Chapter 3

I hadn't expected my brother to show up. "Ryan, what are you doing here?"

He looked at the slap mark on my face. "If I hadn't come, my sister would have been bullied to death!"

He didn't notice Blake raising a decorative sculpture nearby, ready to smash it down!

I gasped, but it was too late to stop him. I watched, helpless, as my brother fell, blood staining my wedding dress.

I pushed Blake away like a madwoman. "He's my brother!"

Blake, ever so loyal to Ashley, shielded her behind him. "So what if he's your brother? Ashley is my ride-or-die! She raced on a death-defying track to save my life once!"

My blood ran cold. He was willing to hurt my family for a best friend!

But what he didn't know was that when he cheated during a race and almost died, I was the one who got on that treacherous speedway and won the round for him.

I pulled out my phone to call the police, but Blake snatched it and smashed it to pieces.

He looked at me as if I were insane. "Are you crazy? What's the standing of my Blackwood family? So what if I hit your brother? No one died, why call the police? Are you really going to call the cops on your future husband?"

I started crying, frantic, but my brother, struggling, tried to comfort me. "Don't be scared, Chloe. Brother's okay."

Our commotion alerted the store staff. They quickly came to help stop my brother's bleeding, but they also knew Blake's status and dared not intervene further.

Ashley seemed incredibly wronged. "No one in the capital city dares to hit me, Ashley Jenkins! Your cheap relatives really have no idea who they're messing with!"

Blake pointed at my brother's nose and cursed. "Hey, you country bumpkin, out of respect for you being Chloe's older brother, just kowtow to my buddy and we'll call it even."

I was so angry I almost laughed. My brother had lived his entire life, and no one had ever dared to speak to him like that.

His ranches held enough cattle to trample Blake flat!

As I laughed, tears started to fall. After a month of wedding planning, Blake clearly had no interest in understanding my family.

So, he had no idea of the immense industrial empire my brother commanded.

My brother wiped my tears, his gaze, in his peripheral vision, turning sinister as he looked at Blake. "Our entire family wouldn't let a single tear fall from her eyes. Do you honestly think scum like you deserves to marry my sister?"

My brother pulled out his phone to call the police. This time, Blake didn't stop him, only staring at me coldly. "Chloe! Your brother is going to get me arrested! Do you still want to have this wedding? Don't forget, you're the one who proposed to me!"

At the time, I had just graduated from grad school, and my family wanted me to marry early. To get rid of the endless stream of blind dates, I'd suggested getting married…

But how was I to know that after he eagerly agreed, he would go and marry his best friend?

Seeing my indifference, Blake kicked a table. "Whatever. Call the cops if you want. Do you really think the police department will actually defend poor people like you?"

Soon, the police arrived.

One look and I knew trouble was brewing. Leading the officers was Chad Mitchell, one of the rich kids who had bullied me before.

Chad greeted Blake warmly. "Well, well? Isn't this Blake Blackwood and his little darling? Blake nearly killed us trying to play hero back then!"

After exchanging pleasantries, he didn't even ask questions, immediately ordering my brother to be taken away.

He claimed my brother had slapped Ashley, completely ignoring the blood gushing from my brother's head!

I tried to intervene, but Blake grabbed me. "Your brother called the police! Some country bumpkin from nowhere actually thinks he can sue us rich kids. If you still want to be Mrs. Blackwood, don't you dare help him. It's beneath you!"

Watching my brother being forcibly pushed into the police car, I bit Blake hard in my desperation.

He shoved me against the wall.

Stars exploded before my eyes, and I vaguely saw Chad and Blake slinging arms around each other. "Keep your woman in line. Don't let her come looking for trouble with me."

They were unsettlingly chummy!

But I had no time to ponder it. Everything went black, and I passed out.

No one noticed my shattered phone in the corner, conspicuously displaying a call from Julian Blackwood.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself locked in a basement.

Ashley saw I was awake and grabbed my hair. "You little vixen! You've caused all this trouble, and Blake still insists on marrying you."

I struggled frantically, the handcuffs digging into my wrists, drawing blood. "Where's Blake? Let that bastard come see me!"

Ashley tossed a listening device at me. "He's too busy for you. Listen for yourself. He's having a blast at his bachelor party. He wants you to reflect on your behavior and remember your place. Don't take his affection for granted."

After Ashley left, darkness enveloped me, and an suffocating,濒死的 feel settled in.

Blake knew I had severe claustrophobia. He'd even gone out of his way to learn about it.

He knew I might die, yet he cruelly locked me in this dark basement.