Chapter 1
My sister, Emily Shaw, despised those delicate, submissive wives.
Even after our mother, Evelyn Shaw, secured a big deal and used the money to cure Emily's illness, Emily recovered and greeted us with nothing more than a contemptuous sneer.
She scoffed, "Even if you drank yourself sick for that deal, it was still a man who handed you the opportunity.
"A strong, independent woman should outplay men at their own game and rise to the top, not sit around begging for scraps."
Later, when Evelyn was framed and thrown in jail, Charles Rivers, the richest man in the city, stepped forward and offered Emily a way to save her mother.
He said, "Be with me, and I'll get your mother out of jail."
Emily shoved his hand away.
She snapped, "Even if she dies behind bars, I'll never be some woman who depends on a man for survival."
I managed to get the top lawyer to take my case, agreeing to marry him if he could help me save Evelyn.
But in open court, Emily destroyed key evidence.
She shouted, "Evelyn is imprisoned, and rather than fighting for her, you exploit her misfortune to cling to a man for your own gain. I refuse to recognize you as my sister."
Evelyn died with injustice hanging over her.
I became the infamous unfilial daughter, hated by everyone, left to wander the streets.
But Emily, thanks to her fierce presence in court, caught the attention of a movie star. He spoiled her every day, always wrapping his arms around her waist.
When I confronted her, she sneered, "We're in love. How does that make me dependent on him?
"You, on the other hand, are a shameless, lovesick woman, staining our family name."
I died with hatred burning in my heart.
When I woke up again, I saw Emily snapping at Charles, shoving his hand away.
I pushed her aside and wrapped myself around Charles's leg.
Then I declared, "If she won't do it, I will."
*****
Emily sank to the ground in the pouring rain, looking dazed as she stared at me.
She hadn't meant to reject Charles.
She hadn't expected him to leave after she slapped him.
Charles was drawn to tough challenges, but he wasn't the kind to put up with everything.
Charles froze for a second, caught off guard.
He asked, "You'd do it?"
I grabbed his hand, pressed it against my cheek, and looked up at him with the most pitiful puppy eyes I could muster.
I said, "As long as you help my mother fight her case, I'll do anything you want."
I wasn't gorgeous like Emily.
But I did have that sweet, innocent vibe, right for pulling off the helpless act.
Charles's brows knitted, and he asked, "You—"
"You shameless thing," Emily shouted.
Her hand cracked across my cheek. Then, she shoved me down into the soaking wet street.
She shouted, "You'd stoop this low to throw yourself at a man. Evelyn is in trouble, and you can't fight for her yourself? Are you trying to save her, or using her as an excuse to become some pathetic trophy wife?"
As her hand was about to land another slap, I refused to take it lying down this time.
I grabbed her wrist and slapped her right back.
Not giving her a chance to react, I pinned her down, straddled her, and yanked her up by the collar, shouting right in her face.
I demanded, "Then you tell me. What the hell am I supposed to do?
"Don't forget why Evelyn got set up in the first place.
"If you hadn't called her out in front of her business partner, accusing her of sucking up to the rich and trying to be his precious little wife, would his actual wife have targeted her?
"You started all this and can't fix it, but now you want to stop me from saving her?"
She clutched her face, stunned, her eyes wide with disbelief.
She cried out, "Did you hit me? I can't believe you did it. You'd go this far to become some man's trophy wife?"
I hit her again, shutting her up before she could say another word.
I grabbed her by the collar, pulling her close so we were nose to nose.
I snapped, "That slap was for Evelyn.
"Call me a trophy wife, a lovesick idiot, a shameless woman, and whatever you want. I'll be whatever you say if it means saving her.
"If you can't do anything else, get out of my way and let me save her."
The rain crashed down, thunderous and relentless.
Suddenly, I froze.
Caught up in the heat of the moment, I'd lost my composure right in front of Charles.
What if he were disappointed in me now?
When I looked up, I realized the rain wasn't hitting me anymore.
Charles was holding an umbrella over me, and I was still on the ground, looking up at him.
"Come with me," he said.
His voice was cool and detached.
But it was obvious that he wouldn't take no for an answer.