Chapter 4
The Grand Imperial Hotel was dripping in gold and luxury.
To show off their so-called kindness, the Sinclair family had booked the biggest ballroom in the place.
Too bad it wasn't for celebration. It was for humiliation.
"Well, if it isn't Lily. You're showing up dressed like that?"
In the dressing room, Anna stood there in a custom wedding gown covered in diamonds, proud as a peacock.
A few rich girls circled around her, covering their mouths as they snickered.
I was still wearing last night's faded jeans, and there were even mud spots on my T-shirt.
Among all that glitter and glam, I looked completely out of place.
"Where's my wedding dress?" I asked coldly.
The Sinclair family had promised to prepare one.
"Oh no, what a shame." Anna covered her mouth dramatically. "The designer said your size was too big. That dress was made for a pig... Oops, I mean, a model. You wouldn't fit, so they didn't send it."
The room exploded into laughter.
"Exactly. Why would some hick need a wedding dress? A garbage bag would do."
"I heard the groom's some wheelchair-bound old man. Perfect. Two damaged goods together."
Anna walked over to me and lowered her voice so only the two of us could hear.
"See, Lily? This is fate. You were born to be my stepping stone. After today, the whole city will know the Sinclair family's oldest daughter married a loser, and I... I'll be the highest princess of them all."
She reached toward my collar like she was fixing it, but really she was aiming for my throat.
I caught her wrist in one swift move.
"Ah!"
Anna cried out in pain.
"Anna, your piano talent may be fake, but this nasty little habit of yours sure isn't."
I flung her hand aside and swept my gaze across everyone there.
"Who said I don't have a wedding dress?"
Just then, a commotion broke out outside the door.
"Oh my God! Is that... Is that Eric Dreamweaver, the chief designer of Dreamweaver?"
"What's he holding? Holy shit, is that the legendary Galaxy in Love?"
A foreign man with long hair walked in with a team of bodyguards, carrying a glowing wedding gown with absurd care.
It looked like it had been woven from starlight itself, set with 9,999 real diamonds that nearly blinded everyone under the lights.
Price tag: 1 billion dollars.
Anna's eyes nearly popped out. She rushed forward excitedly. "Mr. Dreamweaver! Are you here to deliver my gown? I knew Dad loved me most..."
Eric didn't even glance at her. He walked right past and stopped in front of me.
Then, under everyone's stunned gaze, the world-famous designer dropped to one knee.
"Ms. Lily Sinclair, this gown was custom-made for you by my master."
"Please get changed."
Silence.
The whole dressing room went dead quiet.
Anna's outstretched hand froze in midair. Her expression twisted so badly it looked like she'd swallowed a fly.
"You... You've got the wrong person!" she screamed. "She's Lily Sinclair, some backwater nobody. How could that dress possibly be for her?"
Eric rose to his feet and shot her a cold look.
"Miss, watch your mouth. Galaxy in Love is one of a kind. Only the most noble woman deserves to wear it. As for the one you're wearing... heh. Last season's dead style. We wouldn't even use it for cleaning rags."
A snort of laughter broke out nearby.
Anna's face turned beet red, and her whole body shook.
I took the dress, my fingers brushing over the cool, silky fabric.
Sebastian moved fast.
I turned and walked into the fitting room.
Five minutes later, the door opened.
Sharp breaths sounded one after another.
The dusty little hick from before was gone.
In my place stood a beauty as regal as a queen.
The gown hugged my figure perfectly, highlighting my collarbones and flawless skin. I wore the string of beads like a bracelet. Against the white gown, the black beads created a striking contrast that made me look even more mysterious and untouchable.
I wasn't wearing makeup, but my cool, distant air still crushed Anna and her heavy glam a hundred times over.
"No way..." Anna stumbled back in a daze, stepped on her own hem, and fell hard to the floor.
I looked down at her from above.
"This is the fate you were talking about?"
I gave a soft laugh, lifted my skirt, and walked out.
"Sorry, but my fate has always been in my own hands."
The ballroom was packed with guests.
Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair were all smiles as they accepted endless congratulations.
"Congratulations, Chairman Sinclair. Both your daughters married well."
"Sure, the older one married into a branch line, but hey, she's still marrying a Ford."
Just then, the emcee's voice rang out. "Now, let's welcome the bride and groom!"
The doors slowly opened.
Everyone craned their necks, eager to see just how pathetic the rumored disabled old groom and country bride would look.
But the second the spotlight hit, the whole room exploded.
There was no wheelchair.
No old man.
Only a perfect couple.
I stepped into the ballroom slowly, my arm linked with Sebastian Ford's.
He wore a perfectly tailored black suit, standing tall and straight. A silver half mask covered the scar on his face, but the sharp line of his jaw still looked breathtaking.
He still walked with a slight limp, but the commanding presence around him made every other man in the room look small.
"That's... the old man?"
"How is he this young? And this hot?"
"Jesus, that aura's stronger than the head of the Ford family."
The smiles on Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair's faces froze.
Anna had just staggered to the doorway when she saw us. Her jealousy was so fierce she nearly dug her nails bloody.
Sebastian turned his head toward me. Beneath the mask, there was a trace of laughter in his eyes.
"Happy now, Mrs. Ford?"
I met his gaze. "Good enough."
We crossed the red carpet like we were inspecting our own territory.
When we reached the center of the stage, Sebastian took the microphone.
His eyes swept over the dumbstruck Sinclair family below, and his voice came out low and magnetic.
"Let me introduce myself."
"I'm Sebastian Ford."
"And I'm Lily Sinclair's husband."
"There's only one thing I need to announce today."
He paused, then wrapped an arm around my waist in an open, possessive claim.
"From this day forward, anyone who dares touch her..."
"is making an enemy of the entire Ford Global Consortium."
The whole room erupted.
Ford Global Consortium?
Wasn't he supposed to be from a side branch?
Only a handful of true power players turned deathly pale on the spot.
Because they recognized the ring on Sebastian's hand. It was the symbol of ultimate power in the Ford empire, the family head's ring.
The mysterious ruler said to control the world's financial lifelines was this so-called disabled old man?
The whole world lost its damn mind.