She Rewrote the Script

The Garcia family's notorious illegitimate son — violent, obsessive, and dangerously unstable — had sent out a public marriage summons.

One of us, my sister or I, was to become his bride.

My father, with his career in ruins and his influence dwindling, had no choice but to agree.

In desperation, I begged my boyfriend Eric Jordan to return home and make our engagement official.

He did rush back, travel-worn and anxious — but only to ask for my sister's hand in marriage. Shattered, I demanded to know why.

Eric frowned, his voice icy. "You're just a foster daughter of the Lynch family. You've eaten their food, lived under their roof for years. And if it weren't for Willa, you would've frozen to death on the street. Now's your chance to repay her. Don't be ungrateful."

I refused to stay silent. He shoved me aside in frustration.

"I told you — Willa and I are only pretending. Once she's out of danger and that lunatic forgets about the proposal, we'll divorce. I'll come back for you. However, stop embarrassing yourself like this — it's pathetic."

What Eric did not know was… Willa Lynch escaped the marriage. However, I did not.

Later, on the day of the wedding, as the bridal car passed the Jordan family estate, I looked out the window — and locked eyes with Eric.

His face turned pale as a sheet.

My adoptive dad, Patrick Lynch, was getting crushed by his rivals, and his influence was being blocked at every turn. With no other options, he sent my sister and me off to be pawns in a marriage alliance, at the mercy of whoever would take us.

The word on the street was that the illegitimate son we were being offered to had been messed up by a rough childhood. He was a real piece of work, a cruel sadist who got his kicks from hurting others.

I could not stomach the thought of marrying that monster, so in a desperate move, I called my boyfriend Eric Jordan across the ocean, hoping he would come back and save me by tying the knot.

However, that call, that one call, was like stepping off a cliff into a never-ending fall.

Eric came flying back that very night. I thought he was racing to stop me from being snatched up by someone else, all worn out from his journey.

However, he did not even flinch before he stood in front of my adoptive dad and asked to marry my sister instead.

"Mr. Lynch, please give your blessing to me and Willa."

His words hit me like a ton of bricks.

I confronted him, my voice shaking, "Eric, why!"

Eric's frown was a stranger to me, his voice icy, "Sylvia, you're the Lynch's adopted kid. They've treated you like their own flesh and blood. If it hadn't been for Willa, you'd be a goner, frozen on some street corner! You owe them big time, and now's your chance to pay