The yellowed sheet of paper clung to the utility pole, its edges already beginning to curl in the evening humidity. The crude print was stark and matter-of-fact:"Wendy Sutton, female, 26 years old, CEO of Sutton Group.""Currently seeking a live-in son-in-law. Compensation: one hundred thousand dollars. Term of marriage: three years.""Divorce after three years, both parties free to remarry. Interested parties please contact..."As dusk settled over the city, Wendy's silhouette appeared beside the telephone pole, smoothing the advertisement against the weathered wood. Her figure was statuesque, the kind that would normally turn heads on any street corner—curves that spoke of both grace and strength, the bearing of someone accustomed to command. Yet her face remained hidden beneath a veil of black gauze that seemed to absorb the fading light.A gust of wind swept down the street, catching the edge of the veil.For just a moment, it revealed a face marked by deep, jagged scars.The dam

"Hmph! He doesn't have that kind of ability at all!"Cliff raised his head to see two young people entering the ward side by side, their arrival commanding immediate attention.The woman leading the pair was strikingly attractive, though her appearance leaned heavily toward ostentatious—designer clothing, expensive jewelry, makeup applied with a heavy hand. Everything about her presentation screamed wealth and privilege. Her expression radiated arrogance, the kind of superiority that came from a lifetime of getting exactly what she wanted.This was Wanda Sutton, Wendy's younger sister."Dad, this Cliff character is nothing but a complete fraud!" Wanda announced as she crossed the room to stand beside Quinn Sutton, making no effort whatsoever to disguise her contempt for Cliff."Grandfather's improvement has absolutely nothing to do with him. It's all thanks to Cheney, who went to the trouble of bringing in Chris from overseas—the Master of Western Medicine himself!"The name carried w

Rose Hotel."What—what are you planning to do?!"Inside the hotel room, Wendy pressed both hands protectively against her chest, staring at the man before her with obvious wariness and alarm."We had an agreement! You promised not to touch me inappropriately during our marriage!""Wendy, I brought you here to heal your face."Cliff crouched down to her eye level, his voice gentle and reassuring as he tried to calm her obvious panic.As he spoke, he reached out slowly, his movements deliberate and non-threatening, attempting to lift the edge of her black veil."No! Don't!"Wendy immediately panicked, jerking away and trying to evade his touch.But she wasn't fast enough.The black gauze fluttered to the floor.That scarred face—the landscape of damage she'd hidden for three years—was once again exposed before Cliff's eyes."Don't... don't look at me! I'm ugly..."Wendy immediately raised her hands to cover her face, her shame so overwhelming she wished the earth would open up and swall

Autumn Lee would never forget that nightmarish evening as long as she lived.When news of Jason's catastrophic gambling losses reached the Lee Family, her father—whose health had already been fragile—suffered such a violent shock that he vomited blood on the spot. He died within hours, his heart simply unable to withstand the devastating betrayal and financial ruin.As for her mother, she'd wept throughout that entire terrible night, crying so hard and for so long that she literally cried herself blind. The doctors said it was a psychosomatic response to trauma—the sheer magnitude of grief had somehow severed her optical nerves.In the space of a single night, Autumn had lost everything. Her family was destroyed, her fortune obliterated, her future prospects annihilated. This woman who'd been raised as a pampered heiress, sheltered and adored, suddenly found herself forced to shoulder the crushing weight of her family's survival on her own fragile shoulders."When I finally traced the