Tension filled the air in an instant. Every eye in the room hovered between me and Natalie. She was stunned for a second before she let out a disdainful chuckle. "Come on, Cole. Everyone knows you've been my pathetic little lapdog for ten years. There's no way you would marry someone else. My sisters have watched you grovel after me. They wouldn't want to marry you. Oh, right, my eldest sister hasn't seen much of your antics, since she's always sick. But she's not going to live for long. You really think your family would let you marry her?" I was just about to snap back and say that Yvonne was exactly who I intended to marry. Then, I remembered what Frank Shaw, their father and head of the Shaw family, had told me before. "I don't know why you suddenly changed your mind and chose Yvonne, but she's about to undergo surgery. Let's keep it between us for now. We don't want anything disrupting her recovery," he had said. I instinctively looked toward Yvonne, who was seated in the distance in her wheelchair. She looked deathly pale. She was so fragile that it seemed like a gust of wind might sweep her away. Frank was right. She could not afford to be disturbed. I had not interacted much with Yvonne. I remembered how things ended for her in the previous life. Not long after I married Natalie, Yvonne died alone in a hospice. Since I had decided to marry her in this lifetime, I had to make sure she lived a long and healthy life. Yvonne looked at me. Her eyes briefly clouded with disappointment. I offered her a reassuring smile and said, "You'll find out soon enough." Then, I turned and walked away. As the party came to an end, Matthew trailed closely behind me. He raised his hand. The silver ring glinted as the light danced across it in soft colors. "Cole, you're all pride and no bite, huh? Natalie told me that even though she marries you, I'm the one she sees as her real husband, and I'm the only one she'd ever buy a ring for." To everyone else, Matthew was the perfect, well-mannered one - charming and easy to like. I was the only one who knew just how evil he really was.