The day Julian—my father’s "seventh brother"—and I were planning to go public with our relationship, my father sent him on a suicide mission. Julian told me that if he made it back alive, he would marry me in the grandest wedding the city had ever seen. I turned down every marriage proposal that came my way and waited for him for three years. When he finally returned, covered in scars, walking with a limp, and missing a finger, he knelt before my father. "Boss, I want to trade the credit for this mission for a favor. I want to marry Bella." Behind him stood a girl named Bella, timidly cradling a very pregnant belly. My father instinctively looked at me. Everyone in the room held their breath, expecting me to tear the place apart and scream until my lungs gave out. Instead, I simply smiled, bowed my head, and said, "Welcome to the family, Aunt Bella." Three years' worth of marriage proposals were piled up in the corners of my room. I walked in, pulled one from the stack at random, and agreed to marry him. On my wedding day, Julian hijacked the convoy with a gun in his hand. "If you go through with this, I’ll kill him." Chapter 1 My father has seven brothers-in-arms, men who have bled for the family business. Julian Vance is number seven. He was the most handsome of my seven "uncles," and the one I had loved since I was a teenager. My father later said that if he had known about us, he never would have sent Julian away. Out of all the lieutenants, Julian was the best fighter. If he couldn't survive the mission, the others would have just been cannon fodder. But that was three years ago. "Miss Stella! Seven... Mr. Vance is back!" My eyes snapped open. I ran out of my room barefoot. The butler tried to stop me. "Miss..." Seeing his hesitation, I stopped. I knew something had changed. "I understand." I grabbed an umbrella and walked out. In my rush, the hem of my dress dragged in the mud. The main hall was packed. My six other uncles stood under the eaves, looking at Julian with a mix of hatred and relief. I didn't understand where the hatred came from until I saw him. "Dad." Everyone looked at me. My father, usually radiating an aura of menace, softened when he saw me. "What’s going on? Why is he kneeling?" Julian glanced at me. It was a cold look, the kind you give a stranger. He slammed his head against the floorboards. "Boss, she and the child are innocent. I don't want to put them in a difficult position." "I’m begging you, Boss. Begging you, Miss Stella. Let us be." He bowed his head again. In a daze, the pieces clicked together. A girl walked in from the rain, cautious and fearful. She was about my age. Under her white dress, her belly was swollen with pregnancy. She knelt beside Julian, weeping silently. My father fingered the prayer beads in his hand, saying nothing. Julian probably didn't expect his request to be this difficult. After all, our relationship had been a secret. No one knew. But he forgot one thing. If I hadn't confessed the truth to my father years ago, I would have been married off for a business alliance long before I could wait three years for a ghost. Everyone in the room looked at me with pity. I look docile, but everyone knows I have a temper that could burn this house down. Uncle Six walked up behind me, trying to comfort me. I raised my hand, cutting him off. My eyes never left Julian. Three years. He had aged. A deep scar cut through his eyebrow, he had a limp, and a finger was gone. Obviously, he had been through hell. "Uncle Seven is a hero of the Chase family. We don't make heroes kneel," I said, my voice steady. My father waved his hand, visibly emotional, and signaled for Julian to rise. "Dad, I remember next month on the 3rd is a lucky date. Let's arrange the wedding for Uncle Seven and Aunt Bella." My father, usually stoic, choked up for a second. The other uncles lowered their heads in silence. Only the couple in the rain hugged each other and cried tears of joy. Because next month on the 3rd was the date my father had originally picked for my wedding to Julian. He had chosen three dates over the years. This was the last one. He told me I’d eventually catch a date when Julian came home. The man came home. The proposal happened. But the bride wasn't me. Meeting Julian’s tender gaze directed at the girl, I snapped, "Is everyone mute? Pay your respects!" The courtyard full of bodyguards shouted in unison, "Welcome home, Mr. Vance! Hello, Mrs. Vance!" Chapter 2 I spun around under my umbrella and walked away. I could feel the burning stares on my back. Uncle Six chased after me. "Stella, honey, I'm so sorry." I pushed open my bedroom door. Proposals from various powerful families were stacked like firewood in the corners. "Uncle Six, out of all these candidates, who has the most value?" "With the Chase family's current standing, marriage is just icing on the cake. We don't need value." "Then who's the best looking?" Seeing Uncle Six hesitate, I pulled a file from the middle of the stack. "Silas Sterling." "Maybe pick another one." "Why?" A cool, lazy voice drifted in from the window. "Because he has a bad reputation. He only knows how to party, drink, and spend money. He knows jack squat about business or power. He's a famous waste of space." I looked towards the window, then down at the photo in the file. "You look better than your picture." Uncle Six pointed at the man sitting on my balcony railing. "You punk! You dare climb the Chase family's walls? Do you want to lose your legs?" I shoved the file into Uncle Six's chest. "Him. I want him." Silas Sterling was lounging on the outer wall of my balcony, legs crossed. Hearing this, he sat up straighter and looked me over. "Clean up your mess with Julian Vance. In seven days, I'll bring the convoy to pick you up." With that, he flipped off the high wall and vanished. Uncle Six took a deep breath, his face red with anger. "That little bastard really is good for nothing." "Not good for nothing," I murmured. "At least his intel is good." If a "waste" like him knew about me and Julian, he wasn't a waste at all. In the evening, I went to the garden gazebo. Julian was waiting there. He sat across from me, dismissing the servants with a glance. I sipped my tea, reading a financial magazine, and asked casually, "Is the child yours?" He didn't answer. He just started peeling lotus seeds for me, a habit from the old days. "Miss Stella... uh, Seven, you're here too. Sorry to interrupt. Miss, here are the files you asked for." My bodyguard dropped a dossier on the table without hesitation. The top photo was of the girl Julian brought back. I leaned back and lit a cigarette. Julian shifted uncomfortably. "I wronged you," he said finally. "Her appearance... she gave me a desire for a peaceful life. She can wait, but the baby can't. I want to give them a legitimate identity. I don't want my kid born a bastard." "If you wanted a peaceful life, you shouldn't have messed with me in the first place." Julian reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a string of ancient coins. "Three years ago, this was the antique set you wanted most. I traveled North and South. I finally collected them all." He put his hand over mine, his eyes intense. "You think a bracelet is going to make me let this go? Is this the first day you've met me?" Without hesitation, Julian slid off the bench and knelt before me. "I'm sorry." "Consider my life yours. Can you just... let her be?" I smiled and stood up. I took one last drag of my cigarette, looked around for an ashtray, and found none. Julian raised his open palms, his eyes dark and resigned. I crushed the burning cigarette out in the center of his hand. "Then go die now." Chapter 3 Julian looked at me in shock. "Is this how you used those sweet words to trick that little girl?" I asked. "Uncle Seven, if pretty words could solve problems, the Chase family wouldn't be sitting on the throne we occupy today." I walked toward the banquet hall. My bodyguard caught up. "Miss, you forgot this." He was holding the antique coin bracelet. "It's worth some money. Keep it. It's yours." "Thank you, Miss." In the banquet hall, my uncles welcomed me with smiles. As soon as I sat down, Su Yueying—Bella—grabbed my hand. "Niece, I heard you and Julian are very close. That means you listen to him. After we get married next month, you should visit us often, just like before." She smiled warmly, but there was a flicker of challenge in her eyes. "Stella, let's add each other on WeChat." She pulled out a phone. The lock screen was a photo of her and Julian. She tapped her forehead dramatically. "Oh, silly me. I'm using Julian's old phone. Niece, Julian didn't save names on this account. Which one is you?" She looked at me with a feigned innocence. Across the table, the uncles sensed the tension. I glanced at it. It was indeed Julian's old phone. Since she wanted to know so badly, I didn't mind telling her. "How could there be no name? The one saved as 'Baby.' That's me." Bella's face stiffened. She didn't expect me to be so shameless. "You two were really close. Is this it?" She held up the phone, ostensibly showing me, but actually showing everyone. The screen was filled with walls of text from me. Asking where he was. Telling him I missed him. Three years of unrequited messages to a dead number. "My phone broke, so I'm using this one. Niece, Julian probably never saw these messages. Should I forward them to his new number?" Julian walked in at that moment. I signaled my bodyguard behind me. "Show that to Julian." "Yes, Miss." He snatched the phone from Bella and handed it to Julian. Julian didn't react to the chat history, but he froze when he saw the bracelet on the bodyguard's wrist. "Where did you get that?" "Miss Stella told me to show it to you." "I mean the bracelet. Where did you get it?" "Miss Stella gave it to me." I couldn't read the look in Julian's eyes. He pulled out a chair and sat next to me. "Sitting here might make it hard to explain things to your fiancée," I said. "Not sitting here would make it hard to explain things to you." He stayed by my side through the whole dinner, occasionally placing food on my plate. Near the end, he suddenly said, cold and low, "Why did you give away something you liked?" I picked at a piece of fish. "Are you talking about the bracelet, or the person?" Silence. I could feel Bella's anger radiating from across the table. I saw her clench her fists under the table. But I didn't care about her feelings. "Still so willful after three years. You really need a husband to manage you." "I'm done eating. Enjoy, everyone." I wiped my mouth, grabbed my bag, and left the table. He thought I was upset. Truthfully, I just didn't need him anymore. In all likelihood, I would be married before he was. "Miss, gentlemen, Boss Chase asks everyone to move to the front parlor." I headed that way. The massive parlor was filled with red chests. Fifty or sixty of them, tied with red silk and 'Double Happiness' symbols. My father sat at the head, holding a list, checking the dowry items one by one. "Is this... is this the dowry for me?" Bella covered her mouth in shock. "So much?" Julian smiled gently and patted her head. My uncles started asking about wedding details. "Have you picked a dress?" "Going tomorrow." "Good. When you get back, go to my vineyard and pick the wine. Take whatever you want." "Thank you, Third Brother." They chatted back and forth. If I didn't know better, I would have thought these were genuinely gifts for Julian. Until the butler ran in, grinning ear to ear. "Boss! Miss Stella! Silas Sterling is here!" Chapter 4 Julian turned around, looking confused. "Why is he here? The Chases and the Sterlings don't interact much." Bella leaned against the wall and dry heaved. "Julian... I don't feel well." "I'll take you to the restroom." Before leaving, Julian instructed Uncle Six, "Six, if Big Brother asks, tell him Bella isn't well. I'm taking her out for a moment." "Go ahead." The Sterling family entourage entered. Silas was wearing a flashy red suit and winked at me. My dad welcomed him with a laugh. "Come, sit." "What is the Sterling family doing here? Why is Big Brother so happy?" Julian asked when he returned. "Second Brother, do you know?" "Third Brother, what's up?" Except for Uncle Six, the other uncles were scratching their heads in confusion while maintaining polite smiles. "Stella chose Silas Sterling for marriage. They are here to propose." "Stella chose him herself? But isn't she..." They looked suspicious but turned to congratulate the Sterlings. "Walk with me?" Silas asked. "Sure." Silas walked me to the backyard. It was his first time at the Chase estate, and he looked around with blatant curiosity. "Julian... I mean, Seven... what did I do wrong?" Bella’s voice drifted from around a corner. "She's the pampered princess with the Chase family backing her. What about me? What about our three years? She's doing this on purpose. I can't swallow this insult." "If she were doing it on purpose, you wouldn't have a chance to marry me. Don't bring this up again." Silas stopped suddenly. He looked back at me with a gaze that screamed... drama. "I'm tired. Shall we sit?" He dove straight for the stone table in the bamboo grove. He wasn't tired. He wanted to eavesdrop. "Julian, why did you change as soon as you came back? From the moment you saw Stella Chase, you've been acting weird! Are you afraid of your boss, giving her face? Or are you not over her?" Julian went silent. I looked down at wedding dress designs on my phone. Silas had good taste; the styles he picked were stunning. "I don't like her. She's just my niece." "Don't think I don't know. Yesterday, you were looking at her photo and you..." Bang. I slammed my hand on the stone table. The two people around the corner looked over in terror. And the man sitting opposite me, Silas, jumped up like he was watching the Super Bowl. "What did Uncle Seven do to Miss Stella's photo?" he shouted. I glanced at Silas. He shut his mouth instantly. "Stella... Stella..." "Uncle Seven can fail to control his woman, that's fine. But if even a whisper of gossip that damages the Chase family reputation gets out, my father will clean up the mess for you." Julian didn't answer. His eyes fixed on Silas. "Miss Stella, finding common ground with trash like him? You've really lowered your standards in three years." Silas didn't get angry. He laughed. "Maybe Miss Stella likes my type." Julian looked at me with certainty. "She's always been proud and noble. She only likes the strongest. A glorious waste of space like you wouldn't catch her eye." Silas raised an eyebrow and nodded. It’s true what my dad says: never speak too confidently. I grabbed Silas and walked back. I showed him a dress on my phone. "This one."
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