My twentieth birthday banquet proceeded as planned.

However, even after the banquet began, not many people came over to congratulate me.

Instead, a considerable number of social elites sidled up to Damian to win his favor.

“After tonight, you’ll be taking over the Moretti and Carter empires. Should I start calling you godfather now?”

“When you’re in charge, we hope you’ll keep our partnership in mind.”

“I’ve heard that you have a soft spot for Miss Alice. I specially prepared a gift for her. I hope she likes it.”

These people were not only currying favor with Damian. They were also flattering Alice as an indirect measure.

Alice opened the gift from the guest and covered her mouth in apparent surprise.

Inside the gift box lay an exceptionally dazzling pink diamond ring.

She promptly said, “My goodness, this is such an expensive ring! I cannot accept this. Besides, it’s Ms. Moretti’s birthday banquet. I’m just her maid. This should be for her, not me. She wouldn’t allow it.”

Damian just said matter-of-factly, “Her approval won’t matter. Once I marry her, the Moretti and Carter families are mine. I’ll be the one making the rules. Here, let me put it on you.”

Damian placed the ring on Alice’s finger. She bashfully accepted it.

From a distance, I watched with amusement.

In the past, I was truly blind not to have seen their illicit affair.

Fortunately, heaven had granted me a second chance.

I was not going to repeat the same mistakes.

Damian looked toward me. He probably sensed my gaze.

He frowned and instinctively shielded Alice behind him. He seemed worried I would charge over and tear them apart.

I ignored them and simply turned to socialize with the other guests.

Not long after, Damian approached me. He spoke with a hint of smugness in his voice. “Look at you, finally acting like an adult and leaving Alice alone. Tell me, how would you like to be rewarded?”

I looked at his condescending attitude and replied coldly, “A reward? I don’t need one.”

Damian did not believe me.

“Cut the act. You’re putting on this whole gracious show tonight because you’re terrified I’ll refuse to marry you, aren’t you?

“Don’t worry. You’ll get what you want.”

As he said that, he looked at me from head to toe suggestively.

“Come to my room tonight. If you manage to please me, I might even be generous enough to let you bear my child.”

A dull ache seized my heart as I remembered my deceased unborn child.

I would not marry him again, and there would not be any so-called child!

He moved closer to me as he spoke. He began to reach out to wrap his arm around my waist.

I caught a strong scent of women’s perfume on him.

His suit collar was disheveled and retained a distinct stain of lipstick.

It was obvious that in some hidden corner, Damian and Alice had partaken in some disgusting act.

I took a step back and snapped at him, “That’s enough, Damian! Show some respect!”

Damian was taken aback. He did not expect me to avoid him.

He sneered, “You would do anything to marry me. Everyone knows you’re obsessed with me. You threw your dignity away a long time ago. What ‘respect’ are you talking about?

I felt sick to my stomach seeing him so full of himself. “Who says that I’m marrying you?”

“Who else would marry you but me?”

Damian found this amusing. “Is it Caesar? Are you truly unaware of his reputation with women? For years now, any woman who gets near him ends up dead. You actually want to be the devil’s bride?”

My parents had selected two fiances for me from childhood.

One was Damian, the globally renowned CEO of Aegis Corporation.

The other was Caesar, a formidable figure who controlled the entire underground arms trade.

Everyone knew of Caesar’s brutal nature. He was not only ruthless in his dealings with men but also showed no mercy to women.

It was said that those who provoked him would either be thrown into the sea as shark food or buried in his backyard garden.

No one in the upper-class circles of the entire Northern City wanted their daughter to marry such a ruthless monster.

I replied with utter indifference, “I’d rather marry the devil than marry you.”

After I said that, I turned and left.

Seeing my resolute attitude, Damian was in disbelief. A sense of panic washed over him.

He instinctively blocked my path and demanded, “What’s that supposed to mean?!

“Are you still hung up on Alice and me? I already told you I’d marry you! What’s with the attitude?”

Damian frowned and said irritably, “Annie, my patience has its limits. If you keep being this willful, don’t blame me for publicly rejecting you when the time comes.”

Even at that point, he still thought I was throwing a fit.

He remained in denial that I was the one rejecting him.

I scoffed and was about to speak when Alice suddenly stepped in.

“Damian, Ms. Moretti, what’s going on? Are you two fighting because of me?”

She looked at me guiltily and continued, “This is all my fault. I never should have accepted this ring. Here, I’ll give it back to you right now, Ms. Moretti.”

As she spoke, she took off the pink diamond ring from her finger.

Damian looked at her heartbreakingly and stopped her. “Someone gifted that to you. Why should you give it to her? Besides, you love that ring. Alice, you’re just too nice for your own good. That’s why she walks all over you like this.”

“It’s okay,” Alice said in a pitiful voice. “I’m just a maid in Ms. Moretti’s house. I’m used to doing what she says since I was a kid. And it’s her birthday party. I don’t want to ruin her night.”

Alice walked towards me with the ring. “Let me help you put it on, Ms. Moretti.”

Out of Damian’s line of sight, her face lit up with a gloating smile. She leaned in and whispered in a low, taunting murmur.

“See that, Annie? What does it matter that you’re the heiress of the Moretti and Carter families? Your precious Damian only wants me. He’s the one who put this ring on my finger. And you? You’ll just be wearing the things that I discarded!”

The next second, she gripped my wrist. Her sharp nails almost dug into my flesh.

I gasped and instinctively pushed Alice away.

A triumphant flash of cunning crossed her eyes. She then let out a sharp cry and collapsed to the floor.

“Ah!” she cried out in feigned shock. “Ms. Moretti, I was just trying to put the ring on for you. Why would you push me? Do you really despise me that much?”

Damian immediately rushed forward and held Alice in his arms.

He glared at me angrily and rebuked me, “Annie, you’ve gone too far! I know you’re spoiled and enjoyed bullying your maids, but I never thought you’d dare lay a hand on Alice in front of all these people! Apologize to her. Now.”

“I didn’t push her,” I stated coldly. “She hurt me first.”

I raised my hand to reveal the distinct red mark circling my wrist.

Damian saw the mark on my wrist and was momentarily stunned.

Before he got suspicious, Alice spoke up pitifully, “Ms. Moretti, are you saying I framed you on purpose? I’m just a lowly maid. I wouldn’t dare.”

“Really?” I replied sarcastically. “It seems to me you’ve forgotten you’re a maid. You act like you own the place. Maybe we should call off my party and just hold your wedding right here instead.”

Damian grew increasingly enraged. “That’s enough, Annie! Stop insulting her!”

As he spoke, he raised his hand as if to slap me.

However, the slap did not land on my face.

A tall, imposing figure stepped in front of me and intercepted Damian’s hand.

I looked at the figure standing in front of me. It felt eerily familiar. My heart began to pound.

In the next moment, I heard the people around us gasp in surprise. “It’s Caesar! What’s he doing here?!”

The crowd was stunned when they saw Caesar. They looked at him with a mix of fear and respect. They instinctively took a few steps back.

Even Damian was taken aback. A flicker of fear passed through his eyes.

After all, everyone knew how brutal Caesar was when it came to handling things.

However, Damian suppressed the apprehension in his heart when he thought of how he would soon inherit both the Moretti and Carter families. He spoke up sharply. “Caesar, who do you think you are to stop me?”

Caesar ignored him. He merely glanced back at me.

“Are you alright?” His tone was cold. It carried the chilling authority of a man in charge.

It was just a simple question, yet my heart skipped a beat.

I remembered when I had a difficult labor in the past, Damian had diverted all the medical resources away and locked me in the treatment room to die.

When I was on the verge of death, Caesar had stormed into the treatment room. He forced his way in and took me away to get treatment.

Even so, I still passed away in the end and became a ghost.

Everyone said Caesar was a terrifying devil. To me, he was the kindest person I knew before my death.

“I’m fine,” I replied softly.

For Damian, the whole scene was an insult to his manhood. He could not help but speak up. “Caesar, I’m going to be Annie’s husband. She’s none of your business.”

At that moment, my father’s underboss appeared.

When he heard Damian’s words, he instantly frowned. “Annie’s husband—”

Before he could finish, Caesar raised a hand to stop him.

“Don Moretti and Ms. Carter are here. Everyone, please head inside.”

Since my parents had arrived, it meant the announcement of my husband’s selection was about to happen.

When Damian heard this, he became impatient.

“It looks like Don Moretti and Ms. Carter are waiting for me. Alice, let’s go.”

Without a second thought, he led Alice away and left me behind.

I did not let it bother me. I followed Caesar and took my time walking inside.

Once everyone had gathered, my parents made their appearance.

Their eyes glistened with reluctant tears. They took my hands and made the announcement together.

“We always said that once Annie turned twenty, the man she chose would take over the Moretti and Carter families.

“Now, let the man Annie has chosen come forward. It’s time for you to start your new life together.”

As the words fell, everyone present instinctively looked toward Damian.

They were very sure that Damian was going to marry me.

They all began to applaud, ready to welcome the new ruler of both the Moretti and Carter families.

Damian’s face could not conceal his excitement. He had clearly been waiting for that moment for a long time.

He adjusted his collar and prepared to step forward.

However, a figure directly bypassed him and strode toward me on the stage first.

It was Caesar. He walked up to me.

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, he knelt on one knee and opened a red velvet box in his hand.

Inside the box lay a ruby ring as large as a pigeon’s egg.

It had been featured in the news not long ago.

It was said to have been bought at an auction by a mysterious bidder for one billion dollars.

It symbolized unwavering, faithful love.

At that time, everyone had wondered who would be lucky enough to wear that ring and have such a happy life.

I stared at the ring glittering under the lights. It was a sight I had never imagined appearing before me.

His gaze fixed intently on me as he said in a low voice, “Annie, this is the ring I got for you. Are you ready to marry me?”