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Chapter 1
"Lily Spencer, your mother is waiting for surgery in there now. If you sign this agreement and get married on Lilian's behalf, I'll foot the bill for your mother's surgery."
"No way."
"Don't be so stubborn. I'm already giving you the easy way out by letting you marry Jonathan Quilter on behalf of the Spencer family. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You should be grateful."
"Then why didn't Lilian take it? She's welcome to have this opportunity!"
"You … " The woman in exquisite makeup glared at Lily viciously. "You'd better believe that I will tell the doctor to stop your mother's treatment. I just have to give the say-so, and no other hospitals in Quenton will take her in!"
"You have 12 hours to decide," she continued with a disdainful look. "If you still refuse to agree, then I'll make sure the both of you won't be able to survive in this city."
With that, she walked away, her head held high as her three-inch heels clacked against the ground.
Lily clenched her fists.
She wanted nothing better than to punch that woman in the face.
If it weren't for her, her mother wouldn't have developed cancer at such a young age due to stress and depression. She wouldn't need this life-saving surgery in the first place.
Up until she was five years old, Lily had been the heiress of the Spencer Corporation, the only daughter of the Spencer family.
In just a blink of an eye, she became nothing but an outcast, disowned by her family and kicked out of her house.
All because her mother, Susan Simmons, was a commoner and couldn't bring her father, Jeremiah Spencer, any benefit to his business.
That was where this woman came in—armed with ten billion and an illegitimate daughter who was the same age as Lily, she had forced her way into the family.
One month later, Susan was kicked out of the Spencer family.
When Susan divorced Jeremiah, she hadn't asked for anything but Lily's custody.
With her five-year-old daughter in tow, she had left what used to be her home.
Years of privilege had stripped her of basic survival skills.
After many struggles and failures, she finally pulled herself up by her bootstraps and became an illustrator at a small advertisement company, making use of the art skills she'd learned in her youth. With that small salary, she had brought up Lily.
Lily had finally graduated from college earlier this year. She was now able to work and earn a living for both her and her mother. However, before they could celebrate the good news, Susan had collapsed.
The hospital told them that it was stage four cancer.
The only way to cure Susan was through surgery—but the cost of the surgery was too high for their little family.
Just as Lily was wracking her brain to come up with the money for her mother's surgery, her stepmother, Yuliana Bauer, appeared before her and forced her to marry Jonathan Quilter on behalf of her stepsister, Lilian Spencer.
Even though Lily was far removed from the upper society of Quenton, she'd also heard of Jonathan's notoriety for playing around.
She knew him because his medical history had been leaked not too long ago. The report indicated that he had incurable unmentionable disease.
When the news broke, there was a wave of panic amongst his former lovers. Every one of them rushed to the hospital to get checked for fear of getting infected.
Naturally, his fiancée, Lilian, started having second thoughts.
Unfortunately for her, the marriage pact between the Spencers and the Quilters had been made 15 years ago.
The Spencers did not dare to offend the Quilters, so they did not want to be the ones to call off the marriage. To get around this problem, they found Lily, whom they'd disowned years ago.
Lily was still Jeremiah's daughter, after all.
It wouldn't be breaking the marriage pact if Lily married Jonathan, but the marriage would ruin her life.
Just then, the doctor called, "Calling for Susan Simmons' family!"
Lily went over hastily.
"Your mother's condition is worsening. We'll have to make a decision on the surgery as soon as possible. It's not easy to find a match for transplant, you know. Your mother is very lucky in this regard. If you let this opportunity go, you might not have another one." The doctor looked at Lily in pity, noticing her reddened eyes. "The longer you wait, the higher the risk."
Chapter 2
"I understand. I'll get the money soon," Lily said, biting hard on her lower lip to stop herself from crying.
Just then, a text arrived.
"Lily, I'm breaking up with you. I can't keep helping you out with your mother's medical fees. I'm not rich, and your mother's not getting better anytime soon. As for the money you gave me for investment, I'll treat that as compensation for wasting two years of my life. Goodbye, and don't contact me ever again."
Lily's mind went blank when she read the text.
She tried to call her boyfriend, but he had already blocked her number.
Lily couldn't believe it.
That was her life savings that he'd just taken!
She'd trusted him and gave him all her money so that he could invest it and grow their savings.
How could he take all of it?
He knew that she needed money urgently, yet he still did this. Was he trying to drive her to die?
After leaving the doctor's office, Lily couldn't hold in all her emotions anymore. She ran to the restroom and burst into tears.
Her mother had brought her up single-handedly. It was because of her that she'd fallen sick.
What should she do?
Was she really going to have to marry Jonathan, get infected with unmentionable disease, and eventually die?
She didn't want to die, but she couldn't let her mother die either.
She was broke, so if she refused Yuliana's offer, it was as good as signing off her mother's death certificate.
Therefore, she had no other choice.
Lily loathed the thought of being played like a fiddle, but there was nothing she could do.
Either way, she was doomed. In that case, then why not go all out?
Rather than letting Yuliana have her victory, Lily wanted to make her as disgusted as possible, with the added bonus of offending the Quilters so that they would hate the Spencers.
Lily took out her phone and called the last number in her contacts. "Mr. Reed, is the deal we spoke about previously still on?"
The voice that came from the other end sounded greasy. "Oh, so you've made up your mind? Then come over to Room 1216 at the Hiton Hotel. I do like it when my women take the initiative."
After ending the call, Lily wrapped her arms around herself and cried bitterly.
Once her tears were all exhausted, she wiped her eyes and left without looking back.
She went to Room 1216 at Hiton Hotel. Gathering her courage, she rang the doorbell.
"Come in."
The voice that came from inside the room was hoarse and sultry, evidently suppressing his desire, but it was also strangely alluring. Lily felt her heart skip a beat.
Tom Reed's voice wasn't so nice.
Something about him felt off.
Lily pushed the thought out of her head forcefully. After tonight, she would be able to get 100 thousand. It may not be enough for her mother's surgery, but it was better than nothing.
"I'm here." Entering the room, Lily closed her eyes and threw herself at the man without looking at him. Trembling, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.
A thought flashed through Lily's mind as soon as their lips touched.
When did Tom get so tall?
And she was pretty sure he didn't have such a sculpted body.
Before she could get her thoughts in order, the man breathed heavily into her ear, his voice low and sultry. "Who are you? Is this what you consider a cure? You know what? It's too late now. Since you're here, just stay!"
With that, Lily felt herself being lifted and thrown onto a bed.
A warm body followed, pressing her into the soft mattress.
Chapter 3
Three hours later, Lily was on the brink of unconsciousness.
Even so, she didn't forget to get feedback from her client. "How was my service, sir? Were you satisfied?"
"What would you do if I wasn't?" Despite his words, the man sounded content.
Hearing this, Lily was startled awake.
If he were dissatisfied, she wouldn't get the 100 thousand she was promised.
She couldn't allow that to happen. She had to make sure that he was satisfied!
She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him sweetly. "Let's go again, then. We can do this until you're satisfied."
Sebastian Quilter got aroused again.
Eyes burning with lust, he decided that he wasn't about to let her down.
Two hours later, Sebastian got a call.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Quilter, the woman we arranged for you had a car accident and won't be able to get to the hotel. I've arranged for two other women to attend to you—"
Sebastian whipped his head around to stare at the young woman beside him.
Who was this, then?
Just then, Lily's phone rang.
She reached out and grabbed her phone without even opening her eyes. "Hello?"
"What is the meaning of this, Lily Spencer?" Tom's angry voice sounded from the other end. "Are you playing me for a fool?"
Lily was confused. "What do you mean, Mr. Reed?"
"That's my question! You agreed to our deal, yet you're not here. I've been waiting for you for the whole night!"
"I am at the hotel!" Lily was even more confused. "Wasn't I with you last night? What, you're just going to pretend nothing happened? I have proof, you know!"
"Which hotel are you at?"
"Hiton Hotel, room 1216! I've checked twice. I'm in the right room," Lily said confidently.
"Which Hiton are you at?" Tom asked suddenly.
"The one on South Isle Road in Sonja District!"
"I'm at the one on Rollers Street in Soliel District!" Tom roared.
Lily fell silent.
Right. There were two Hiton Hotels in Quenton.
She was at the wrong one.
Lily felt suffocated as she hung up the phone.
So, if the man she slept with last night wasn't Tom Reed, then who was he?
Lily sat up hastily, looking around the room.
However, the room was empty. She was all alone.
There went her 100 thousand.
She didn't even know what the man looked like, much less who he was. If he wasn't around, then she would have to live with the fact that she'd slept with a complete stranger.
Then again, it wasn't a total loss. At the very least, she could remember that the man was young and very fit.
Lily gritted her teeth and swallowed the humiliation.
Either way, she'd lost her first time to some other man. That should be enough to disgust Jonathan.
When Lily got back to the hospital, she saw Yuliana waiting for her. The latter looked very proud of herself.
In fact, Yuliana acted like she had already won the battle.
"So, what will it be? Have you decided?" Even as she spoke, she did not give Lily any chance to defy her. She pulled the agreement out of her bag.
"Fine, I agree." Lily gritted her teeth. "I'll marry Jonathan on Lilian's behalf, but I want you to pay 500 thousand now."
Yuliana smiled in satisfaction. "Good for you. Sign here."
She threw the agreement at Lily.
Lily picked up the papers. The agreement was extremely biased—it stated that she was marrying Jonathan willingly on behalf of the Spencer family, and no matter what happened in the future, she would be the only one responsible for the consequences.
Chapter 4
Lily picked up a pen and signed her name on the agreement. She did not hand it back to Yuliana. "Where's the money?" she asked coldly.
Yuliana threw a card at her. "There's 600 thousand in there. Keep the extra for a plot at the cemetery!"
That said, she took the agreement and left, laughing loudly.
Lily was so angry that she couldn't stop herself from trembling.
However, she did not throw the money back at Yuliana, no matter how much her pride wanted her to do so.
She needed the money.
Pride came second to her mother's life. If the money could pay for her mother's surgery and the subsequent fees that came with her aftercare, then she was willing to swallow her pride.
Nothing was more important than her mother!
…
Meanwhile, over at the Quilters', one of Sebastian's bodyguards stood before him and reported cautiously, "The investigation showed that it was Lorna Porter of the Porter family who slipped you the drug last night. It's well known that she's infatuated with you."
Sebastian gave a cold laugh. "She is bold. The Porters have been taking too many liberties lately. It's time to give them a little reckoning."
His men did not dare to speak.
Sebastian rarely got angry, but when he did, the consequences were never pretty. Everyone present was already mourning for the Porter family.
"Who was that woman in my room?" Sebastian asked.
"Her name is Lily Spencer. We're not sure how she got into your room either, but we just received information that she will be the one to fulfill the marriage pact between the Spencers and the Quilters."
"The marriage pact? With whom?"
"Your nephew, Jonathan."
Sebastian raised his eyebrows at that. "She's a Spencer?"
"She is Jeremiah Spencer's and his ex-wife's daughter. She and her mother were kicked out of the family 16 years ago for some superstitious reason."
Sebastian tapped his fingers on the table, deep in thought, as his men fell into a hushed silence. They did not dare to bother him.
Suddenly, the tapping stopped. Sebastian's expression became cold as he scoffed, "This is a slight upon the Quilter family. Are they hoping to exchange a illegitimate daughter for our help?"
His men could tell that he was angry. They lowered their heads silently.
"No one has dared to scheme against us yet, and they won't be the first ones to succeed. Even though Jonathan is far removed from the family, they're still not allowed to humiliate us like this. Tell Jonathan that I'll be taking his fiancée!"
Everyone looked up in shock, unable to believe their ears.
What was he saying?
He was taking his fiancée?
Whose fiancée?
Sebastian's executive assistant, Peter Bowman, replied immediately, "Yes, sir. I'll let Jonathan know at once!"
No one else dared to say anything. They were all looking at each other in shock, the same questions in their eyes—What happened to Sebastian? He never showed interest in women before. Why was he claiming his nephew's fiancée for himself?
After his men left, Sebastian sat at his desk in silence, involuntarily remembering everything that happened the night before.
He'd always prided himself on his self-control.
Over the last few years, many women had thrown themselves at him, but he'd never had any desire to sleep with any of them.
Last night was different. He couldn't seem to control himself and had done it with that woman several times.
He could've argued that the drugs had lowered his inhibitions, but he knew better. At the very least, he knew that the effects of the drugs had already worn off toward the end of the night. By that time, he wasn't under any influence at all. He was really attracted to that woman.
He couldn't allow his woman to sleep with another man.
Chapter 5
A knock sounded on the door.
Peter entered and said, "Mr. Quilter, there's something I need to confirm with you."
"What is it?"
"Are you going to make this official, or—"
"Find her a place to stay and send her 10 thousand every month as pocket money," Sebastian answered without hesitation.
Peter raised his eyebrows as the realization dawned on him that he was dealing with a mistress situation.
"Would the villa at Aurum Street do?"
"Yeah."
Soon, Jonathan's parents received a call from Sebastian's men.
They told them directly that they would need to find themselves another daughter-in-law. Sebastian was claiming Lily as his own.
Jonathan's parents were only distantly related to Sebastian, who was a direct heir to the family name.
They only shared the same great-great-grandparents, which meant that by the time Jonathan's grandfather was born, their side of the family was already far removed from the main lineage.
Despite that, their last name still afforded them some power, which was why Jonathan could still be such a known prodigal in the upper circles of society.
It was also why Jonathan's parents weren't angry that their future daughter-in-law had just been snatched from right under their noses. In fact, they accepted it happily.
…
"Congratulations, the surgery was a success."
Lily felt as if her heart had finally sunk back into her chest when the doctor told her that. She swallowed down a sob, her throat so thick with emotion that she could only grasp the hands of the doctor in gratitude.
"Even so, she'll still need a lot of care and attention," the doctor continued kindly. "She'll need a lot of good, nutritious food and a calm environment for best recovery."
"I'll keep that in mind," Lily said as she wiped her tears away. "I will do my best!"
Lighthearted, Lily quickly returned to her mother's ward. Susan was still sleeping, but Lily was confident that everything was getting better—apart from the fact that she would soon marry Jonathan.
To be or not to be—it wasn't a question for her. She never had the choice.
"Water …" Her mother's feeble voice jolted her out of her thoughts.
"Here." She grabbed a cotton ball, dipped it in water, and wetted Susan's lips. "The doctor says you can't eat or drink anything yet. We have to wait until the drug wears off."
"Where did you get the money for the surgery?" Susan asked weakly.
"I borrowed the money," Lily lied. "Some of my old classmates are rich. They agreed not to charge me interest."
"Regardless, you still have to pay them back along with the interest."
"Yeah, I know." Lily nodded. "Don't worry about it, Mom. I'll handle it."
Lily returned home and started cooking some broth for her mother. Just as the pot was boiling, a knock sounded on the door.
"Coming!" Lily hurried over to open the door, only to see a man dressed smartly standing outside. "Who are you?"
"Are you Ms. Lily Spencer?"
"I am."
"I'm here to talk to you about a transaction."
"A transaction?" Lily was perplexed. She'd just graduated college and knew next to nothing. What transaction could she make with him?
"My boss likes you very much. He wants you to be his mistress," the man said with a smile, looking confident."
"What?" Lily scratched her ear. "Can you repeat that?"
"My boss …"
"Not that. The one before that."
"Uh … Are you Ms. Lily Spencer?"
"No, I am not!" Lily spat out coldly. Then, she slammed the door shut as quickly as she could.
Chapter 6
Peter watched as the door slammed shut before him, taking a hasty step back before it could hit him in the face. He'd always been respected. That was the first time someone had slammed a door in his face.
Lily dusted off her hands, looking disgusted.
She might not recognize the man, but she could guess he was one of Tom's men.
She figured that since Tom failed to have her first time, he was planning to ruin the rest of her life.
In his dreams!
Her mother's surgery was done and paid for now, so she didn't need the money anymore. She'd be silly if she fell for his tricks again.
Outside, Peter knocked on the door again.
Lily felt her anger surge inside her. She grabbed a knife and opened the door. "Are you deaf? I've already told you that I'm not!"
"Ms. Spencer, please let me finish." Peter did not expect her aggression. He was beginning to wonder if Sebastian had made the right choice of companionship.
"What were you going to say? You just told me your boss wants me to be his mistress!" Lily sneered. "I don't want to. Do you hear that? No!"
Peter wasn't about to give up so easily. "Do you know who my boss is, Ms. Spencer?"
"I don't care who he is!" Lily hefted her knife. "If you knock on my door again, I'll chop off your hand!"
She slammed the door shut.
Peter took a deep breath, calming his nerves, before turning away to call Sebastian. "Sir, Lily Spencer rejected you."
Sebastian was surprised. "She rejected me?"
There were no women in Quenton who didn't desire Sebastian. Half of them wanted to marry him, and the other half just wanted to sleep with him.
He was used to all this attention. This was the first time a woman had rejected him and a woman he'd slept with not long ago at that.
Sebastian's interest was piqued. "Interesting."
"Do you want me to continue convincing her?" Peter asked in a low voice. "Anything I should do?"
"She's looking for a job, right?"
"Yeah."
"Send her an interview invitation."
"For which position?"
"Personal assistant to the president."
"Yes, sir."
Meanwhile, over at the Spencer residence, Lilian was hugging Yuliana around the neck coquettishly. "Mom, has Lily really agreed to marry Jonathan in my stead?"
Yuliana patted her on the back and said haughtily, "She wouldn't dare to refuse, anyway. Now, you can just prepare yourself to marry the actual heir of the Quilter family!"
Lilian blushed. She chewed on her lip. "Would Sebastian even like me? Could I really marry him?"
"Of course you can! You're my daughter!" Yuliana said proudly. "Once you marry Sebastian, you'll be the next lady of the house of the Quilter family. My darling Lilian will be making something of herself, won't she?"
"But Lily said she'll only marry Jonathan three months from now. Would she have changed her mind by then?"
"Don't worry, she wouldn't dare to do anything of the contrary if she wanted Susan to live," Yuliana said confidently. "Don't think too much about it. Just focus on your dancing so that you can awe everyone at the banquet next week. Show Sebastian your best self!"
"I will!" Lilian nodded fervently with a greedy look in her eyes. "I will make Sebastian fall in love with me!"
Jonathan was nothing compared to Sebastian, even if he didn't have that illness. He was just a distant part of the Quilter family. On the other hand, Sebastian was the true heir—the one in control of the Quilter family.
With her beauty, she only deserved the best.
As for Lily, she should be honored for the chance to help her out!
Chapter 7
Lily rubbed her eyes and closed them for a moment before checking the email again, wondering if she'd misread it.
The email was from the Quilter Group, inviting her to an interview for the position of Personal Assistant to the president.
She remembered that the Quilter Group only accepted people who had, at the very least, a Master's degree. She only had a Bachelor's.
Nervously, Lily called the company's HR department. "Hello, my name is Lily Spencer. I just got an interview invitation from your company and wanted to ask if this was a mistake. I saw on the minimum requirements that you only wanted candidates with Master's degrees. I've only just graduated with my Bachelor's degree …"
"It wasn't a mistake, Ms. Spencer. We've seen your résumé. Even though you're a little lacking in academic achievements, you do have a lot of skills that stand out. You mentioned that you're good at cooking and doing handicrafts, right?"
"Yes, I did."
"In this position, you'll serve the president directly, so your skills are exactly what we're looking for. Please do come for the interview, Ms. Spencer."
Lily was ecstatic.
She was going for an interview at the Quilter Group!
The Quilter Group was the biggest company in Quenton. Almost everyone in the city dreamed about working there, including her.
There was no way she was going to turn down this invitation.
Lily was thankful that she'd picked up all those extra skills on top of getting an education.
Those skills had actually been developed out of need. Her mother was always working to make ends meet and often skipped meals, so Lily had taken up the chore of cooking to make sure that she was eating well.
The work was often grueling, so her clothes wore out quickly. Lily had learned to sew and patch up clothing at a young age as they couldn't afford to buy new clothes.
In fact, when her mother lost her job during her final year of college, she'd made a living out of her handcrafting skills.
Thanks to these two skills, she got an interview invitation from the Quilter Group. Lily could cry with gratitude at that moment.
On the day of the interview, Lily put on her best clothes and turned up punctually at the headquarters of the Quilter Group.
The Quilter Group had hundreds of franchises and subsidiaries, but the headquarters remained the most iconic.
It was housed in twin buildings that took up about 100 square miles. Tall and grand, the buildings were one of Quenton's most well-known landmarks and properly showed off the Quilters' wealth.
Lily was going to be interviewed for the president's personal assistant position.
She'd heard that the president of the Quilter Group, Sebastian Quilter, was the apparent heir to the Quilter family and had come into power at the company at a very young age.
He was ruthless and unrelenting yet devastatingly handsome. Some called him the Ultimate Scion.
And she was to be his personal assistant.
"Next, Lily Spencer."
"Present!" Lily snapped back to her senses and entered the interview room, clutching her résumé tightly.
The interviewers sat in a row. The man in the middle looked particularly terrifying.
Lily could only give them a brief glance before lowering her head again. "Good morning, everyone. My name is Lily Spencer. I am 22 years old and just graduated from Aurelius College this year. I …"
"I heard that you're good at doing handicrafts," the man in the middle interrupted.
"Yes, I am."
"What can you make?"
"Quite a lot, actually. Is there anything in particular you're interested in?"
The man gave her an appraising look. "Can you sew?"
"Yes, I can!" Lily answered hastily. "I can sew and even make clothes if I have the suitable materials and tools!"
The man laughed lightly. "Next."
Lily's heart sank.
He hadn't even asked her about her other qualities before dismissing her. Was this his way of telling her that she was disqualified?
Dejectedly, she stood up. She inclined her head at the interviewers and left without making a fuss.
She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up. They were looking for people with high academic qualifications. She only had a measly Bachelor's degree to her name.
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