"But..."

Julian had just started to refuse when Beatrice chimed in, "Exactly. Tomorrow is a big day. Nothing can be allowed to go wrong."

The staff joined in from the side, chanting, "Propose! Propose! Propose!"

Julian shook his head with an indulgent smile. "You guys are impossible..."

With that, he dropped to one knee, pulled out a huge diamond ring, and said tenderly, "Lillian... From the moment I met you, I knew you would become the most important person in my life. No matter whether we face wealth or poverty, life or death, I'll stay by your side and never leave you... I love you. Will you marry me?"

"I will..."

Lillian's eyes filled with tears of emotion, and even Edward and Beatrice wiped at the corners of their eyes.

Julian slowly slid the ring onto Lillian's ring finger. Someone nearby started egging them on. "Kiss her! Kiss her!"

Julian glanced at Audrey as if he were about to refuse, but Lillian suddenly threw her arms around him and kissed him first.

His whole body stiffened for a second, then he immediately cupped the back of her head and deepened the kiss.

Audrey watched everything in front of her and tugged faintly at the corner of her mouth, as if none of it had anything to do with her.

After everyone finally left, Audrey went back to her room early to rest.

Tomorrow was the day Julian and Lillian would get married. It was also the day she would leave.

But when she opened her eyes the next day, she found herself tied back-to-back with Lillian inside an abandoned warehouse.

Both of them had bombs strapped to their bodies, each one already counting down.

"What is this?"

Panic rose in Audrey as she began struggling desperately.

Lillian only let out a soft laugh. "Don't waste your energy. You're not getting out."

Audrey understood at once. This had all been staged by Lillian.

"Lillian! Isn't today your wedding day? What the hell are you trying to do?"

"You've got some nerve bringing up the wedding!" Lillian snapped. "Who told you to outshine me just by putting on a bridesmaid dress? Who told you to be the real daughter of the Winslow family? My mother should have killed you back then. That way you never would've come back to take my place!"

"Lillian, you've lost your mind! If you do this, you'll die too!" Audrey said urgently.

But Lillian suddenly laughed, looking smug and triumphant.

"Die? How could I possibly die? Mom, Dad, and Julian love me most. There's no way they'd let me die. The one who should die is you."

Seeing how completely unhinged Lillian was, Audrey stopped wasting words on her and struggled with all her strength. But the harder she fought, the tighter the ropes cinched, nearly crushing the air out of her.

Then a rush of footsteps sounded outside. Her parents and Julian came hurrying in.

Every one of them looked disheveled, breathing hard.

"What the hell is going on here?" Julian roared.

Lillian immediately cut in. "Mom, Dad, Julian, don't blame Audrey. She was just too upset. She didn't want me marrying Julian, so she staged all of this herself..."

"That's not true!" Audrey shouted anxiously. "If I really wanted to ruin the wedding, I could've just kidnapped Lillian. Why would I drag myself into this too? She planned all of this on purpose!"

"Enough!" Julian wouldn't listen to a word of it. "Audrey, I told you already, this is just a fake wedding. Did you really have to go this far?"

Beatrice said impatiently, "That's enough. If we don't get moving, we're going to be late for the wedding."

Edward nodded in agreement.

The three of them stepped forward, untied Lillian, and turned to leave.

Before leaving, they still remembered to tell Audrey, "We're heading to the wedding venue first. You can come by yourself later."

"No! Don't go, the bombs are real! They're going to explode! Untie me!" Audrey screamed until her voice turned ragged, but it was useless.

Not a single one of them looked back at her.

The countdown on the bombs sounded like the tolling of death. In Audrey's mind flashed the memory of her parents singing around her on her seventh birthday.

But in the end, all that remained was the image of them walking away with Lillian in their arms.

The countdown sped closer and closer to zero, and Audrey's despair deepened with every second.

With only ten seconds left before the bomb exploded, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Audrey!"

Dorian sprinted toward her, tore the ropes loose, and swept her into his arms before running for the door.

The explosion roared through the air, and the shockwave threw both of them hard to the ground.

Before she lost consciousness, Audrey heard only one last sentence. "Audrey, I'm taking you home."

The wedding was about to begin, yet Julian still hadn't seen Audrey appear.

"What the hell is Audrey up to?"

Even Beatrice was starting to lose patience. "That warehouse isn't even far away. She should've made it here by now, even on foot!"

"Exactly! She's doing this on purpose. She's trying to stall for time!" Edward snapped in agreement.

Julian clenched his fists, displeasure written all over his face.

"Lillian, wait here. I'm going to bring Audrey back right now so she can be your bridesmaid!"

He had barely taken a step when Lillian clearly caught the flicker of worry in his eyes.

A flash of resentment crossed her heart. She quickly grabbed Julian's arm and clung to him, keeping him by her side.

"It's okay, Julian. If Audrey doesn't want to come, then let it go. She must still be upset. We shouldn't make things harder for her."

"That's right, Julian. It's better if she doesn't come. At least she won't ruin the wedding again," Beatrice added at just the right moment.

Only then did Julian let out a sigh and pull Lillian into a tender embrace. "If Audrey were even half as understanding as you, things would be so much easier. Lillian, don't worry. Even if this wedding is fake, you'll still be family to me for the rest of my life. I'll take good care of you."

Julian's voice was gentle, but a vicious glint flashed through Lillian's eyes.

She didn't want a fake marriage. The title of Mrs. Ashcroft could only belong to her.

Once Audrey was dead, she would take her place completely.

But for now, she only smiled, wrapped her arms around Julian gently, and said with feigned emotion, "Thank you, Julian..."

At the exact moment she lowered her head, the screen of Julian's phone lit up on the table. A message popped up.

"Mr. Ashcroft, something happened to Miss Winslow!"

Lillian's expression changed at once. Her eyes shifted, and she quickly put on a nervous face, holding tightly to Julian as she said, "Julian, I'm so nervous. Could you get me a glass of water?"

"Sure." Julian nodded and turned to leave.

Lillian picked up Julian's phone and casually deleted the message.

She wouldn't let Audrey call for help.

Today would be the day Audrey died.

Soon, all the guests had arrived. The place was filled with festive decorations and joyful noise.

After the officiant finished speaking, Lillian slowly made her entrance in a luxurious designer wedding gown.

An assistant pushed open the doors to the banquet hall. Beneath the dazzling lights, Edward held Lillian's hand and slowly walked her toward Julian.

"Miss Lillian Winslow, do you take Mr. Julian Ashcroft to be your husband, to stay by his side for the rest of your life, whether in poverty or wealth, in sickness or in health, never leaving him?"

"I do." Lillian's voice trembled with excitement.

But as Julian looked at Lillian standing before him, Audrey's image in that bridesmaid dress the day before suddenly flashed through his mind.

The woman he was supposed to marry was Audrey, yet here he was, standing at the altar with someone else.

A strange sense of panic rose inside him. It felt as though something important was slipping through his fingers.

Instinctively, he reached for the phone in his pocket, wanting to see if Audrey had tried to contact him, only to remember that he had left it backstage.

The unease kept growing, almost enough to swallow him whole.

Could it be... that something had gone wrong?

The thought turned his whole body cold, as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head.

He didn't dare think any further, but the memory rose before him anyway.

Audrey tied to that chair was still vivid in his mind, and the panic on her face had not looked fake.

Could that bomb have been real?

He couldn't bear to follow that thought any further. He was afraid things had truly spiraled beyond his control.

"Mr. Ashcroft, do you take Miss Winslow to be your wife..."

The officiant finished the vows, but Julian still didn't respond.

His brows were tightly drawn, revealing the storm of turmoil inside him.

"Mr. Ashcroft?" The officiant spoke again, and an eerie silence settled over the room.

Everyone waited for Julian's answer, but he gave none.

The air seemed to freeze solid, and even the faintest sound became unnaturally clear.

"Julian..." Lillian forced down the panic rising inside her and asked softly, "What happened..."