In the past, I was Raymond Wright’s wife. Or rather, a prisoner kept in his gilded cage.

I was an internationally renowned jewelry designer. Under the spotlight, I had the most dazzling presence.

Raymond was the most influential business elite on Floor Street, and he had an extreme desire for control.

He claimed to love me, but he never truly loved me for who I was.

He was determined to shape me into the “perfect Mrs. Wright” that existed in his imagination.

He disliked me having my own social circle and hated it when I appeared in public.

I once naively believed that if I were obedient enough, he would eventually recognize my sacrifices.

The turning point came at a banquet. Someone there publicly mocked me as “nothing but a canary kept by Mr. Wright.”

I could bear it no longer and retorted. Raymond rushed over and coldly scolded me. He said, “Behave yourself. Don’t embarrass me.”

At that moment, the surrounding snickers and the disgust in his gaze forced the truth upon me.

Ultimately, I fell down the stairs in an “accident” orchestrated by my stepsister.

When I opened my eyes again, I was greeted by a warm-toned pendant lamp in the apartment I lived in before I married Raymond.

On the desk calendar, a date was circled in red—there were only five days left until my wedding to Raymond.

I had returned to the past.

This time, I did not want to get involved with Raymond anymore.

“I’m not marrying Raymond. I’m calling off this wedding.”

My stepmother, Susan Lovell, immediately lashed out in anger. My father, Robert Lovell’s, face also darkened.

“Are you out of your mind? The wedding is in five days! You’ll ruin the Lovell family’s future!”

Gemma Lovell, my stepsister, was standing nearby. She said harshly, “Cara, you’re incredibly selfish for going back on your word. What will the other families say about us?”

I approached her and looked right into her eyes.

“You’ve been after the Mrs. Wright title for a long time, haven’t you? Well, it’s yours. I’m handing the engagement over to you.”

They looked at me with disbelief. After all, I had loved Raymond Wright so deeply in the past.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am completely serious,” I stated plainly. “Give the engagement to Gemma, and return all my mother’s overseas assets to me. Consider it a fair trade.”

Susan loved money more than anything. The overseas trust my mother established held the majority of the Lovell family’s assets.

She looked at me and said, “Cara, let me make this clear. You are not getting those assets.”

I laughed coldly.

“Fine. Then, I’ll call off the wedding myself. Let’s see how much of the Lovell fortune survives the Wright Group’s retaliation.

“Transfer the assets to me, and Gemma gets the engagement. That way, the alliance between the Lovell and Wright families will stay intact. You’d just be switching the bride. You have two minutes to decide.”

Gemma was deeply in love with Raymond. Hearing my words, she immediately rushed to Susan and pleaded tearfully for her consent.

“Time’s up,” I announced. Then, I pretended to leave.

“Wait! We agree to transfer the assets,” Susan said with a displeased expression.

“Good. Sign here.”

I pulled the prepared agreement from my bag and handed it to them.

Shortly after, they reluctantly signed the documents.

I took the agreement and left the Lovell family without looking back.

In the past, Raymond tore my design sketches to pieces one by one.

He said, “Cara, you’re my wife now. Your role is to wear jewelry, not design it. There are certain expectations that come with being my wife, and this falls far outside of them.”

I pleaded desperately and promised never to exhibit my work publicly, yet he still refused to yield.

Being Raymond’s wife stripped me of all my freedom.

This time, I was determined to pursue what I truly wished to do.

I participated in the jewelry design competition I had longed for.

The host announced my name, “Our final presenter is Cara, with her piece titled ‘Freedom.’”

Thunderous applause filled the venue as the spotlight fell upon me.

While scanning the guest section, I spotted Raymond. He sat in the award presenter’s seat, dressed in a black suit.

His initially calm gaze burned with fury the moment it met mine.

As soon as I stepped off the stage after the presentation, he grabbed my wrist forcefully.

He looked down at me. His voice was low as he seethed with suppressed anger.

“Cara, didn’t I forbid you from participating in such public appearances?”

“Raymond, let me go.”

I looked right at him.

Rage filled his gaze.

“Let go? Cara, our wedding is in five days. You’re my fiancee. Start acting like it.”

“How I act is none of your concern.”

I forcefully pulled my hand free.

“None of my concern?” He scoffed with contempt.

“Everything about you is my concern. You should be at home, preparing for the wedding. I’m offering you a life of luxury that you could never exhaust.”

I met his glare deliberately.

“What I want isn’t to be your trophy wife in a gilded cage.”

When he heard this, he became even more furious.

He leaned in, closing the distance between us.

“What makes you think you have the right to set terms with me?”

I sacrificed so much for him in the past, but he never understood. Why would he get it this time around?

I stopped struggling and simply looked at him coldly.

“I’m tired. I’m going home.”

Raymond stared at me for a long moment. A mix of emotions was churning in his eyes.

Finally, he loosened his grip.

“I’ll drive you.”

I neither refused nor acknowledged his offer. I simply turned and walked toward the exit.

We were silent through the entire drive. Raymond kept his eyes on the road, but I could feel him stealing glances my way.

He was probably trying to understand why the once-obedient Cara was rebelling against him.

Once I returned home, I walked straight into my bedroom and locked the door behind me.

After watching Raymond’s car drive away, I headed to the racetrack on the city’s outskirts.

After I turned eighteen, the racetrack became my go-to place whenever I felt overwhelmed.

There were no shackles of a well-raised, proper young lady there. It was a place where I could briefly savor true freedom.

I took off my helmet and accepted the bottle of ice-cold soda my friend handed me.

After only a couple of sips, a furious voice suddenly rang out from behind me. “Cara!”

It was Raymond.

I placed my helmet on the bike and turned to look at him.

The bodyguards behind him quickly dispersed my fellow riders, forming a circle around us.

Raymond walked up to me. His gaze swept over my leather jacket and cargo pants before settling on the customized motorcycle beside me.

He grabbed my wrist forcefully. His grip was so tight that it made me wince.

“Have you had your fun?” His voice was thick with anger. “As the future Mrs. Wright, do you think it’s appropriate to dress like that and come to a place like this to race?”

I yanked my arm free from his grasp.

“Mr. Wright, what I wear and where I go is my concern. Besides, we’re not married yet. You have no say in what I do.”

“No say?” Rage churned in his eyes as he clamped an arm around my waist, pinning me firmly between him and the bike. “From the moment we got engaged, you were meant to be poised, elegant, and ladylike. You’re supposed to maintain the dignity the Wright family requires. Dangerous places like this are off-limits. Outlandish outfits like that are not to be worn.”

I raised my hands to push him away.

“Raymond, I’m not your property. I deserve the freedom to make my own choices.”

He ignored my resistance completely.

“Property or fiancee, it makes no difference. Your only job is to be the perfect, respectable Mrs. Wright.”

With that, he forcibly pulled me away from the motorcycle.

Ignoring my struggles, he forced me into his car.

The atmosphere in the car was tense. He did not speak for the entire drive.

He stayed silent until I opened the car door to get out.

“You’re attending the banquet with me tomorrow. The Wright family’s business partners will all be there, so I expect you to act accordingly.”

I paused. I did not turn back or acknowledge him. Instead, I pushed the door open and walked straight into my house again.

Early the next morning, Raymond sent over a custom haute couture gown.

It was a simple power play. By keeping me close, he was staking his claim and reinforcing the fact that my sole identity was Mrs. Wright.

I wanted to refuse.

Just then, Raymond called. He said threateningly, “Cara, if you won’t cooperate, my only option is to have a butler accompany you at all times. She’ll ensure that you understand your priorities. Appearing with me at these events is a basic expectation of your position.”

If he assigned a butler to watch me, my plans to travel to Veridia in a few days would be ruined.

I clenched my phone tightly. In the end, I relented.

The guests who attended the banquet were all prominent figures of high social standing.

He introduced me to various dignitaries and powerful individuals. He consistently emphasized my role as his fiancee.

I remained silent throughout. I only wanted to endure this farce as quickly as possible.

Midway through the event, the fundraising auction reached its climax.

The host invited Raymond, who was the event’s organizer, to the stage to complete the donation ceremony.

Seizing the moment, Gemma, who had clearly prepared for this, stepped forward gracefully and took Raymond’s arm.

Raymond glanced at Gemma before speaking to me.

“You’re not accustomed to these formalities. This is a perfect chance for you to observe Gemma and learn how it’s properly done.”

With that, he allowed Gemma to escort him onto the stage to complete the ceremony.

Whispers rose from the audience below.

“Isn’t Cara Mr. Wright’s fiancee? Why is Gemma taking her place?”

“He clearly prefers Gemma. Otherwise, he would have taken his fiancee.”

“Gemma is clearly a better match for Mr. Wright. Cara is far too showy. She doesn’t act like a lady from a good family at all.”

I left without listening further. I turned and retreated to the back garden.

A cool breeze washed over me. I savored this rare moment of freedom.

Here I was free from the exhausting pretense of being a perfect society lady.

Before long, Gemma found me.

She dropped her genteel facade and revealed her true, malicious nature.

“Years ago, your mother couldn’t compete with mine, and it destroyed her. She died of depression. You’re just the same. You’ll never beat me.”

When I heard this, I slapped her across the face and glared coldly at her.

“Don’t you dare speak about my mother. If you do, you will be leaving this place on a stretcher.”

Gemma was totally stunned.

In the past, no matter how she provoked me, I had always endured it.

She never expected me to strike her this time.

Raymond arrived just in time to witness the scene.

Rage filled his eyes as he strode over and grabbed my wrist.

“Cara, what is this? Are you causing trouble again? Striking your own sister? If your father hears of this, you know what the consequences will be.”

Gemma wore a pitiful, teary expression as she threw herself into Raymond’s arms.

“Ray-ray, look at her! Is this how a lady should behave? She struck me! I’m her younger sister!”

I looked at Raymond, whose gaze filled with disappointment.

“She insulted my mother first.”

His expression darkened ominously.

“Apologize to Gemma. As a woman in your position, the future Mrs. Wright, you must show composure. Violence is never acceptable.”

I looked into his cold, indifferent eyes.

“Why would I apologize to her?”

Raymond suppressed his anger and instructed an attendant to take Gemma to treat her injury.

Then, he gripped my chin. His tone was deliberate and sharp. “Because I am your fiance, and I will not allow this. I will teach you a lesson today, or your father will do far worse later. Consider it a lesson to control that temper of yours.”

I looked at him and said in a trembling yet clear voice, “I won’t apologize. I will never be the perfect society wife you want me to be. I was never that polished, proper lady to begin with.”

His eyes burned with fury. His grip on my chin tightened.

“Cara, let me make this clear. You are mine. You will be my wife. And today, I will teach you a proper lesson. You will learn to follow the rules.”

He grabbed my wrist roughly and began dragging me out of the manor.

None of the surrounding guests dared to step forward and intervene.

Suppressing his rage, he shoved me into the car harshly. The atmosphere during the drive was stifling.

He drove furiously fast, venting his anger on the road.

When we returned to his mansion, he pushed me rudely into his study and locked the door behind us.

He pulled a document from a drawer and slammed it onto the desk before me.

“Sign it!”

I looked down and skimmed through it.

It was an agreement for me to renounce all professional work. For the rest of my life, I would only be allowed to support my husband, raise children, and be the respectable Mrs. Wright.

“Raymond, are you insane?”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“Insane? You made me this way!”

He loomed over me. His voice dropped to a dangerous growl.

“I’ve given you a life of luxury, a position most women would kill for, yet you keep crossing the line. Sign the papers. Staying here as my wife and behaving yourself is the only good choice you have left.”

His words sent a chill through my entire body.

I looked into his obsessive, frantic eyes and finally understood the truth. The tragedy of my past life was not a random accident.

His version of love was nothing but control.

I could not repeat that same mistake. I had to get away from here, and fast.

I deliberately softened my tone.

“Raymond, let go of me first. I’ll look at the agreement, but you have to give me some time to calm down.”

Raymond stared at me for a long moment, as if he were judging whether I was lying.

In the end, he finally let me go.

He looked at me coldly. “You have three days. If I don’t have a signed agreement by then, there will be consequences.”

I stayed silent as I watched him leave.

Raymond had me confined. No one could approach me except the servant who delivered my meals.

My only recourse was to lull him into lowering his guard. Otherwise, any hope of escape was futile.

Later, I deliberately softened my demeanor toward Raymond. I led him to believe I had truly accepted my situation. I did not even pull away when he fed me a dessert.

Raymond eventually let down his guard. He assumed he had finally tamed me.

I was allowed to go further than just the study and the bedroom. He allowed me to visit the back garden.

I went to the garden every day, searching for an opportunity. At last, I found a dog hole concealed by weeds.

When the moment was right, I escaped through that hole in the back garden wall.

After leaving the mansion, I went straight to the airport, heading to Veridia.