Chapter 1

"Bernard, one is your wife, one is your first love. You can only choose one—who do you want to die?"

On the boat deck, two women dangled fifteen meters above the sea as kidnapper Finn Smith shouted, waving his gun.

On her wedding day, Eugenie Medici had been kidnapped.

Ten minutes earlier, Finn had forced drugs down her throat, and now excruciating pain shot through her entire body.

She could barely stand, her once-pristine wedding dress now filthy and tattered.

When Finn presented the impossible choice, she looked toward the shore with one last shred of hope at the cold, aristocratic man standing there—her fiancé Bernard Grayson.

"Bernard, please save me."

Seeing this, Allegra Bennett also desperately called out, her face streaked with tears, looking heartbreakingly beautiful even in distress.

"Bernard, it hurts so much."

Bernard's dark pupils revealed nothing as he answered without hesitation, "I choose her."

He pointed at Eugenie, meaning she should die.

Eugenie's eyes widened in shock, her heart ripping in two, a pain worse than her physical suffering.

She knew Allegra was Bernard's first love, the woman he treasured most. But after three years together, did Bernard truly feel nothing for her, choosing her death without a second thought?

Bernard wasn't even wearing his wedding attire. Perhaps he never intended to marry Eugenie at all.

Finn's success today was because Bernard had told her to wait for him.

Hearing the answer, Finn looked surprised, then burst into laughter.

"As expected of Mr. Grayson—ruthless enough to sacrifice your newlywed, delicate wife."

Bernard frowned coldly. "I've made my choice. Release her now."

Finn pushed Allegra forward. "Since Mr. Grayson has chosen, I'm sorry, Ms. Medici, but today you must die."

As he finished speaking, he pressed the gun against Eugenie's temple.

After Allegra walked over to him, Bernard didn't spare Eugenie a single glance, his eyes filled with concern as he examined Allegra.

"Allegra, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Allegra bit her lower lip and shook her head, her eyes hesitantly looking at Eugenie. "I'm fine, but what about Ms. Medici?"

Eugenie remained silent. No one knew she held a broken piece of rope in her hand—from any other angle, she still appeared bound.

In fact, since being kidnapped, she had secretly untied herself.

She could have survived.

But now, with Bernard choosing her to die, she had to comply.

"Bernard, the most regrettable thing I've ever done in my life was falling in love with you."

With dead yet determined eyes, Eugenie turned and jumped into the sea without hesitation.

Seawater instantly flooded over her mouth and nose.

In the moment she turned to jump, she thought she heard Bernard shouting, but none of that mattered anymore.

Eugenie let the raging sea swallow her completely. In her last moment of consciousness,

She thought if she could go back, she would never love Bernard again—not even a little!

"Look at her, she's ridiculous."

"She doesn't deserve Bernard at all. I hate women who use underhanded tactics."

"But wait—what if she can't swim? What if Bernard gets angry that we pushed her into the pool?"

"Don't worry, Bernard despises her. If she hadn't taken care of his mother and him before, would he ever marry her?"

The whispers of mockery and contempt reached Eugenie's ears, causing her eyes to flutter open.

Water surrounded her, but not the sea—a swimming pool.

She struggled to surface, only to see Bernard's entourage of friends—the same ones who had just pushed her into the water.

Eugenie's mind went blank, her eyes wide with disbelief.

What was happening? Why did this feel so familiar?

This was her engagement party with Bernard from a year ago!

Without time to process, Eugenie quickly climbed out of the pool.

Her clothes were completely soaked; the wind made her shiver uncontrollably.

"How long are you planning to make a spectacle of yourself?"

An impatient voice filled with disgust came from behind her.

Eugenie turned to meet Bernard's cold gaze.

No tenderness, no concern, not even a question—just an immediate judgment that she was embarrassing herself.

His friend immediately chimed in, "Bernard, I bet she jumped in on purpose, hoping you'd rescue her and play the hero."

Bernard frowned, his eyes showing undisguised annoyance, "Who would rescue a clown?"

Eugenie stood frozen, her hands clenched into tight fists.

A clown?

At her last engagement party, Bernard had left early. Her stepmother, Bianca Johnson, eager for the advantages of an alliance with the Grayson family, had manipulated Eugenie's critically ill grandfather, Chase Williams, to pressure her into completing the engagement ceremony.

That day, Eugenie had become Starlight City's biggest joke.

Everyone thought Bernard left because she embarrassed him by falling into the water, but in truth, he had gone to accompany Allegra, who had just returned to the country, not coming back until evening.

Bernard grew impatient, frowning at her, "Why are you still standing here? Go change your clothes. The guests are arriving soon—do you want them to see you like this?"

A barely perceptible smirk of contempt formed at the corner of Eugenie's lips. She said nothing and turned to leave.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Bianca following her.

Eugenie entered the changing room.

Bianca walked in and warned, "Eugenie, let me tell you, this engagement ceremony must proceed smoothly. If anything goes wrong today, don't even think about returning to the Medici family."

Eugenie looked at her with cold eyes, "I need to change. Please leave."

Bianca grew more displeased, "What kind of tone is that? How dare you speak to me this way! Bernard's attitude toward you is because you're stupid and have no skills. Anyway, I'm warning you—if Bernard runs off, you'll pay for it!"

Bianca left after delivering her threat.

Eugenie's gaze grew increasingly icy.

She changed out of her soaking wet formal dress into her everyday clothes.

When she emerged, Bernard was already surrounded by arriving guests, basking in their flattery.

Some people were born to be the center of attention—just by standing there, they naturally draw all eyes.

Bernard noticed her now, his eyes filling with displeasure at her casual attire.

This time, however, Eugenie didn't give him a chance to speak. She walked directly to the stage where the microphone was already set up.

Her voice was steady, each word pronounced clearly, "Thank you all for coming to this engagement party. I have an announcement to make."

Everyone turned to look at her.