Chapter 5

Selena's POV

I returned to the apartment where Tristan and I had lived for five years.

I only took a twenty-inch suitcase.

I took a few sets of old clothes and an old photo my mother left me.

Everything else the designer bags, the haute couture jewelry, anything Tristan had ever given me I didn't take any of it.

I didn't take a single thing.

I removed the plain ring I'd worn for seven years from my finger and left it on the shoe cabinet in the entryway.

Then I blocked all of Tristan's contact information.

And blocked everyone from the company too.

As I pushed open the door, I didn't look back.

4 AM.

I dragged my suitcase down the empty street.

I hadn't gone far when several dark figures suddenly emerged from the shadows, blocking my path.

It was David Hart, my gambling addict father.

He'd brought several vicious-looking debt collectors with him.

"Selena! You're finally out!"

David grabbed my arm, his eyes wild with desperation,

"Quick! Give me money! Ten million. If you don't pay up, they're going to chop off my hand today!"

I looked at him.

"I have no money."

"Bullshit! How could you have no money! Where's Tristan? Call him and tell him to bring money!"

"I broke up with him."

David froze, then his face contorted grotesquely.

"Broke up? You bitch! How dare you break up with him!"

He slapped me hard across the face.

The force was tremendous. I fell to the ground, tasting blood in my mouth.

The debt collectors grew impatient.

"David, can you pay or not? If you can't, we're taking your daughter as payment today! She's not bad looking. Sell her to a club and she'll bring in good money."

Two men stepped forward to drag me away.

I struggled desperately, my nails digging into the asphalt until my fingers were bloody.

Despair submerged me like a tide.

Just then, a blinding set of high beams suddenly shone over.

A black Rolls-Royce Phantom stopped at the curb.

The door opened.

Several well-trained bodyguards rushed out and kicked the debt collectors and David to the ground in moments.

I sat collapsed on the ground, trembling all over as I looked up.

The car window slowly lowered.

Lucas Ashford sat in the back seat, half his face hidden in shadow.

His eyes were closed, his hand still gripping that cane.

"Mr. Ashford..."

My voice was hoarse, looking at him like a drowning person grasping at a lifeline.

Lucas tilted his head slightly, as if identifying my location.

"Selena, you look quite pathetic."

His tone remained coldly aloof.

I bit down hard, crawled up regardless of everything, and rushed to the car window.

"Mr. Ashford, save me."

Lucas laughed lightly, his fingers tapping the cane rhythmically.

"Why should I save a dog someone else threw away?"

I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms.

"I'm not a dog."

"Mr. Ashford, I know the predicament you currently face."

I forced myself to calm down and spoke rapidly.

"The Ashford family's branch members are making moves. You've lost your sight, and they're using this opportunity to pressure you into giving up power. They even want to force women on you through arranged marriages to control you."

Lucas's fingers stopped tapping the cane.

The air around us instantly dropped to freezing.

The bodyguards were too frightened to even breathe.

I endured the terrifying pressure emanating from him and continued.

"You need a shield. A wife with no background, a clean record, completely under your control."

"I can be that person."

"I've been by Tristan's side for seven years. I'm intimately familiar with the business battlefield. I can not only help you fend off those women, but I can also be your eyes, helping you clean up the company's mess."

Lucas said nothing.

He sat there quietly, like a perfect sculpture.

After a long while, he suddenly smiled.

That smile was extremely cold, carrying a bloodthirsty quality.

"Bold. Daring to negotiate with me."

He leaned slightly, turning toward my direction.

"What do you want?"

"Protection."

I said, "Pay off David's gambling debts for me, transfer my brother to a private hospital under the Ashford name. Then, help me escape from Tristan Vale."

"As long as you agree, I'm selling this life to the Ashford family."

The night wind howled.

I was so nervous my breathing stopped.

I don't know how much time passed.

Lucas slowly spoke, his low voice resonating in the darkness.

"Get in the car."

My taut nerves finally snapped, my body collapsing powerlessly against the car door.

I'd won.

After getting in, the car was filled with a faint scent of agarwood.

Lucas handed me a document.

I looked down.

"Marriage Agreement."

"Sign it."

Lucas leaned back in his seat, eyes closed,

"From today on, you are Mrs. Ashford."

"Since you're with me now, cut all ties with your past. All of it."

"If I discover you still have any connection with Tristan Vale..."

He didn't finish, but the chilling tone in his voice made me shudder.

"Don't worry, Mr. Ashford."

I signed my name without hesitation.

"Tristan Vale is already dead to me."