Chapter 2

"Declan? The Alpha of Hailmark pack?"

My mother Jenny Smith looked at me with a guarded expression. "How dare you call Alpha Declan by his name? And don't you dare get any ideas you shouldn't have."

"Someone like him isn't for a country-raised wolf like you to dream about. Only someone like Vivian, a high-society lady we've cultivated since childhood, is worthy of him."

"As for you, marrying Leo is already the greatest fortune you could have. He's a Beta's son. If he weren't brain-damaged, you wouldn't even have this chance. You need to know your place."

She didn't need to tell me. At this moment, I already understood clearly that these people didn't bring me home for a family reunion—they just wanted me as a substitute bride.

Fortunately, before I came back, I'd already prepared myself for the possibility that they might not love me.

Now that I'd heard their schemes, I didn't feel too disappointed or hurt.

"You don't want Vivian, the daughter you raised, to marry a fool, so you're making me, your biological daughter, take her place."

"Even if you're playing favorites, this is too much."

"If Vivian doesn't want to marry him, just break off the engagement and give them more compensation. Why do you have to force me to marry a fool?"

My father Tom Smith blurted out, "We have an agreement with them. Besides, Leo's family has already given us gifts worth twenty million for this marriage arrangement. We can't just call it off."

Realizing he'd said too much, he quickly corrected himself. "Anyway, matters between elite families aren't as simple as you think. You must marry him. It's a matter of integrity."

I'd heard that Vivian and Leo were fated mates and had been dating for a while. Now it seemed that once Leo became brain-damaged, Vivian started despising him.

After hearing Jenny and Tom's words, I completely understood. They'd already accepted expensive gifts from Leo's family and couldn't break the engagement. But they didn't want their precious Vivian to marry him, so they set their sights on me.

What a brilliant scheme. Too bad they were going to be disappointed.

A smile curved my lips. "I understand. But unfortunately, I still can't marry Leo, because I..."

Already have a husband. But before I could finish, Jenny slapped me across the face.

"I knew you were trouble. Don't tell me you're fantasizing about marrying Alpha Declan yourself?"

"He's the Alpha of our Hailmark pack. A country girl like you isn't even worthy of shining his shoes. Stop dreaming."

I covered my face, looking at Jenny in disbelief, wanting to kindly remind her again.

"What I meant to say is, Declan could never marry Vivian."