On the night before our engagement party, my fiancé's childhood sweetheart sped through the venue grounds in a luxury car while heartbroken, hit an elderly man, and fled the scene.

Ethan immediately postponed the party and took the panicked Mia overseas to help her relax.

Before leaving, he transferred five hundred thousand dollars to me.

"Five hundred thousand should be enough to buy your father's life. As long as you don't cause trouble for Mia, we'll continue with the celebration after I return."

Confused, I looked at my father beside me.

The renowned don of the McKenna family was sitting there perfectly unharmed, frowning in dissatisfaction over Ethan's decision to cancel the party without permission.

Just then, I received a message from Mia with a video attached.

[Ethan found out the person I hit was your father and still chose to protect me and pay for your father's life.]

[A nouveau riche's daughter thinks she can marry into the Alvarez family? Take a good look at your father's condition. This is what happens when people like you dare to dream.]

I opened the video and widened my eyes in shock.

With a malicious smile, Mia slammed on the accelerator, drove over the old man's legs, and sped away.

The poor elderly man lying in a pool of blood and groaning in pain was Ethan's father.

I didn't dare waste even a second and immediately rushed to the hospital.

As I hurried there, I repeatedly called Ethan Alvarez, trying to tell him that the injured man was his father, but he kept hanging up on me.

It was obvious that he was preparing to board the plane with Mia Reed.

The doctor walked out of the emergency room with a worried expression.

"The patient's lower limbs were crushed, and he's suffered massive blood loss. Surgery is required immediately. As you're not a legal family member, please contact his relatives and have them come here as soon as possible."

Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I dialed Ethan's number again. This time, he finally answered.

"Ethan, get to the hospital right now! The person Mia hit is—"

He interrupted me before I could finish, his voice filled with impatience.

"Wasn't five hundred thousand dollars enough? Mia already explained it was an accident. Besides, your father wasn't seriously injured. On the contrary, she was badly frightened, and I need to stay with her."

"At the end of the day, this was your father's fault. The Alvarez family is well-known in Enotria, and my mother never invites strangers to our events. He didn't have an invitation but insisted on attending our engagement party. That's why this accident happened!"

I was furious.

"Ethan, the person lying in the hospital is your—"

"Celeste, you need to watch yourself. We're not married yet, so I have no obligation to take care of your father.

"If this accident hadn't happened, I never would've known that you and your father are exactly the same, with no sense of etiquette or boundaries. Your family should be thanking Mia for teaching you some manners!"

There was not only anger in his raised voice, but arrogance as well.

I was trembling with rage, yet at that moment, a sharp series of beeping sounds came from the emergency room. It was the monitor's critical-condition alarm.

Suppressing both my anger and the tremor in my voice, I said, "Ethan, I'll say this one more time. The person being resuscitated is your father! Get to the hospital now, or you'll regret it!"

There was silence on the other end of the line for several seconds before Ethan let out a cold laugh.

"I finally understand your little game. You're jealous and resentful, so now you're cursing my father and trying to trick me into canceling my trip with Mia. That's not going to happen!

"I'm boarding now. Stop calling me. Otherwise, I'll cancel our engagement!"

Before I could say anything else, he hung up.

Dad was furious.

"He suddenly canceled the ceremony. Now his father is in critical condition, yet he still refuses to show up. Ethan is a complete b*st*rd! If you hadn't wanted to expand our family's influence in Enotria, I would've never agreed to this marriage alliance."

That was true.

The reason I had agreed to the alliance was because Ethan was the only marriageable heir in the Alvarez family, and he wasn't bad-looking either.

As someone born into a secondary line of the family, he had no idea how much influence the McKenna family held in Lanford. He genuinely believed we were nothing more than ordinary nouveau riche.

That was why, when he thought the elderly man Mia had hit was my dad, he didn't even hesitate and simply tried to settle the matter with money.

Even after learning that the victim's condition was critical, all he cared about was Mia. He wasn't willing to spare even a little time to come to the hospital.

To him, this marriage was nothing more than a task assigned by his family.

He had never considered my dad and me to be his family.

"Cancel the engagement! As the don of the McKenna family, there's no way I'll allow my precious daughter to marry a man like that. Cancel it immediately!"

"I agree."

I nodded and supported my dad's decision.

Just then, a piercing alarm sounded from inside the operating room, followed by the doctor's shout.

"Sh*t! His blood pressure is dropping! He's gone into cardiac arrest! Prepare for resuscitation!"

The doctors and nurses immediately fell into chaos, and less than a minute later, a nurse pushed open the door and sighed at us.

"The patient's heart has stopped beating and has been pronounced dead."

It was already too late.

In the morgue, I finally saw the elderly man's face.

According to the plan, after today's engagement party, he would have become my future father-in-law.

Now, he lay alone inside a refrigerated drawer.

His lower limbs had been crushed beyond recognition.

Furious, my father informed the Alvarez family that we were unilaterally canceling the engagement.

However, early the next morning, I received an invitation to a family dinner hosted by the Alvarez family.

At the same time, I also received a call from Ethan.

"Celeste, are you really that jealous of my trip with Mia? You actually used canceling the engagement to threaten me!"

"Fine. My uncle personally sent the invitation, so the party will proceed tonight. I'll even apologize to you in person. Is that enough to satisfy you?"

He had actually canceled his trip with Mia and rushed back to Enotria overnight. So hurriedly that he still didn't know his father had already died.

"Sweetheart, are you going?"

Dad looked at me.

I stared at the invitation for several seconds before nodding.

I didn't care about Ethan, but if I wanted to expand our influence in Enotria, I couldn't ignore the Alvarez family.

More importantly, just a minute earlier, Ethan had posted online that the engagement party would proceed as planned.

In the photo, every influential and high-ranking elder of the Alvarez family was present.

As the star of the show, Ethan appeared to be thoroughly enjoying the attention.

He captioned it, [Thank you to my beloved father, the most important person in my life. He hosted the most extravagant engagement party of the Alvarez family. I love him, and I love the Alvarez family.]

The lonely old man lying in the morgue deserved the truth.

A limited-edition luxury car pulled up in front of the Alvarez family estate. Inside, the atmosphere was lively, filled with voices and celebration.

The moment the car arrived, the guests in the courtyard all turned to look.

Ethan pushed through the crowd and hurried forward.

"Father, you're finally here! But why are you—"

After seeing my face clearly, he looked somewhat surprised.

It seemed he had been anxiously waiting for his father, the man who was supposed to preside over the party.

The looks the guests gave me were also filled with sympathy.

"Isn't she the woman whose father was hit by a car yesterday? Her father is lying in the hospital, yet she's still here attending the party. She doesn't even have a family member with her. How pitiful."

"There is always a price to pay for crossing social classes. This is the cost of a nobody trying to attach herself to the Alvarez family."

Ethan frowned in dissatisfaction.

"Celeste, you've adapted to the role of Mrs. Alvarez pretty quickly. Your father is still lying in the hospital, yet you're in the mood to rent such an expensive car before the party?"

Rent?

This car was the gift my dad gave me for my twenty-first birthday.

As for him, because he had to cancel his return flight to Lanford, he left ten minutes later than I did.

He was currently on his way in the Cullinan driven by his chauffeur.

Mia walked through the crowd toward me, her face filled with innocence and sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Ms. McKenna. I truly didn't mean to hit that elderly man. I hope Ethan's five hundred thousand dollars can bring you some comfort."

"By the way, how is that elderly gentleman doing?"

"Not very well."

I looked at Ethan. "He's dead."

A collective gasp swept through the crowd.

I stared into Ethan's widened eyes as he took a step backward in shock.

"I think it's far more important that you go to the hospital and look at the body than this engagement party."

"He's dead? How is that possible?!"

However, Mia's sudden breakdown immediately drew all of his attention.

"I barely touched him. How could he have been so frail that he died? I'm sorry, Ethan! I didn't mean to!"

She clearly believed the dead man was my dad. Yet instead of me, she chose to apologize to Ethan.

What would happen if she knew the truth?

Before I could say anything, Ethan pulled her protectively behind him and looked at me with caution.

"Celeste, it was an accident.

"Did you deliberately announce your father's death in front of everyone because you wanted to embarrass Mia? What's next? Are you planning to have her sent to prison?"

"Heh. A nobody like her thinks she can send Mia to prison? Not unless she wants to make an enemy of the Alvarez family."

A mocking female voice sounded from behind Ethan.

It was Ethan's mother, Diana Grace.

This elegantly dressed woman, adorned with jewelry and carrying herself with an arrogant expression, pushed through the crowd and stepped forward before looking at me with disdain.

"I never invited your father to attend the party. He showed up rudely, uninvited, and that's why he got hit.

"If my husband hadn't insisted, you wouldn't even have been allowed into our home, let alone connected to us through marriage. My son even compensated your family with five hundred thousand dollars. You've already profited greatly from this."

The surrounding guests nodded in agreement.

In their eyes, the position of Mrs. Ethan Alvarez was far more important than the life of an ordinary elderly man.

Diana took Mia's hand and gently comforted her.

"The engagement party hasn't started yet. I believe that after my husband meets you, Mia, he'll change his mind about this marriage alliance with a nobody."

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault... I was careless and almost ruined Ethan's engagement party."

Mia bit her lip, her eyes glistening with tears.

Seeing that, Ethan protectively pulled her into his arms and glared at me.

"Celeste, the man is already dead, and you've taken the money. Mia is still young. You shouldn't keep focusing on her and ruin her future.

"If you still want the engagement party to continue, put away your accusations and jealousy."

He took out an agreement.

"Sign this. Give up your right to pursue this matter, and you'll still be my wife."

I looked coldly at the man who was supposed to become my husband, favoring and protecting his childhood sweetheart.

"This agreement has nothing to do with me."

I calmly turned to him.

"Don't you find it strange that your father hasn't appeared? Because the person lying in the hospital is him—"

"Shut up!"

Diana shouted at me.

"Who gave a nobody like you the nerve to jinx my husband? He went to Lanford two days ago to attend a confidential meeting! He's only coming back tonight!"

What they didn't know was that this meeting was actually with my dad regarding the McKenna family's plans in Enotria.

Unexpectedly, after settling my father in, the poor old man was accidentally hit by Mia at the venue.

No, it was murder.

"Celeste, my father is the most important person in my life and the pillar of our family. I won't allow anyone to jinx or harm him."

Ethan looked at me coldly.

"I sincerely wanted to make you my wife, but I never expected that because of jealousy, you would challenge my limits again and again.

"I'll give you another hundred thousand dollars. Sign the agreement, complete the engagement party, and behave yourself.

"My father will be here soon, and I hope you won't bring up your father's death in front of him and turn this place into your family's funeral."

The other guests erupted in discussion and praised his generosity and tolerance.

"Six hundred thousand dollars! That old man was nothing more than a rude and ill-mannered country bumpkin, yet he's worth that much money? Mr. Alvarez is truly generous!"

"What is she still hesitating for? Hurry! Sign it and zip your mouth!"

I sneered and looked toward the luxury car approaching in the distance.

It was my dad's car.

"Since you insist, I'll sign it."

I signed my name, raised the agreement, and looked straight into Ethan's eyes.

"I won't be getting engaged to you. The reason I came was because of your pitiful father, and I hope you won't regret this."

Furious, Diana jabbed a finger against my chest.

"Still refusing to admit it? I'll be delighted to cancel this marriage alliance with people like you! Take your dead father and get out of here!"

"Whose daughter are you telling to get out?"

A dignified voice rang out.

Dad stepped out of a limited-edition Lincoln and walked toward us one step at a time.

As he rubbed the ring on his thumb, the guests stared at it closely.

It was the symbol of a Lanford mafia don, engraved with the McKenna family crest.

At that moment, Ethan's phone rang.

"Mr. Alvarez, your father passed away after emergency treatment failed following a car accident. Please come to the hospital as soon as possible to claim the body."