"

Vicky rolled her eyes. "Of course."

"At the wedding, you pretend to be me and go through the ceremony with Lucas."

"What? You don't want to marry Lucas?"

"That's right, I don't want to marry him. I have someone I love."

"Oh, you mean Daniel. Compared to Lucas, he's just a poor nobody."

"Will you do it? If you agree, you need to prepare a car for me. On the day of the wedding, I needed to escape."

"I agree."