I was known as the notorious wild child in our circles, a siren with a tempting smirk and eyes that promised trouble. Julian Sterling was the most distinguished heir to a vast family fortune, cool, aloof, and remarkably composed, his emotions kept under tight wraps. No one knew that two such different people would get entangled in the backseat of his Maybach late at night, wildly tangled in a charity gala’s restroom, or against the panoramic windows of his private vineyard, his grip on my waist making my legs weak. After another night of unrestrained passion, I heard the faint sound of water running in the bathroom. I leaned against the headboard and called my father. “I can marry that terminally ill heir to a powerful South City dynasty, using the wedding as a public offering for his recovery… But I have one condition…” My father’s voice on the other end was barely able to contain his delight. “Name it! As long as you agree to marry, your father will grant any wish!” “I’ll tell you the details when I get home.” My voice was soft, but my eyes held a chilling indifference. I hung up, about to get dressed, when my gaze flickered to Julian Sterling’s laptop resting nearby. His SnapChat was open, the latest message from a girl saved as “Seraphina.” 【Julian, it’s thundering. I’m so scared…】 My fingers trembled. The bathroom door suddenly opened, and Julian emerged. Water droplets glistened on his collarbone, his shirt unbuttoned carelessly at the top two buttons, giving him a languid air beneath his usual reserved demeanor. “Something came up at the office. I’m leaving.” He picked up his jacket, his voice still cool and clear. My red lips curved into a smirk. “Is it ‘something at the office,’ or are you off to see your pristine angel?” Julian didn’t hear me clearly. “What?” “Nothing.” I got out of bed barefoot, my bare feet sinking into the soft carpet. His eyes darkened slightly. His thumb brushed my swollen lips. “Stay in line, don’t cause trouble.” The moment the door closed, the smile vanished from my face. I ordered an Uber and followed him. Half an hour later, his car pulled up in front of a hotel. Through the curtain of rain, I saw Seraphina Hayes, in a flowing white dress, running out of the hotel entrance. Julian Sterling quickly went to her, taking off his suit jacket and placing it over her shoulders, then effortlessly sweeping her into his arms. “It’s cold out. Why did you come out without a coat, hmm?” His movements were so practiced, so ingrained, as if he’d done it a thousand times before. I clutched the car door handle, my nails digging deep into my palms. Watching Julian carefully carry Seraphina into the hotel, for some reason, I suddenly recalled the first time I ever saw him. Back then, my father and I were constantly at odds. After one particularly explosive fight that left him with a bleeding head, he’d sent me to stay with the son of an old business partner, hoping to ‘discipline’ my wild, spoiled nature. When I first met him, Julian Sterling was in his top-floor office at Sterling Corp., his gaze, cool and sharp behind gold-rimmed glasses, was like ice. Of course, I didn’t want to be there. So I found every way to cause trouble. On my first day, I spilled coffee all over his million-dollar bespoke suit. Julian merely gave me a brief glance. “Italian cashmere. Charge it to the Vance family account.” On the second day, I deliberately shredded important meeting documents. Julian didn’t bat an eye, reciting the entire content from memory on the spot, stunning every executive in the room speechless. On the third day, I drugged his coffee, setting up a camera to capture his humiliation and blackmail him. Instead, I ended up becoming his ‘cure’. Waking up the next day, my body ached all over. I was furious, ready to kill, but Julian pinned me against the panoramic windows and took me again. “Scarlett,” he murmured, his voice husky as he nipped my earlobe, “Be good.” That single whisper of ‘Scarlett’ shattered my defenses. No one had called me by that name with such tenderness since my mother passed. From then on, our relationship fundamentally changed. Every time I caused trouble, he’d simply throw me over his shoulder and carry me into his office. Outsiders thought he was disciplining me, but in reality, he was pinning me to his desk until my legs turned to jelly. Gradually, I found myself craving it, addicted to the taste of him. Was it because he was so good in bed? Or was it because I was so lonely? I didn’t know. I only knew one thing: I was completely, utterly hooked. So, for his birthday, I spent an entire day decorating his villa. Roses, candlelight, music—I even had the engagement ring ready. But I waited all night, until the candles burned out and the roses wilted, but he never showed. It wasn’t until three in the morning that a news alert popped up on my phone— #Billionaire CEO’s Late-Night Airport Reunion with His Pristine Angel# In the photo, Julian Sterling was carefully escorting a girl in a white dress into a car, his eyes filled with a blinding tenderness. The comments section exploded: “OMG, what a powerful CEO and his delicate innocent! I’m obsessed with them.” “Holy sh*t! Isn’t that Mr. Sterling and Seraphina, the campus sweetheart? Back in our school days, they were the golden couple!” “I went to the same school, and I can confirm! Mr. Sterling was always cold to everyone, but he’d only smile at Seraphina! If she hadn’t gotten sick and gone abroad to recover, they’d have married ages ago, right?” My phone *clattered* to the floor. I couldn’t believe my eyes. If Julian’s heart already belonged to someone else, what did that make me? A convenient bed warmer? I trembling dialed Julian’s number, desperate for an explanation, but my calls went straight to voicemail. After the last attempt failed, I put down my phone and walked into Julian’s study, a room he never allowed me to enter. The moment I pushed the door open, I felt as if I’d been struck by lightning— His study was filled with Seraphina’s photos. Graduation pictures, travel snapshots, even candid shots of her sleeping. Julian Sterling, the epitome of cool self-possession, was capable of something like this. Whether I got an answer or not suddenly seemed irrelevant. I started to laugh, the sound echoing harshly in the empty room. I laughed until scorching tears streamed down my face, tracing the curve of my jawline before splashing onto the polished floor. Red-eyed, I trashed the entire villa. When Julian returned the next day, he simply called for cleanup, calmly surveying the wreckage. He didn’t even spare me a glance, as if my destructive outburst was just another one of my ‘normal’ antics. I watched, helpless, as the house staff swept away the engagement ring I had so carefully prepared, treating it like trash. He didn’t know what was in that box. He didn’t know I had wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. And he certainly didn’t know that the moment that ring was swept into the trash, I decided I would no longer love him. “Miss Vance, where are you headed?” The driver’s voice pulled me back to reality. “Home.” I opened my eyes, my voice cold. “To the Vance Estate.” Back at the Vance family villa, my father immediately rushed to greet me. “Scarlett, are you really willing to marry into that South City family?” On the stairs, my stepmother also looked at me expectantly. “Yes, really,” I said, my eyes cold. “But didn’t I say I had a condition?” “What condition? Tell me!” “I want to—” I said, enunciating each word, “—sever all ties as father and daughter.” The air instantly froze. My father’s face changed dramatically. “You’re being outrageous! Do you know what you’re saying?” “I couldn’t be clearer,” I replied, my voice like ice. “You cheated on my mother, then relentlessly tormented her, pushing her to the brink until she took her own life, all to make way for that woman. From that day on, I vowed never to acknowledge you as my father.” I stared at my father’s ashen face. “Now that family of the dying heir in South City has put up a $50 billion bounty for a bride, and you’ve been begging me for three months. If I didn’t agree, were you planning to tie me up and drag me there?” “Given that, what difference does it make if we sever ties now?” I sneered, a mocking curve to my lips. “Go ahead, bring your mistress’s daughter back and crown her the heiress of the Vance Estate.” My father trembled with rage. “Fine! Sever ties then! But that heir in South City is supposedly not going to live past the end of the month, so you *must* marry him before then!” He sneered. “As for your Mrs. Hayes’s daughter, she returned from abroad a few days ago and has been staying at a hotel. Since you’re willing to step aside, she’ll be moving in tomorrow!” I laughed, my heart aching and trembling. “You’re truly one of a kind, so eager to pamper another man’s child while neglecting your own flesh and blood.” I turned to leave, but my stepmother, Eleanor, feigned concern and blocked my path. “Scarlett, how can you speak to your father like that?” I stopped abruptly. I slowly turned, my eyes burning with years of suppressed hatred. “What? Do you think once I’m married and out of this house, you can finally start acting like the real lady of the house?” I advanced, step by step. “Listen to me, Eleanor! My mother may be gone, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a universally despised homewrecker! And your precious daughter, even if she becomes the heiress of the Vance Estate, will never erase the stain of having a homewrecker for a mother!” Eleanor’s face instantly went pale, and she stumbled back two steps. I turned and walked away, each step feeling like I was treading on knife edges. It wasn’t until I reached my room and closed the door that I slid to the floor, all my strength drained, burying my face deep in my knees. The next morning, I heard a clamor of moving and laughter downstairs. “What’s going on?” I threw open my door. “Is anyone trying to sleep around here?” The butler stammered, “Miss Vance… Miss Seraphina has moved in…” Before he could finish, a familiar figure appeared at the top of the stairs— Seraphina, in a delicate white sundress, stood there, looking utterly fragile. My blood instantly froze! I never imagined that my stepmother’s daughter, who had supposedly been “recovering” abroad for years, was Julian Sterling’s pristine angel. What a cruel twist of fate. The next second, Seraphina walked toward me, offering a sweet smile. “Scarlett, I’m so sorry, did I wake you…?” Before she could finish, I slammed the door shut with a *bang*. “Scarlett Vance! Do you have no manners?!” my father roared from outside. “Clear out your room! Seraphina likes it, so from now on, that will be *her* room!” I sneered and immediately opened my closet to start packing. Fragmented conversations drifted from outside the door— “Mr. Vance, is Scarlett upset?” Seraphina’s voice dripped with saccharine sweetness. “Don’t mind her. She’s been spoiled rotten since childhood.” “But…” “Don’t worry, she’ll be married off to South City soon. Then this house will belong to you and your mother.” My hands paused for a moment, then my sneer deepened. I efficiently booked a flight to South City for the end of the month and continued packing. Half an hour later, I dragged my suitcase out of the room. In the living room, my father, Eleanor, and Seraphina were sitting on the sofa watching TV, with fruits and snacks on the coffee table, looking every bit like a happy family. I walked past them without sparing a glance. “Stop!” my father barked, his voice sharp. “What are you doing now? Don’t forget your promise!” “Don’t worry, I’ll keep my word,” I said, without looking back. “It’s just that I don’t want to stay here for the next two weeks and feel disgusted.” I went straight to the most expensive hotel in the city and booked the presidential suite. In the days that followed, I went on a shopping spree— I bought the most extravagant wedding dress, then splurged on antique jewelry at auctions for my dowry. Even if the wedding was just a ceremony to ‘pray’ for a dying man’s health, I would still marry in grand style. My phone vibrated endlessly in my bag. I didn’t check it until I’d bought the last diamond necklace. Thirty-eight missed calls, all from my father. The moment I answered, my father’s roar came through. “Are you out of your mind?! You spent three billion today! Are you trying to bankrupt me?!” “What’s the rush?” I sneered. “Once I marry, you’ll have $50 billion flowing into your account.” “But that money hasn’t arrived yet! If you keep spending like this, the company will declare bankruptcy tomorrow!” I sneered. I wanted him to go bankrupt. I’d already planned for the Caldwell family to transfer that $50 billion directly into my personal account after the wedding. Then I’d see if Seraphina and her homewrecker mother would still loyally stick with a penniless old man.
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