Chapter 6 "Look, isn't that the Lidell family's eldest daughter, Willow?" "Has she been kidnapped? Oh, goodness, she's being dunked into the water! It is no wonder only Miss Wendy is here tonight." "How cruel! Miss Willow looks like she's about to drown in that video!" Horace looked deathly pale. Meanwhile, menace flashed in Wendy's eyes. "Honored guests, this is some kind of mistake. Someone has ill intentions toward me. My eldest daughter is overseas right now. Nothing has happened to her!" However, he was very quickly proven wrong. The audio recording of Wendy's misdeeds played out loudly for everyone to hear. "I want you to torment Willow half to death. Scare her to bits so she doesn't dare return from Hurac. How dare she try to take what's mine? Doesn't she know what a piece of trash she is? She will end up just like her mom. In her despair, she will know that her only escape is death." The whole place fell silent. Horace's wine glass fell and shattered on the floor. Meanwhile, Wendy had fallen in a sprawl on the floor. Wendy clutched Connor's pant leg and said, "Connor, you have to believe me. This didn't happen. This video must be fake. You know me. Things have been so hard for me these past few years." Connor looked at her coldly before bending down to pry her fingers off him. "My biggest mistake was ever trusting you." As Connor strode away, the crowd burst into a flurry of discussion. These were all people who knew how to play the game. They worshiped the ground those more powerful than them walked on, and they disdained those below them. With the Lidell family having lost the Gordon family's support, Horace and Wendy became targets of their ire. Although Horace adored Wendy, it was an easy choice to make between her and his profits. Ignoring Wendy's begging, he slapped her hard. Wendy had never been treated this way before, so she could not handle it. She immediately started shouting. "Dad, how could you treat me this way! Didn't you approve of this whole thing?" "You idiot!" Horace scolded her. Any semblance of familial love was thrown to the side. They started an all-out brawl right there at the banquet. With such a huge drama involving a wealthy family, everyone could not help but gasp and titter. འ ཎ ཇ བོ The ruckus did not last for long, as Horace and Wendy were arrested as suspects of causing intentional harm to Willow. Beneath Connor's subtle manipulations, the Lidell family fell like a house of cards. After getting off the plane, I was brought to a quiet estate. "Miss Willow, Mr. Prentiss hopes that you can rest well here. Let me introduce myself. I am Mr. Prentiss's second-in- command. You are currently in the safest place in Hurac." I only smiled in response. 1/3 TID BONUS: If it were that simple and easy, this estate would not have lost three of its previous mistresses. Fatigue from the day assaulted me. In the end, I thought of nothing at all as I slept deeply. Nothing happened over the next five days. The injuries I had suffered also healed. "Madam, the don is waiting for you in his study." The butler led me through the ornately decorated hallways. Step by step, I was getting closer to the man whose methods were rumored to be cold and cruel. It was said that he was ugly and temperamental. No one could ever tell what he was thinking. As for his three previous wives, they were said to have spent every day in great suffering. However, when I saw that almost mythical person, I realized how ridiculous the rumors were. Aaron Prentiss was leaning against the desk, his steel-gray shirt showing off his broad shoulders and trim waist. Behind his gold -rimmed glasses, his blue eyes were deep as the Atlantic. He was twirling a fountain pen in his hand, his fingers long and deft. When he saw me come in, he shot me a smile. "My Willow, you've arrived. Do you know why I picked you?" Aaron's tone sounded lazy. "It's because your grandfather owes our family three lives. Whether it's you or your sister, one of you would have to come here for this marriage." It seemed that everything had already been set in stone decades ago. I was nothing but a lamb to be sacrificed to repay a blood debt. "It is dangerous to be by my side. However, Willow, I can tell from the look in your eyes that you are beautiful and brave. Will you spend more of your time with me?" During the next two weeks, I lived my life as if I were a piece of decor. The respected mafia don rarely came home. Sometimes, he would be back to handle some business and say a few words to me. Every time we spoke, his mesmerizing blue eyes looked deeply into mine. However, I knew that all of it was an act. One night, a terrible storm raged outside. After the dinner banquet ended, Aaron sent me back to the estate. As we walked past a fountain in the garden, I suddenly heard the subtle friction of metal rubbing together. "Get down!" I instinctively threw myself forward and pressed Aaron hard into the fountain. Deafening explosions rang out. My back exploded into a firework of pain. As the bodyguards rushed over, I fell unconscious. The surgery room was busy the whole night through. Aaron sat in the study and looked through the report his second-in-command had brought him. The bomb had been planted by a spy from a rival family. They were targeting him. 2/3 It had been the fourth assassination attempt. The previous three attempts were executed by women who pretended to marry him to get close enough to kill him. However, Willow had saved him in this attempt. In the security tapes, he could see her lunging for him without hesitation. She had even shielded him with her back, with it taking most of the damage from the shrapnel. "Sir, the madam is awake," the doctor said, interrupting Aaron's thoughts. Footsteps came from outside. With my back all bandaged up and the wounds still tender and painful, I could only lie on my tummy on the bed. I could hardly turn my head. Aaron took off his suit coat and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. His forearms were scarred and puckered with war wounds. "Does it hurt, Willow?" Aaron asked softly as he sat by the bed. He had never sounded so tender before. Right then, he was like a different person from what I had heard in those rumors. "They said you killed your last three wives," I began softly. I thought that he would not answer me. But Aaron was only silent for a bit before he said, "They were all assassins. The first one poisoned my wine, the second hid a gun under her pillow, and the third..." He paused before saying, "She put a lethal dose of sleeping pills in my coffee." I was stunned. For the first time, I heard a hint of great sorrow in his words. Rumors concerning him had been far from the truth. Also, he was not a jinx who only brought misfortune upon his wives. Aaron was a lonely person. Could he be hoping for someone to stick with him through life? "Why did you save me?" he asked suddenly. I could tell from his blue eyes that he was having some complicated feelings.