Roses and Rivalry

At the engagement party, Lin Wan is the perfect fiancée to everyone in the Lu family: elegant, composed, like a work of art crafted by Lu Yiran. But an anonymous text shatters the illusion: “You’re just a stand-in. The person he holds closest to his heart came back today.”

Lin Wan lowers her eyes and smiles, deleting the message without a word. A stand-in? She is no longer the puppet anyone can control, as she was three years ago. For three years, she has been quietly gathering strength inside her gilded cage, waiting for the chance to break free.

While Lu Yiran still holds her captive with the confidence of a man in control and demands to know why she is distracted, Lin Wan lifts her eyes and gazes into the distance. “I was just thinking of someone I once knew. He used to like giving me blue roses, too.”

In an instant, the drunken haze and possessiveness in the man’s eyes shatter, leaving only utter shock and fury.