"Mm."

Adrian Preston didn’t dare to look, afraid he would be consumed by his inner demons.

Mia Kane didn’t hold back, biting down hard.

The man let out a muffled grunt. It was impossible to tell if it was from the surprise, the pain, or something else entirely.

The sound was deep and husky. Mia Kane couldn’t tell if it was just her own heart leading her astray, but she felt that grunt was laced with a hint of desire.

She released her bite and saw that Adrian Preston was sweating. His forehead was covered in fine beads of perspiration, some of which were even trickling down.

His brows were tightly knitted, his thin lips were pressed into a firm line, and his jaw was clenched.

She watched his Adam’s apple bob, and just then, a bead of sweat happened to trace a path right past it, making her feel inexplicably flustered.

She had originally planned to bite the other side for symmetry, but now she had completely lost the desire to do so.

She was afraid that before Adrian Preston lost his composure, she would lose hers first.

"Forget it. I’ve vented. From now on, I won’t see Chase Lockwood again. You should be satisfied now, right?"

Mia Kane turned to leave. She feigned composure, her stride confident and carefree, but only she knew she was actually fleeing in a panic.

Adrian Preston slowly opened his eyes. He gazed at the two neat rows of teeth marks on his chest, his expression unreadable.

Mia Kane hurried downstairs. The wedding was about to begin, and everyone was seated, craning their necks in anticipation and gossiping about the grand affair.

Mia Kane quickly found her seat and sat down. The seat beside hers belonged to Adrian Preston, but he was still nowhere to be seen.

Soon, the band struck up the wedding march, and the pastor, reverently holding a Bible, began the wedding invocation.

A spotlight suddenly shone down, bathing the aisle in a pool of moonlight. Chase Lockwood appeared, pushed in his wheelchair by the best man.

"It makes you so envious. I heard Chase Lockwood was in a car accident and nearly died. The first thing he did when he woke up was move the wedding date forward. He’s so deeply in love!"

"Tell me about it. If I met a man like that, I’d be smiling in my sleep."

"Did you know his ex-girlfriend is here too?"

"Who is it?"

"Look, that’s her, all alone over there. How pitiful, coming here just to be salty."

As the uninformed guests whispered among themselves, Adrian Preston descended the stairs. He walked straight to Mia Kane’s side, took his seat, and wrapped an arm around her, placing a soft kiss on her cheek.

"My dear, I’m late."

The very people who had just been gossiping were now utterly dumbfounded.

Seeing that he was helping her save face, Mia Kane didn’t struggle.

"Where have you been? What took you so long?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"I was on a call. It held me up."

He slowly loosened his embrace, but his hand remained on her waist.

Mia Kane felt uncomfortable and squirmed, trying to shrug off his hand, but he simply tightened his grip.

Mia Kane shot him a helpless glare and gave up.

"She’s married? To Adrian Preston? Holy shit, this world is insane!"

Soon, the bride made her grand entrance, with six little flower girls trailing behind to hold up her train.

Just then, everyone felt the temperature drop. At first, it was just a slight chill, but now it was unmistakable.

Snow began to drift down from the sky.

Not fake flakes, but real snow.

Chase Lockwood had actually used snow machines to create a winter wonderland.

Guests reached out to catch the falling snowflakes.

"The first time Chase Lockwood ever met Vivian Lynch, it was snowing. It was snowing again when they made their relationship official. Snow is, like, their special thing."

"Wow, that’s so romantic. They fell in love when they were young and promised to spend their lives together. But her family’s fortune declined, and their social statuses were no longer a match, so she went abroad and married someone else. But after she got divorced, she stayed single. So Young Master Lockwood went after her again and won her back. He doesn’t even care that she was married before. Their story is just so moving."

Lately, countless people had been hyping up their relationship, romanticizing it to an absurd degree.

It had even caused the Lockwood Group’s stock to rise by several points.

The Lockwood Group and the Preston Group had always competed fiercely for the top spot. Now, they were more neck and neck than ever, making it impossible to tell which was stronger. It seemed they were advancing in lockstep.

When Vivian Lynch saw the snow, tears streamed down her face. She was clearly moved beyond words.

Watching the love of his life walk slowly toward him, Chase Lockwood’s heart pounded in his chest. He was finally marrying the girl he had always dreamed of marrying.

Their journey had been full of twists and turns, but now, their story had a perfect ending.

’He only wanted Vivian Lynch. As for Mia Kane... she was just a temporary distraction, someone who used unorthodox tricks to get his attention for a fleeting moment.’

Just as he was thinking this, his gaze drifted to the audience. He saw Adrian Preston holding Mia Kane tightly, the picture of a loving couple.

His breath hitched. He couldn’t understand how Adrian Preston could stand being cuckolded.

’Or did he actually believe Mia’s explanation? Did he really think nothing happened between us?’

’But could he really believe that? Without a single shred of doubt?’

As Chase Lockwood’s mind raced, the best man beside him gave him a subtle nudge.

"Young Master Lockwood, you can’t be spacing out at a time like this."

Chase Lockwood quickly snapped back to reality.

With so many people watching, he couldn’t afford to lose his composure.

The wedding continued.

"Groom, will you take this woman as your wife, through poverty or wealth, sickness or health, adversity or prosperity, and promise to never leave her side?"

"I do."

"And Bride, do you take..."

"I do!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, urging the two to kiss.

Everyone around them rose to their feet, clapping and chanting in unison.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss..."

Mia Kane and Adrian Preston remained seated.

All eyes were on Chase Lockwood and Vivian Lynch.

Vivian Lynch, shy and blushing, leaned in to kiss Chase Lockwood, but to everyone’s astonishment, he struggled to his feet. The crowd gasped, completely overcome with emotion.

"Vivian, I’ve made you take countless steps toward me. This last one has to be mine. From now on, we’ll support each other and never part. I will love you forever."

Vivian Lynch was so choked with emotion she couldn’t speak.

"Kiss!"

Chase Lockwood cupped her face in his hands. Afraid he was unsteady on his feet, Vivian Lynch supported him, bringing them close as their lips met.

Everyone was fixated on the stage.

No one was paying any attention to Mia Kane and Adrian Preston.

As the crowd chanted for a kiss, Adrian Preston turned, cupped her face, and actually kissed her too.

And it wasn’t a light peck on the lips; he parted her teeth and his tongue tangled with hers.

Mia Kane’s eyes flew wide. She wanted nothing more than to shove him away, but she didn’t dare make a scene and draw attention to them.

When the commotion on stage died down, Adrian Preston finally released her.

In that short time, he had kissed her until she was breathless, her eyes dazed.

"You..."

"They were chanting for a kiss," Adrian Preston said with a completely straight face.

Mia Kane was speechless.

’Does he actually think he was in the right? So smug and self-righteous?’

"They were talking about the couple on stage! What does that have to do with us?" she hissed, lowering her voice.

"Then perhaps I misunderstood. I’ll be sure to get it right next time."

He said it without batting an eye, his expression perfectly serious.

Mia Kane felt a lump of anger rise in her throat, completely at a loss for what to do with him.

"Don’t touch me. I don’t want to get into a tussle with you," she snapped.

Adrian Preston withdrew his hand, only to pull his chair closer to hers until they were practically touching.

If they weren’t surrounded by people, she would have kicked him without a second thought.

After the vows were exchanged on stage, Vivian Lynch left to change into her reception dress.

She contacted Nona. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Are you here yet? Where are you?"

"I’m almost at the entrance. About five minutes out."

Mia Kane replied.

"Great. Then I’ll make the official announcement to the media about you joining us! Welcome aboard!"