Aurora Wynter's daughter was dead.
Her death was caused by her husband, Rowan Sawyer, and her so-called sister, Scarlett Wynter.
Her daughter Isabelle was only seven months old, and she had just learned how to sit up by herself. She was white and tender, like a china doll. She was very beautiful, and there were two dimples on her cheeks when she smiled. They killed such a lovely child on the grounds of carelessness.
"Aurora, Rowan is mine. My son is his flesh and blood. Your daughter is an illegitimate child." Scarlett declared in a venomous tone.
She continued, "You didn't expect that, right? Rowan has never touched you. That night, the man you slept with was not Rowan at all. Who is your daughter's father? Hahaha, you didn't even know that she is just a bastard whose father is unknown!"
"Aurora, do you know how your parents died?"
"They were killed by me! Who told them to leave all their assets to you? No matter what, I am also a part of the Wynter family and their daughter. They should have treated me equally. But in the face of interests, they only considered you their daughter because it is you who have their blood flowing through your veins."
"Aurora, take your illegitimate child and die!"
Aurora stood motionless, her eyes wide in shock as she struggled to process what she had just heard...
Scarlett's words continued to echo in her ears.
Isabelle who was crying on the ground sounded even more heart-wrenching. When she heard her daughter's crying getting weaker and weaker, she started to panic and she begged them desperately to send her daughter to the hospital for emergency treatment. She could abandon Wynter Enterprises and Rowan. She only wanted her daughter to live.
But fate was cruel...
She had nothing left.
Holding Isabelle's lifeless body, she walked out of the hospital with a heart filled with grief, she felt as if she was walking through a nightmare from which she could not awaken.
It was raining outside. It was winter now, and the arrival of the rain made the temperature extremely low. The cold wind whipped through her hair, a bitter reminder of the harsh reality that lay ahead.
Aurora's expression was blank, and her empty eyes filled with tears that fell like rain, a relentless downpour of sorrow that seemed to have no end.
The rain fell on her body and seeped into her hair and clothes little by little. She, whose heart was as gray as death, could not feel the cold. All she knew was regret. The regret echoed through her mind like a never-ending refrain, a sorrowful melody that haunted her every waking moment
She was the biological daughter of the Wynter family, but a simple hospital error, a miscommunication, a mistake, and two babies were switched, setting off a chain reaction of events that would change lives forever.
Four years ago, she was found and became the second daughter of the Wynter family. It turned out that the first daughter, Scarlett, had lived in the Wynter family for more than 20 years and had a deep relationship with her parents so she became their adopted daughter.
Her parents didn't want to drive their adopted daughter away, so the two children who had been switched at birth stayed in the Wynter family together.
When she returned to the Wynter family, she was already 25 years old. Her biological parents felt guilt towards her. After integrating into the upper class, they wanted to arrange a good marriage for her.
At that time, there were several wealthy families in Lumina City who wanted to enter a marriage alliance with the Wynter family.
Even the Blackwood Family, the most powerful family in Lumina City, came to propose marriage. The Blackwood Family took a fancy to the real daughter of the Wynter Family, Aurora.
However, the eldest son of the Blackwood family had a car accident in the past which left his legs crippled, causing the originally cold and arrogant Caspian to be even more difficult to approach. In the past, the noble ladies who had lined up and wanted to marry Caspian of the Blackwood family no longer had any desire to marry into the wealthy Blackwood family.
Perhaps Aurora's parents were afraid of offending the Blackwoods, so they allowed her to make her own decision.
She was blind and thought her heart saw clearly. Despite her family's objections, she fell deeply in love with Rowan and refused to consider marrying Caspian, the one her parents had chosen for her. Although her parents had never expected her to enthusiastically embrace the marriage alliance with the Blackwood family, they had hoped to steer her toward a more advantageous match. But she was resolute, insisting that she would only marry Rowan. Her parents tried to dissuade her, but she remained unmoved, and eventually, they were forced to acquiesce to her wishes.
Her decision was like a ripple in a pond, seemingly insignificant at first, but growing in magnitude and impact until it had transformed her entire world.
After Aurora had married Rowan as she wished, she found out that Rowan and Scarlett were in love with each other. However, when the two families were about to go through with the marriage, neither Rowan nor Scarlett said anything. One of them was willing to marry her, while the other supported her.
They had meticulously dug a trap, a pit of deceit and betrayal, and now they waited with bated breath for her to take the fatal step. But she remained blissfully unaware, oblivious to the fate that awaited her.
The consecutive losses of her parents and the arrival of her daughter had left her reeling, but Rowan's transformation from husband to stranger was the greatest blow. His blatant infidelities, paraded in their own home, made a mockery of their marriage. Despite her efforts to protect it, she was no match for Rowan's deceit and the Reed family's cold indifference."
...
Aurora's grief-stricken mind wandered, leaving her absentminded as she crossed the road. Suddenly, a loud "Creak—" pierced the air as a car screeched to a halt, its emergency brake engaging mere feet away. But it was too late. A devastating "Bang—" echoed through the sky as Isabelle was thrown into the air, her small body crashing to the ground with a sickening thud. Blood spread rapidly, pooling around her fragile form.
Aurora's world narrowed to a single, agonizing focus. She felt an intense, all-consuming pain coursing through her body, but she pushed through it, driven by a mother's desperate love. With a Herculean effort, she began to crawl toward her daughter, inching forward through the agony. "My baby..." she whispered, her voice cracking with despair.
As she drew closer, her hand stretched out, trembling with urgency, but she still couldn't touch her child. "My baby..." The whispered cry tore from her throat again, a heartbreaking plea to a fate that seemed determined to tear them apart.
As Aurora's vision blurred, a pair of black leather shoes came into view. The owner of those shoes bent down, gently lifting Isabelle's limp body and placing it in Aurora's arms. "Isabelle," Aurora whispered, her voice trembling with joy and relief.
As she held her daughter close, the blood from the corner of her mouth trickled down, staining Aurora's face. Aurora's injuries were severe, and she could feel her strength fading. Before darkness consumed her, she struggled to look up at the man who had helped her.
Her gaze met his, and she saw the man in black sitting in his wheelchair. Despite his physical limitations, he exuded an aura of nobility and strength. Aurora's memories came flooding back – the previous day, when Rowan and Scarlett had brutally injured her daughter, she had fled in a panic, searching for help.
She had stopped a car, and the man in the wheelchair had been inside. He had instructed the driver to take her and Isabelle to the hospital, and they had arrived just in time. Though they couldn't save Isabelle, Aurora was eternally grateful to him.
As their eyes met, Aurora smiled weakly at the man. At that moment, she knew that if she had a chance to relive her life, she would choose to be with him. The man's expression softened, and he smiled back at her, his eyes filled with compassion and understanding.
...
Aurora's world was shrouded in darkness until a low, cold voice pierced the silence. "When will she wake up?"
A faint response followed, "Sir, Dr. Thompson said that she just fainted because of excessive blood loss. Now that the bleeding has stopped, she should wake up soon."
Aurora's mind stirred, her thoughts foggy. Did she just lose a lot of blood? He thought she would die.
Isabelle! Her baby!
The memories came flooding back, and with a surge of adrenaline, Aurora's eyes snapped open.
The first thing she saw was not the sterile hospital ceiling but a pair of deep, cold eyes. They belonged to Caspian, the Corporate Archon, a man whose handsome face belied his serious expression. His sharp, cold eyes seemed to bore into her soul, leaving her breathless. She still remembered this face, the only person who had shown her kindness when she had nothing.
"Caspian..." Aurora's voice was barely above a whisper, but it was laced with gratitude. A flicker of recognition danced in Caspian's eyes, but his expression remained icy.
In Lumina City, everyone whispered about Caspian's prowess in business, despite his disability. He was a force to be reckoned with, the ruler of the corporate world. As he pushed his wheelchair, his movements methodical and precise, he ordered his bodyguards coldly, "She's awake. Send her back and tell James Wynter that although I'm disabled, I won't force him to marry his daughter. Tell him to take good care of his daughter. Don't come to me to put on a suicide act. That blood will dirty my eyes."
Aurora's eyes widened as she listened to Caspian's words. Self-harm? The phrase echoed in her mind, and memories came flooding back. She recalled the proposal from the Blackwood family, their desire to marry her, the real daughter of the family. And she remembered her own desperation, her determination to escape the arranged marriage at any cost. She had gone to the Blackwood mansion, seeking out Caspian, and told him she would rather die than marry him. The memory of that day still lingered, a painful reminder of her past.