Chapter 1
“It’s getting late. Go to bed.”
The man’s deep, husky voice jolted Cordelia Jenner out of her thoughts. When she looked up, her gaze met his dark eyes, filled with an emotion she couldn’t quite place.
Nervously, she clutched the hem of her wedding dress, her heartbeat quickening.
She had been sitting at the edge of the bed since entering the room, her back stiff from the tension of staying perfectly still for so long. She hadn’t even bothered to change out of her wedding dress. It wasn’t until he stepped out of the bathroom, having just showered, that the realization hit her—she was going to spend the night with him, her new husband. But she had no idea how to act around him, especially when she had only married him as a substitute.
Cordelia was the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy family. She had married this man—who was financially struggling—on behalf of her older sister, fulfilling an arrangement made by the previous generation of their families. The agreement came with a hefty sum of money, money that would secure her mother’s treatment and ensure her younger brother could continue his studies.
For Cordelia, it was simply the only way for her family to survive.
Taking a deep breath, she inched toward the bathroom like a startled rabbit.
“I… I’ll take a shower too.”
His eyes darkened.
Quickly, Cordelia darted into the bathroom. Just as she reached for the door, she realized with a shock that it didn’t even have a lock. The worn-down wooden door offered no protection, leaving her frozen in place. No matter how difficult her life had been up until now, she’d never imagined it would come to this kind of poverty.
Her eyes welled with tears as she stood there, hesitating, unable to remove her wedding dress.
Outside, the man seemed to sense her uncertainty. His voice came through the door, steady and calm. “I’ll smoke outside. Take your time.”
Cordelia stiffened. Pressing her ear to the door, she heard his footsteps receding, followed by the faint creak of the door before silence settled in.
The walls of the room, with their peeling paint and fading decor, felt as though they mirrored the ruin around them. A typhoon had struck the city the day before her wedding, leaving behind broken billboards and fallen trees scattered along the roads. Cordelia had gotten married amid the destruction.
There had been no grand wedding car waiting for her—only a long walk before getting into an inconspicuous van that had driven her far longer than she’d expected, all the way to this village. Her wedding dress and shoes were soiled from the muddy roads.
The elders had always warned that weddings held in such stormy weather were doomed to be unlucky, but Cordelia had long given up on the idea of her own happiness.
After a while, she emerged from the bathroom, her damp hair towel-dried. Her husband still hadn’t returned. He must have really taken his time with that smoke.
She looked around the modest two-room cottage, noting the places where rain leaked through. It wasn’t much, but with a little effort, it could become a cozy home. She smiled faintly and began tidying up, organizing as much as she could before he came back.
As she bent down to pull the sheets off the bed, the door creaked open, and he stepped inside. She quickly turned around—only to have the towel she was wearing slip off. In a panic, she wrapped her arms around herself, but it was too late—he had already seen everything.
Blushing furiously, Cordelia scrambled to cover herself with the sheets.
The man swallowed hard, his gaze growing darker, harder to read. He walked toward her, his voice low and unexpectedly husky.
“It’s getting late. Let’s go to bed.”
The emphasis on the word let’s made her heart race even faster.
Her eyes squeezed shut, and before she could react, she felt a strong arm around her waist. In an instant, she was pulled into his embrace, her body pressed against his as he guided her toward the bed…