Lucian looked at me. He hesitated a little, as if he wanted to say something further, but in the end, he quietly started the car.

Silence hung thick in the car. I closed my eyes as my mind was in a mess.

Suddenly, the sharp screech of brakes tore through the air. I suddenly opened my eyes to see our car in the opposite lane and a truck coming toward us!

My eyes widened in horror.

Lucian turned over and hugged me tightly in his arms.

With a loud thunderous crash, our car flipped over. The world spun in a blur. The last thing I felt was warm blood before everything turned into darkness.

When I came around, I was lying on a bed in the hospital. Lucian was sitting by the side of the bed with a thick five o'clock shadow on his face. He seemed to have stayed awake the entire night.

He was delighted to see me waking up.

"Nina, you're up! Oh, thank goodness." Lucian was so excited that he clasped my hand and cried.

I remembered Lucian protecting me before I passed out. That… touched my heart.

I opened my mouth and said hoarsely, "How are you feeling? Are you hurt?"

Lucian ruffled my hair. "I'm fine. The airbag protected us. You were out for some time, and I was getting a little worried."

Then, he stood up and said, "Don't move. I'll go get the doctor." He left quickly.

I looked at him leaving and sighed. No matter what, Lucian saved my life once again.

I was still going to break up with him, but perhaps, I would not tell my father or Aaron about him.

At that moment, my phone vibrated. I picked it up to see that Wendy had sent me an audio recording.

The recording was a little distorted, but I could still recognize the conversation. It was the conversation between Wendy and Lucian at the cafe after I left.

One of Lucian's friends said to Wendy, "Ms. Kensington, we've told you. Lucian is only with Nina because of his plans for revenge. He's pretending to love her to seek revenge on his archnemesis, Aaron North.

"Since you two already have an arrangement, Lucian won't go back on his word. He will marry you. Can you not meddle in our plans?"

Wendy said haughtily, "Lucian, are they right? You don't like Nina Etienne at all? You're just seeking revenge?"

Another friend immediately added, "Of course. How could he possibly like his archnemesis' younger sister? He's recorded hundreds of X-rated videos with her just so he could show them off during graduation. How could his family let him marry such a loose woman?"

Wendy interrupted them. "Shut up, all of you! I want Lucian to tell me himself that he doesn't like Nina at all."

Lucian responded with a low grunt. "Hmm."

Wendy chuckled. "But I'm still worried. We're about to get married, but here you are, all lovey-dovey with another woman. I'll only believe you if you pretend you have lost control of your car brakes, and you'll swerve to the passenger's side in a car crash."

Lucian was silent for a long time before saying, "Okay."

The recording stopped.

My hands trembled violently. Lucian… had set up the accident.

I closed my eyes as sadness, despair, and all other emotions flooded me. How much longer was Lucian planning to torture me? Why would he not let me go?

I remembered when the accident was about to happen, he had indeed swerved so that the passenger seat was the one facing the crash, but right before the crash, he turned and protected me.

I did not understand. If he sought vengeance, would he not be happier if I was seriously injured?

Why did he protect me?

I no longer wanted to think about it. I dialed Aaron. "I'll agree to meet this man that our family has arranged for me to marry."

"Nina, are you really willing to come back to meet him? What about that boyfriend of yours, the one you're madly in love with?"

I replied softly, "I don't like him anymore. I won't like him ever again."