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Love Is but an Illusion
Love Is but an Illusion
Author: Celebrant

Chapter 1

Author: Celebrant
Sebastian Ford pinned me against the glass of the floor-length windows in the office, leaving me unable to move an inch. As he kissed my earlobe and my chest, I indulged myself in his warm breath.

His kisses were scorching and passionate. My heart pounded in my chest as my dress was torn to shreds by his hands. I wrapped my legs around his waist and responded to his kiss.

The bustling streets stretched below the building, outside the transparent glass. Could there be someone watching from the office building across from us? At this thought, I felt a little embarrassed.

This was the first time I ever made love with him in the office.

Sebastian seemed to see through my thoughts. He lifted my head and made me look at the reflection of our entwined bodies in the glass. His muscular physique was strong and defined, while my figure was curvaceous and seductive.

He tightened his grip on my waist and said with a chuckle, "What are you afraid of? No one will disturb us. Besides, we've done far more intimate things than this. What's there to be nervous about?"

His well-defined muscles pounded powerfully against my delicate body.

Instinctively, I clung to his neck. My actions were filled with affection and attachment for him.

However, a sudden ringtone stopped Sebastian in his movements.

We were interrupted at the worst time. With a frown, he answered the call immediately and said in a cold voice, "Who is this?"

I recognized the voice that came from the other end. It was his friend, Zachary Lance. "It's me, Zachary."

Sebastian's expression softened slightly before switching to Francian. "What do you want?"

A brief silence came from the other end before Zachary demanded, "Sebastian, have you lost your mind? Cassandra just returned from abroad, and you already got a marriage certificate with her? Are you insane?

"Where was she when you suffered an accident and laid in bed for five years in a coma? She ran off abroad the very next day! Now that she has returned, you married her the moment she steps back into your life? Are you an idiot?"

At that moment, the warmth in my body completely drained away from head to toe.

Every complex word in Francian translated itself into Elgerian in my mind automatically.

However, Sebastian was unaware of the fact that I understood his every word. He simply replied indifferently, "So what? If I don't marry Cassandra, her stepmother will send her overseas to warm the bed of some 60-year-old man. She has no one else to rely on but me."

"What about Joanna? You've been with her for so long. Are you going to just abandon her? Back then, you were nothing but a breathing corpse in that hospital bed.

"She was the one who took care of you day and night! No one in the world loves you more than she does! She loves you so much, but how could you…"

The more Zachary spoke, the more agitated he became. His voice grew louder in anger, but Sebastian remained unfazed as he replied, "I know. That's why I'll keep this a secret. She won't find out."

"Keep it a secret? Everyone knows you're registering your marriage and having a wedding next week! How the hell are you going to marry Joanna now that you've already registered a marriage certificate with Cassandra? It's against the law for you to have two marriage certificates!"

"That's enough!" Sebastian's expression darkened as he said impatiently, "My marriage with Cassandra will only last for two years. After that, we'll get a divorce.

"I'll arrange a fake marriage certificate for Joan next week, and the wedding will go on as planned. There won't be a problem as long as you all keep quiet about this fake marriage certificate!"

After hearing this, Zachary was so furious that he hung up immediately.

Sebastian turned back to me and started kissing my chest again. However, I felt nothing but coldness in my heart. He knew I wouldn't be happy about this, yet he still did it behind my back. Did he even truly love me? My heart ached terribly at the thought.

I no longer had the energy to respond to his touch. Moments later, he reached his climax.

Sebastian let go of me and turned around to fix his clothes.

Suddenly, his phone rang once more. I vaguely heard a woman's voice on the other end.

"Alright. I understand." Sebastian hung up and turned to look at me with a calm expression. "Joan, I need to meet a client. You can head back on your own or have my assistant send you home."

With that, he grabbed his coat and left in a hurry. He didn't even spare me a glance, leaving me standing alone in the empty office. I let out a bitter laugh as a tear slid down my cheek.

Sebastian had no idea that I had pushed myself to learn several foreign languages back then to be worthy of him. Among them was Francian.

I clearly heard every single word that Zachary spoke to him. His words pierced straight into my heart like a blade. In actual fact, I should have expected this day to come.

After all, I was just the daughter of a lowly driver. In contrast, Sebastian was the heir to a billion-dollar corporation.

Long ago, I met Sebastian by chance when I accompanied my father to the Ford residence. He sat in front of a floor-length window and was painting quietly with a brush in hand.

That single glance had etched him into my soul, but I never told anyone.

Because I knew that I was never meant to stand beside him.

It wasn't only the vast difference in our statuses that made me feel inferior, but more importantly, I knew that Sebastian had a girlfriend that he loved to the core—Cassandra Sutton.

They were childhood friends and grew up together. Sebastian was always cold to others, but he only showed his gentle smiles to Cassandra and protected her fiercely in every way.

Even the accident that turned him into a vegetable and left him bedridden for five years was because of Cassandra.

At the critical moment, Sebastian had pushed her back to safety and sacrificed himself to protect his beloved woman as he fell from the high-rise building.

Although he was fortunate enough to survive, he ended up in a coma. After learning about the incident, Cassandra left the country and cut off all contact the very next day.

Everyone believed that Sebastian had become a useless invalid. Moreover, his own parents planned to abandon him and groom a new successor. I was the one who willingly stepped forward and requested to be a personal caretaker for the bedridden Sebastian.

Even the renowned surgeon who eventually healed Sebastian was someone whom I had begged a long time to operate on him. Sebastian recovered quickly after undergoing the surgery. It didn't take long for him to regain his footing within the Ford family and become the CEO of Ford Corporation.

I stood by him through the darkest period of his life and eventually became his girlfriend. The vast difference in our social status pushed me to work harder constantly in order to catch up with him.

I gave it my all, but I was never able to gain the recognition of his parents. Yet, Sebastian always stood by my side and told his parents that he would marry no one but me.

He insisted on marrying me even without their approval. He promised to register our marriage and give me an unforgettable wedding.

I thought I was the woman he had truly chosen. Despite all the challenges ahead, I would be the one always by his side, and the one whom he would grow old with.

However, I never expected that this was all a lie.

In his heart, Sebastian had never let go of Cassandra.

Since that was the case, then our relationship should end here. I took out my phone and called Emily Potts, Sebastian's mother. "Mrs. Ford, I agree to your offer. I'll break up with Sebastian if you give me 50 million. Then, we will never see each other again."
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  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 2

    Emily was overjoyed when she received my call. She had never liked me as she thought that I came from a poor family. If it wasn't for Sebastian, she would have gotten rid of me long ago. I said to her, "Mrs. Ford, can I leave after the wedding?"Even if I couldn't grow old with Sebastian, I still wanted to see myself standing beside him in a wedding dress. Even if it was a wedding built on lies, I had spent a whole year preparing for this wedding. I didn't want to leave any regrets. "Fine! But I don't want to see you ever again after the wedding!" Emily agreed after some hesitation. It saved her the trouble of planning things since I was the one who suggested the breakup. She promised to handle my travel arrangements abroad in a few days and handed me a card with 50 million dollars on it. She said, "This amount is more than enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life. Do whatever you want abroad, but don't come back to look for my son. You have one week to p

  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 3

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  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 4

    The next morning, I was awakened by my phone ringing. I endured my headache and answered the call, only to hear Sebastian's stern voice on the other end. "Joan, come to the office. I have something to ask you."His voice was cold and devoid of any warmth. My chest tightened instantly, and an ominous feeling rose within me. Was he finally going to confront me?I didn't want to hear it. Although I knew he loved Cassandra, I didn't want to hear the words from his mouth personally. That was why I had chosen to escape abroad. In the end, I still went to his office obediently. As soon as I entered the office, I saw Sebastian glaring at me with a dark expression. Next to him sat Cassandra, and she looked aggrieved. I asked nervously, "What's wrong? What happened?"He fixed his stare on me and spoke deliberately. "Joan, were you the one who hired those thugs yesterday to bully Cassandra?"I was startled by his imposing manner, but I firmly replied, "How is that possible? Sebastian, y

  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 5

    At that instant, my heart was in complete chaos. I quickly stepped in and interrupted their conversation. "Sebastian, Mrs. Ford, what are you two talking about?"Emily's demeanor changed slightly when she saw me, but she quickly regained her composure. "Joan, have you been waiting long?" Sebastian's face lit up with a smile once he saw me. "I already asked my assistant to buy soup from your favourite restaurant. Just wait a little longer, okay?"Nodding, I shot Emily a meaningful look, signaling her to not say anything to Sebastian. I greeted her casually, "Mrs. Ford, are you here at the hospital for something?"Her expression stiffened for a moment before putting on a calm front. "It's nothing, I just came for a routine check-up.""Oh." I nodded obediently and fell silent. However, Sebastian frowned and looked at Emily in confusion. "Mom, what did you say about leaving? What do you mean? Who's leaving?""Nothing much. It's nothing important." Emily cut him off before he could

  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 6

    Our wedding was set on the day after my discharge from the hospital. I would leave once the wedding ended. I put on the wedding dress that Sebastian had custom-made for me a year in advance and did my makeup beautifully. I wanted him to remember me at my most beautiful moment. The wedding venue was covered in pink rose petals, but I wasn't happy about it. I didn't like pink roses. I preferred red roses that were passionate and bold, just like my love for Sebastian. It was Cassandra who liked pink roses.I looked up and noticed that the dress Cassandra was wearing was from the same collection as my wedding dress."Ms. Robinson, congratulations on your wedding. Do you think my dress looks nice? This is a bridesmaid's dress. How about I be your bridesmaid today?" Cassandra shot me a provocative smile when she caught sight of me. "Ms. Robinson, this dress doesn't quite fit you, does it? Sebastian is really too much. Why didn't he order a different design for you? "Instead, he

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    I took a deep breath to compose myself before returning to the wedding ceremony.I decided that since I was already here, I had to see it through to the end. Running away in the middle of it all was never my style.Cassandra spotted me and a smug smile appeared on her face.She walked up to me and whispered, "Joanna, I thought you had already left. Let me be straight with you, Sebastian's heart belongs only to me."She pulled out her phone and showed me a picture of her marriage certificate with Sebastian. "You can't change this fact no matter how hard you try."I had thought that my heart had long grown numb from all the pain, but hearing her words and seeing their marriage certificate still made me upset.I turned to the side, refusing to look at Cassandra.Seeing that I was not running away in humiliation, Cassandra sneered and continued, "Hmph! You should back off now if you still have any semblance of self-respect. Otherwise, everyone will just just call you a mistress and

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  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 9

    My entire being devolved into an unprecedented panic.My voice was trembling as I shouted her name. "Joan! Joan!"The housekeepers were startled by my shouts and hurried out to see what had happened. "Sir, what's wrong?"I grabbed one of their shoulders and asked urgently, "Where's Ms. Robinson? Has she come home yet?"The housekeeper shook her head. "No, sir."I began to panic even more. I let go of the housekeeper and ran toward Joanna's study.I pushed open the door and was met with complete silence. There was only a small little desk lamp left standing on the table all by itself.I walked over to the desk. I could feel my heart in pain as I looked at all the books and stationery still atop of it.Everything that belonged to Joanna was gone. She had really left.I could not believe it. Why would she leave all of a sudden? Where could she have gone to?I suddenly remembered something and hastily pulled open the desk's drawers, only to find that they were empty as well, with

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  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 16

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  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 14

    However, what happened next was beyond what I had expected.In the following days, more and more news about me and Sebastian appeared on the internet.Some felt that he was a devoted man, that I was the ungrateful one in the relationship."This ex-girlfriend of his is just ridiculous! She must be stupid to not want a great man like Sebastian!""Exactly! She's the problem! She must just be playing hard to get in order to manipulate Sebastian into committing to her completely, so that she can marry the Ford family and climb up the social ladder!""I can't believe this. How could a woman like that be worthy of Sebastian? Sebastian, you gotta wake up! Don't let her fool you any longer!"Some also felt that there was more to the story."I believe this isn't all that simple. The ex-girlfriend had been with Sebastian for so many years and just left him all of a sudden. There must be a reason it happened.""I agree. Maybe Sebastian did something that really hurt her, and she had chosen

  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 13

    Back at the dorm, Kelly rushed over to me in a panic. "Joan, you've gone viral! You're all over the headlines back home!"I was stunned for a moment, unable to comprehend her words.Kelly then handed me her phone. "See for yourself!"I accepted her phone and took a look at the screen. A currently trending article with bold letters was displayed on it. "Romance of the elites! Sebastian Ford confesses to his ex-girlfriend at his engagement party!"The article thoroughly detailed Sebastian's actions at the engagement party, along with numerous photos and videos of the scene.Photos of me were also somehow placed at the top of the article.I felt a little dazed when I scrolled down to look at the comments. "Oh my God! Just how much more romantic could he be?""This ex of his is way too heartless. How could she let go of a man like Sebastian?""Anyone know who the ex is? I wanna hear about their story!""I wanna hear it too! I'm really curious about who the ex is! She's gotta be

  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 12

    I had originally thought that Sebastian would completely disappear from my life.But it was not long when I received news about him once more.One day, just after class, I received a message from my friend. "Joan, I think this is something you should know about. Did you know that Sebastian found a substitute who looks almost exactly like you?"My mind buzzed for a moment when I read the message. An indescribable feeling welled up within my heart.I did not even know what kind of feeling it was. I did not know if it was anger, sadness, or even disbelief.I never expected for him to be able to do something so absurd.I took a deep breath and tapped on the message from my friend to see the rest of it. "Joan, Sebastian's kinda gone insane ever since you left."His mother had no other choice but to look for another woman who looks just like you, hoping that it would help him pull himself back together."Her name's Wendy Scott, and she's apparently a small-time celebrity. She looks a

  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 11

    Joanna's POVMy plane landed in the city of Horans. I took a deep breath of the air of a foreign land, a mix of emotions flowing through my heart.I finally arrived in the city that I had long wanted to visit, to the university that I had once given up from attending because of Sebastian.I told myself that everything in the past was now behind me, and that it was time for a fresh start in life.I picked up my studies once more from the beginning. It was challenging, but I felt happy and fulfilled in life.I met new friends and new roommates. They were all warm and friendly people that helped me overcome the anxiety of arriving in a new environment in no time.My new roommate, Kelly Emmett, was a lively, extroverted girl. She welcomed me enthusiastically and even helped me unpack. "You're quite the beauty, Joan! With looks like yours, you must already have a boyfriend, right?"I shook my head and replied, "No, I'm single right now."She was slightly surprised, but she quickly s

  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 10

    I became a mess over the days without Joanna by my side. I drowned myself in alcohol as my life fell into disarray.Cassandra became extremely worried when she heard of what I had become. She rushed to my house to check on me.She pushed open the door and saw me sitting on the bed, staring ahead into nothing, with nothing but empty beer bottles littering the floor.She walked up to me and asked with concern, "Sebastian, what's wrong? Why are you drinking so much?"I lifted my head up to look at her before lowering it once more.My voice was both hoarse and exhausted. "Leave me alone, Cassandra. I just want to be by myself."Cassandra refused to leave. She sat beside me and took my hand. "Sebastian, how can I just leave you be when you're like this? Ms. Robinson's already gone. You need to pull yourself together."I said nothing back to her as I withdrew my hand.She did not get angry at me. She simply continued, "I know you're in pain, Sebastian. But I believe that Ms. Robinson

  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 9

    My entire being devolved into an unprecedented panic.My voice was trembling as I shouted her name. "Joan! Joan!"The housekeepers were startled by my shouts and hurried out to see what had happened. "Sir, what's wrong?"I grabbed one of their shoulders and asked urgently, "Where's Ms. Robinson? Has she come home yet?"The housekeeper shook her head. "No, sir."I began to panic even more. I let go of the housekeeper and ran toward Joanna's study.I pushed open the door and was met with complete silence. There was only a small little desk lamp left standing on the table all by itself.I walked over to the desk. I could feel my heart in pain as I looked at all the books and stationery still atop of it.Everything that belonged to Joanna was gone. She had really left.I could not believe it. Why would she leave all of a sudden? Where could she have gone to?I suddenly remembered something and hastily pulled open the desk's drawers, only to find that they were empty as well, with

  • Love Is but an Illusion   Chapter 8

    Sebastian's POVAt the hospital.I stayed by Cassandra's side ever since I brought her to the hospital. I could not help but feel my heart ache whenever I looked at her pale face."How are you feeling, Cassandra? Does it still hurt?" I asked.Cassandra smiled weakly at me. "I'm much better now, Sebastian. You don't have to worry so much."I let out a breath of relief and replied, "That's good. Get some rest, Cassandra. I'll be going after they change your dressing."A smile appeared on her face, her expression full of gratitude.I was about to leave once her wound was treated, but her condition seemed to have gotten worse all of a sudden. "Sebastian, my head suddenly hurts so much. Can you stay with me for a little longer?"I frowned. I hesitated for a moment as I looked at the pained expression on her face.For some reason, an image of Joanna appeared in my mind.I did not know if Joanna had already treated her wounds and made it home safely yet. An uneasy feeling crept up i

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