Chapter 2

Holt and I had a business marriage. Grandpa Sterling and Grandpa Grant were war buddies who, after surviving life and death together, arranged this match.

But originally, this marriage was meant for Lila. The reason was simple—she was the rose the Grant family had raised for eighteen years.

As for me, I was the Grant family's biological daughter who had been switched at birth.

Someone like me would never have had a chance to meet someone like Holt—a golden boy, an heir. Much less fall in love.

Until I was eighteen, when the Grant parents found me, tearfully telling me I was their biological daughter, and that a nurse's mistake at birth had caused our separation.

At that time, I was living in an orphanage. When I saw my parents arrive in their luxury car, I thought my future days would be easier. At least I wouldn't have to collect trash to sell for tuition money. The orphanage was poor, and not every child could go to school.

But I didn't receive the guilt and compensation from my parents. Only cold treatment. I thought, as long as I can go to school, it's fine.

They said the fake daughter's parents had passed away, so they wouldn't send her away. But their daily treatment of us was worlds apart.

I didn't feel like the Grant family's Tessa. I felt more like the maid's daughter.

It wasn't until my parents asked me to enter a business marriage that I learned the handsome young man Lila had always followed around had been in a serious car accident. They said his leg would never heal, and he would limp for the rest of his life.

Lila cried and screamed that she would never marry a cripple.

So this mission fell to me.

I could have refused. But when I thought of that face, so handsome under the sunlight, which I hadn't seen in a year, I agreed as if possessed.

That year I was twenty, about to start my sophomore year. My parents made me take a leave of absence, and I got married at a young age.

When I went to see him, he threw a terrible tantrum, smashing a vase at my feet and shouting for Lila to come.

But Lila had already gone abroad to study, funded by our parents' black card.

The Grant parents' business relied on Sterling Corporation. Lila didn't want to marry a cripple, but they needed someone to stabilize the relationship between the two families, so they pushed me forward.

That was the first time my mother, Mrs. Grant, showed me any kindness. She cried about how difficult things were for the family, cried about how pitiful Lila was, cried about how Mr. Grant's hair was already turning white.

I remained unmoved. I said, why are you telling me all this? If I want to marry him, it's not because of you. It's because of Holt himself.

When I was a freshman, Holt was a senior. He was the famous campus heartthrob and campus king. The confession wall was filled with countless confessions, and countless daughters of wealthy families tried to win his favor. But at that time, only Lila was by his side.

Because of this, Lila became the object of everyone's admiration. She proudly talked about how unique she was to Holt, how she occupied an unshakable position in his heart.

I appreciated people with good looks, but what I appreciated more was his academic achievement.

His obsession with and dedication to mathematics led him to publish many SCI papers. I had read every single one, and they had even solved several problems I'd been stuck on.

I was impressed by his talent. It wasn't hard to go from admiration to love.

On our wedding day, Holt didn't smile once. I was so nervous that I kept trembling and wiping the sweat from my hands.

I almost fell when Holt took my hand.

The people around us laughed. I felt like something that couldn't be presented in public. I faintly heard people mention Lila, and Holt's face darkened even more.

I thought, he must love Lila. Otherwise, why would he resent me so much?

In that instant, I regretted it—regretted my marriage and regretted my secret crush.

That night, Holt vented on my body, but his leg wasn't working well. It hurt so much that I pushed him down, stopped him from moving, and sat on top of him myself, slowly taking him in. Before long, both our breathing grew heavy. Holt's face flushed red, and I too was lost in my own movements.