Sunlight poured in all at once. Wide and bright, it hit Sera square in the face without warning the moment the curtains were pulled aside. Sera scrunched her forehead, squeezing her eyes shut tighter before finally giving up and slowly opening them. It took a few seconds for her vision to adjust, for the shapes in the room to come into focus. The open window. Morning light slanting in. And Lein, standing there with his hand still on the curtain, looking at her with an expression that was not the least bit sorry. Sera let out a slow breath. Relief. Not because Lein was there, but because it meant everything that happened last night wasn't a dream. It was real. This man was real. And she wasn't alone anymore. But it also meant something else. Uncle Caden was really gone. Sera swallowed the feeling for a moment, let it linger, then tucked it away somewhere it wouldn't bother her until she was fully awake. "You were really out cold," Lein said, his tone light. "It's already six

The front doors of the Caldwell estate were wide open. In the doorway stood a man whose presence seemed deliberately designed to fill the room. He was about 185 centimeters tall. His brown hair was slicked neatly back, not a single strand daring to stray out of place. Thin-framed glasses sat on his sharp nose, giving him a polished, intelligent look. The dark gray suit he wore wrapped his athletic build in a perfect cut, broad shoulders, slim waist, not a single wrinkle in sight. He was handsome. His smile was warm. His posture was upright and confident. In short, he looked like the kind of guy any mother would want to set her daughter up with. In his hands was a massive bouquet of white and pink roses, at least a hundred stems. Behind him stood five maids in matching, neatly pressed cream uniforms. Each one carried a velvet-wrapped gift box tied with a perfect gold ribbon. And behind those five, ten men in black suits stood in two rows. Shoulders as wide as doorways, necks as

"Sera."Tristan turned his head without lowering his raised hand. His voice went soft again, like someone coaxing a child away from a fire."Step back. This is the guy who wants to marry you, right?" His smile was thin. "Then please, don't get involved just yet. Let him prove he's worthy right here. If he really deserves to stand beside you, he'll make it through this."Sera opened her mouth.She wanted to say something. Maybe to refuse, maybe to warn him, but before a single word came out, her eyes met Lein's.He turned his head slightly toward her and smiled.A small, easy smile, like someone about to step out to grab some tea. His eyes said one thing very clearly: I'll be fine.Sera looked at him for a moment.Then nodded slowly.She stepped back a few paces, leaving plenty of space in the middle of the hall.Lein turned to face forward again. Ten huge men stood in a half circle in front of him, their shadows falling across the marble floor like a moving wall. He looked at them one