Chapter 1

• "Your wedding won't go smoothly! I'll let you know Marcus only loves me, and you're just a loser!"
• After Charlotte Bernard read this text, her face darkened.
• Today was her wedding with Marcus Gallagher; and the text was from Marcus' childhood sweetheart, Lydia Wagner.
• Charlotte took a deep breath before turning off her phone.
• For this wedding, the Bernard family and the Gallagher family invited every influential figure in Aelmere. While Charlotte told herself that Marcus wouldn't do anything stupid on such an occasion, she still felt a bit worried.
• Meantime, the host on the stage announced the entrance of the groom. "Next, please give your warmest welcome to our handsome groom, Mr. Marcus Gallagher!"
• As the host's voice trailed off, the banquet hall broke out into a round of thunderous applause.
• However, a few seconds had passed, and the groom, who should get on the stage, was still nowhere to be found.
• Whispers circulated among the crowd. The host smiled calmly to make light of the "small accident," but half a minute later, he realized something was wrong and stopped talking. A silence fell upon the banquet hall.
• Suddenly, a loud and crisp slap sounded from backstage. People who were sitting near the stage witnessed the groom being slapped by his mother, Marisa Gallagher.
• Then, they saw Marcus yank off the flower pinned on his left chest and run toward the door.
• Meanwhile, Charlotte's father, Greyson Bernard, was waiting to walk his baby girl down the aisle.
• He patted Charlotte's arm gently and asked, "Lottie, are you nervous?"
• Charlotte glanced at Greyson and forced a smile.
• Just as she wanted to say something, she heard Marisa's voice from behind. "Marcus, come back!"
• Charlotte clenched her fists. A feeling of unease washed over her.
• The moment Charlotte looked back, Marcus brushed past her.
• When Marcus saw Charlotte, his eyes flashed with guilt. "Lottie, I'm sorry. Something happened to Lydia. I gotta go check on her. Our wedding will have to wait."
• While talking, Marcus didn't stop walking.
• What he had said broke Charlotte's heart.
• Meanwhile, Greyson's face instantly darkened. He didn't expect that Marcus would abandon Charlotte in front of all the friends and relatives.
• Rooted to the spot, Charlotte watched Marcus running away, her mind blank.
• Suddenly, a voice in her heart woke her up and told her that she had to stop him!
• She then gathered her thoughts, lifted her dress, and chased Marcus.
• Though running in high heels was killing Charlotte, she didn't stop. She gritted her teeth and tried her best to catch up with Marcus.
• When she darted out of the hotel, Marcus already crossed the street.
• Without second thoughts, she followed him.
• Just as Marcus was about to get into the car, he heard a screech of the tires, followed by Marisa's scream. "Lottie!"
• Charlotte, who donned a white dress, was hit by a black car. A sharp pain instantly spread across her legs.
• Charlotte fell to the ground, blood seeping out and staining her white dress red. Her arms were covered with bruises and grazes, making her look like a miserable mess, but she didn't care.
• She just propped against the ground and struggled to sit up. Then, she bit her lip, fixing her eyes on Marcus, who was standing next to a car.
• Charlotte didn't utter a word, just looking at Marcus beseechingly as tears welled up in her eyes.
• She was begging Marcus to stay with her eyes, hoping that he would choose her over Lydia for this once.
• However, Marcus just cast a glance at her before hopping into the car.
• In less than three seconds, the car was out of Charlotte's sight.
• Sitting on the ground, Charlotte stared blankly at the passing cars. As the excruciating pain from her legs hit her, she finally burst into tears.
• She couldn't help wondering in her heart, 'Why? Why did you just leave me like that? It's our wedding today! Have you ever loved me?'
• Tears blurred Charlotte's vision. With a pathetic smile, she fell back to the ground.
• Before she completely lost consciousness, she saw a man getting out of the black car that just hit her. In a tailored suit and expensive leather shoes, he sauntered toward her.
• Charlotte was severely injured. She was sent to the hospital and underwent an emergency operation for eight hours.
• But even so, Charlotte was still not out of the woods yet. If she didn't wake up in the next 48 hours, she would never be able to in the future.
• When Greyson heard this, he almost fainted.
• Greyson's wife passed away a long time ago, so his baby girl, Charlotte, meant the whole world to him. It was supposed to be Charlotte's big day today, but Marcus ruined it by deserting Charlotte at the wedding.
• Looking at the Gallaghers, Greyson flew into a rage. "Get lost! All of you, get the hell out of here!"
• After Greyson drove away the Gallaghers, there was only Charlotte, and her best friend, Elizabeth Buck, in the ward.
• As Charlotte's bridesmaid, Elizabeth was on standby in the banquet hall the whole time. When Elizabeth realized something was wrong, Charlotte was already carried into an ambulance.
• Elizabeth couldn't understand how such a joyful wedding turned into an awful disaster!
• She blamed Marcus and his heartlessness for all this!
• Fortunately, the next day morning, Charlotte woke up. She tried to move, only to find her body was wrapped in gauze, and the only part that was unscathed was her hands.
• When Charlotte saw the phone on the bedside table, she endured the pain, grabbed it, tapped the screen, and found that she received no messages from Marcus.
• While she was feeling down, her phone suddenly buzzed. A notification popped out, titled "Marcus Gallagher ran away at his wedding and flew to Butterwyvern at night to see his mistress..."
• Charlotte's hands began to tremble uncontrollably, and she subconsciously loosened her grip.
• The phone slipped out of her hands, bumped on the bedside rail, and dropped to the ground with a bang, which awakened Elizabeth. Elizabeth subconsciously looked at Charlotte. And when she found Charlotte had woken up, she was stirred to excitement. "Lottie, you're awake!"
• "Liz..."
• Charlotte stared at Elizabeth, her voice shaking.
• Charlotte just woke up from the coma, so Elizabeth didn't overthink and just remembered something dropped to the ground.
• When Elizabeth bent down, she found it was Charlotte's phone.
• But after Elizabeth picked up the phone and saw the news title on the screen and the attached picture of Marcus holding Lydia in his arms below, she flew into a rage.
• She didn't know if Charlotte had seen the news. But to avoid irking Charlotte, Elizabeth suppressed her anger and pretended everything was fine, saying, "Lottie, you're finally awake! I'll get the doctor here!"
• As Elizabeth spoke, she put the phone back on the bedside table. Charlotte glanced it over quietly. Then, she closed her eyes and muttered, "OK."
• Charlotte noticed that Elizabeth was still wearing the bridesmaid's dress and realized that Elizabeth must have spent the whole night guarding her in the ward.
• Now that Charlotte had already woken up, she didn't want her friend to keep worrying about her.
• Charlotte thought to herself, 'Marcus and I have known each other for twelve years. But when it comes to Lydia, Marcus would always choose her over me. I've told myself that he still loves me, and he has me in his heart. I thought it was OK that he left me for Lydia. But no. It's not OK. Look at me now. I'm totally a mess. Well, Marcus really loves me? No. If he did, he would never just leave me like that! That's enough! I'm done with it!'
• Charlotte grabbed the sheets and gnashed her teeth, which made the pain worse.
• But this was the only way to keep her sane.
• She had had enough of Marcus!
• Soon, Elizabeth returned, and Greyson also came back with breakfast. When he saw Charlotte had woken up, he finally set his mind at ease.
• After seeing the doctor having a check on Charlotte, Greyson walked out of the ward and suddenly collapsed.
• When Charlotte heard the commotion outside, she subconsciously called out for Greyson. Meanwhile, a shadow of panic passed her pallid face. She wanted to get up but couldn't.
• Seeing this, Elizabeth first consoled Charlotte and then went to see what was going on.
• Charlotte lay on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. At this moment, she resented herself more than ever.
• The moment Leandro Romero and his assistant, Melvin Pollard, walked out of the elevator, they saw the nurse and doctor helping Greyson into the break room.
• Seeing Leandro stop in his tracks, Melvin also hesitated. "Mr. Romero?"
• Leandro turned his eyes, raised his hand, and signaled Melvin to go see what happened.
• Melvin took the hint, turned around, and went to check on Greyson, while Leandro continued to walk towards Charlotte's ward.
• As Leandro walked into the ward, Charlotte heard the footsteps and slowly opened her eyes. Immediately, she met Leandro's dark eyes. "Mr. Romero?"
• "Ms. Bernard, I hit you by the car yesterday. How can I compensate you?"
• Leandro's voice was deep and cold. His tone was light and lofty.
• Charlotte was stunned. In fact, she was partly responsible for the car accident last night because she didn't pay attention to the traffic while chasing after Marcus.
• Charlotte lowered her eyes and looked at the gauze, remaining silent.
• Suddenly, her phone buzzed. She immediately turned her head to the side and struggled to get her phone. However, she stretched her wound inadvertently, and her face instantly turned pale.
• When Leandro saw it, picked up Charlotte's phone, and put it in front of her.
• Then, Charlotte saw Lydia's message on the screen.
• While she read it, a brilliant and absurd idea occurred to her.
• Without taking the phone, Charlotte raised her head and looked at Leandro. "Marry me."
• She knew she would put Leandro in a difficult position by saying so. But everyone was laughing at her after knowing that Marcus ditched her at their wedding, so she wanted to silence them.
• After thinking so, Charlotte gritted her teeth and repeated, "I want you to marry me."