The room was pitch-black, not a single light on.

Nora Whitfield couldn’t see a thing, but she could feel that scent on him, sharp and heavy, wrapping around her from every side. It was like being dragged into deep water, like sinking straight to the bottom with no way to fight back.

She trembled like a leaf in the wind, weak and helpless. All she could do was clutch the veil over her face with shaking fingers, bite down on her lip, and not let even the tiniest sound slip out.

After the wave of pain hit, she blacked out.

The man held her in his arms, his voice rough and low as he murmured by her ear, "Juliet..."

A tear slid from the corner of her eye, but she silently laughed.

Nora Whitfield, wow, you really are pathetic.

Her heart hurt just as much as her body. She tried so hard to hold the tears back, but once they started, it was like the floodgates had burst open. They streamed down her face, into her mouth, bitter enough to make her whole chest shake.

She had no idea how much time passed before the man finally slowed down. When it was over, he pulled her into his arms and fell into a deep sleep, still whispering Juliet Prescott’s name under his breath.

There wasn’t a single place on Nora’s body that didn’t ache. She kept her eyes wide open, refusing to let her exhausted body give in to sleep.

A few hours later, it was already past midnight. Nora lay stiff on the bed like a puppet with its strings cut. Only when her phone buzzed with a message did she grit her teeth, endure the pain, and quietly climb out of bed.

She opened the door.

Juliet Prescott was standing outside with her arms folded, chin tipped up, looking down at her. But the second her eyes landed on the dark love bites exposed on Nora’s neck, where her clothes didn’t cover, her expression shifted.

Nora lowered her gaze, but the first thing she did was close the door behind her.

"What are you doing?" Juliet frowned at the face in front of her, a face so similar to her own. There was no attempt to hide the disgust in her eyes.

"I took your place for one night. I hope you keep your promise." Nora’s voice was low, still rough from what had just happened.

The moment she said that, her hands had already clenched into fists.

She had never been this low in her life.

Juliet lifted a hand and brushed back her long hair, her tone full of mockery. "Of course. Fifty grand for one night of you? Not a bad deal."

The moment Nora heard that, her thin little body shook hard, but she said nothing.

Juliet looked her up and down.

Nora really was pretty. A delicate oval face, soft brows like distant hills, a neat little nose, small lips.

She was the kind of beauty people couldn’t fake, the real deal.

Actually, Juliet looked about eighty percent like her. She was beautiful too, sure, but with all that makeup piled on, it somehow felt less real.

Looking at Nora’s bare face, clean and stunning even without a trace of makeup, Juliet suddenly felt uneasy. She lowered her voice and asked, "He didn’t see your face, right?"

Nora shook her head. "No. I kept it covered."

Juliet let out a breath of relief. "Good."

She took a check from her bag and held it in front of Nora. "Here. Fifty grand. Take it and get lost already."

Nora’s fists tightened even harder. Her nails dug into the soft flesh of her palm, pain flaring there just like the pain running through the rest of her body.

She had bitten her lower lip raw, to the point it was torn and stained with blood.

"Nora Whitfield, this was your choice, okay? Nobody forced you. Felix Whitfield needs fifty grand for treatment, and you sold me one night for money. Fair trade. So don’t stand there acting like you’re some tragic heroine."

At the mention of Felix Whitfield, Nora’s mood dropped all over again. She slowly raised her eyes and looked at Juliet.

Her gaze was cold. So cold it almost felt empty, but underneath it was something else too, a thin line of hate, a flash of anger.

Juliet got rattled by that look. Her voice turned even nastier. "Do you want it or not? If you don’t, I’ll rip it up."

She pinched the check between her fingers like she was really about to tear it.

Nora had no choice. She swallowed what little dignity she had left and stopped her in a hurry. "I want it."

Just those two words came out dry and bitter, like they scraped her throat on the way up.

Juliet gave a cold snort and flicked the check straight at Nora’s face.

With a soft "slap," it floated down lightly and landed by Nora’s feet.

Nora stood there, pale as paper. In the end, with a numb face, she slowly crouched down, picked up the check, and gripped it tightly in her palm. Her voice was hoarse when she forced out a "Thank you" through clenched teeth. Then she turned around and left without another word.

Juliet stared at her back. The thought that Nora had just spent the whole night tangled up with the man inside drove her crazy with jealousy. But whatever. After tonight, that man would belong to her completely. Very soon, she would marry him.

Thinking that, Juliet couldn’t wait any longer. She pushed open the door, took off her clothes, and carefully slipped under the blanket, pressing herself into the man’s arms.

Feeling the movement, the man instinctively drew her closer.

Juliet shut her eyes in satisfaction and drifted off to sleep, no longer thinking about the fact that Nora had been lying there only minutes ago.

Nora had taken her place for one night. What was done was done. Nothing could be changed now.

As long as everything went smoothly, she would soon become Mrs. Mercer, fair and square.

Nora was already exhausted to the bone, but she still rushed to the hospital without stopping for even a second.

After paying all the fees and handling everything that needed to be done, she finally let out a breath.

The giant weight crushing her heart finally eased a little.

Feeling weak all over, she walked into the restroom and splashed cold water onto her face.

The chill woke her up a bit. Looking at the dark and fading marks on her neck in the mirror, she raised a hand and rubbed at them.

She used so much force that the skin at her neck turned red. The pain in her chest twisted tighter, and hot tears spilled out again.

Her first time had become someone else’s wedding dress.

But she didn’t regret it. As long as Felix Whitfield could get better, that was enough.

After calming herself down, she wiped the tears from her face and went back to Felix Whitfield’s hospital room.

The boy on the bed had a pale face that somehow still looked refined, almost noble, like some rich family’s young master. But Nora knew the truth. Between his illness and the feelings he could never have returned, he had suffered more than anyone.

He didn’t seem to be sleeping peacefully. His brows were tightly drawn together, and his lips moved faintly, like he was mumbling something.

"What?" Nora couldn’t hear him clearly, so she leaned closer.

She listened carefully for a long while before she could barely make out two words.

"Ju... liet..."

Nora froze.

After a long time, she let out a slow breath. Then she reached out and gently smoothed the crease between the boy’s brows until his expression finally relaxed.

"Colin, everything’s going to be okay."

Nora had stayed up the entire night. Early the next morning, guessing that Colin would wake up soon, she went downstairs to buy breakfast.

By the time she came back carrying plain rice porridge, Colin was already awake, staring blankly at the TV with those beautiful long peach-blossom eyes of his wide open.

He didn’t even notice her come in.

Nora followed his gaze, and her face changed instantly.

Weiss Group had released an official statement. Sebastian Mercer, the eldest son of the Mercer family, and Juliet Prescott, the heiress of the Prescott family, were deeply in love and would be getting married soon.

On the TV, the man looked cold and handsome. Beside him, Juliet smiled bright as a flower, radiant and pretty.

Holding a microphone, the man wrapped an arm around the woman next to him and said in a low, rich voice, "I’ll take care of Juliet for the rest of her life."

Colin’s face was pale. The way he looked at Juliet was full of love and pain, so obvious it hurt to see.

Then the screen changed. After offering congratulations, the news host smiled and said, "The head of Weiss Group and the Prescott family’s daughter are truly a perfect match. Who knows how many girls just had their dreams shattered today?"

So he was the one in charge of Weiss Group. No wonder Juliet was so desperate to marry him. Making Nora take her place for the night had only been because she was scared that if he found out she wasn’t pure, he’d call off the engagement.

Nora frowned, her feelings a tangled mess, and looked away from the TV. But Colin was still staring at the screen in a daze, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.