Chapter 02

Before she could say anything, she saw him lean in, and his thin, warm lips, carrying a strong masculine scent, covered her soft, rosy mouth without warning. Due to the surprise, her entire body stiffened, and her brain lost the ability to think. Her bright, wide eyes widened, and she didn't know what to do.

His kiss brought with it an electric current, making her entire body tingle and her legs go weak. She raised her hand reflexively and pressed it against his chest. She had originally intended to push him away, but in the end, she somehow moved to his shoulder and clung to him, afraid of falling.

The kiss, originally as light as a dragonfly touching water, suddenly turned passionate, and his palm landed on her slim waist, forcing her whole body to press against him. Breathing in the fresh air once more, Clarice lifted her head and looked at the enchanting face just inches from hers. Taking a deep breath, her nose was filled with the faint cologne scent coming from his body. He was still in her embrace, his chin pressed against her forehead. This kind of person made him completely irresistible. She knew that from the moment she fell into his arms, she would never be able to escape.

"I have to get ready!" Clarice said, pulling away from Nicholas and taking a step back, distancing herself from him.

"Where are you going?" he asked, unconcerned.

"I have an engagement ceremony to attend. It's not a big deal; I just found out a few days ago that my mother is ill, and I wanted to see if it's true or not. So, her stepdaughter invited me to the ceremony."

"Don't be late. We need to talk later," Nicholas said, giving her one last look, and then he went upstairs to his room. Clarice let out the breath she had been holding. This was her chance to get away from him.

The Gatti Family House

Nicholas's driver accompanied her to the entrance of the mansion, and then Clarice picked up her invitation and was guided to the garden where the engagement party was taking place.

The Gatti family's house was enormous and lavishly decorated, especially for the engagement ceremony. It gave people the feeling that wherever they looked, there was a dazzling golden color.

The host's reverence for gold was evident everywhere. At this moment, some people were gathered around the dessert bar in the garden, there was a live band playing on the main stage, and the atmosphere was very lively.

Clarice wasn't interested in the engagement, so, after entering, she avoided the crowd and headed for the house, hoping to find her mother there. As soon as she entered the room, she saw a waiter leaving.

"Hi, have you seen Mrs. Gatti?"

"Madame Gatti should be in her room upstairs. If you want, just go up the stairs," the waiter replied and then left. Clarice thanked him and went up to the second floor.

Before she could go up, she heard a shrill voice coming from upstairs.

"Let me through! I order you to let me through! I am Madame Gatti, and what qualifications do you have to stop me?"

"Madam, please, calm down. Why are you making it difficult for us?" A man's voice was trying to persuade her.

"Making it difficult for you? How can you say that to me? You ungrateful wretch!" The sharp voice cursed, and Clarice recognized the voice. After so many years without seeing her, her mother had become a shrew!

With heavy steps, she went up the stairs and immediately saw a man with two middle-aged women blocking the door in front of the second-floor bedroom. Her beautifully dressed mother, Julia, stood in front of the door and couldn't get out. She appeared well, and her voice was full of energy, and she didn't seem sick at all. Samanta must have lied to her!

As Julia shouted at the three people blocking her way, her eyes inadvertently looked towards the stairs. In the distance, she saw Clarice, who was standing expressionless at the bottom of the stairs. Her voice gradually became softer, and she probably thought she was seeing things and didn't dare to admit it. But when she found out that Clarice was also looking at her, she was sure it was true. The slender and graceful young woman at the foot of the stairs was her own daughter.

"Clari, is that you? Why are you here?" Her voice trembled with emotion, and her expression was one of surprise and joy.

Clarice thought for a moment that if her mother needed her, despite everything, she would be there for her. This could give her the strength to start over, and maybe, just maybe, she could gather enough strength to leave Nicholas. But when she saw her mother like this, well, and still greedy for money, she knew her mother wouldn't change.

"Is this the life you want? You abandoned my brother and me just to live like this in this family?" Clarice looked at her mother with a heavy heart. "Now you can't even leave your room; what a shame, Julia!"

"No, it's not like that. It's not what you see. They..." Probably because she didn't want her daughter to see her in such a sorry state, Julia tried to explain, but Clarice didn't want to hear it. She finally understood why Samanta had tried so hard to get her to attend the engagement ceremony; she just wanted her to see with her own eyes how little dignity her mother now lived with to trample on her pride.

Clarice turned her back and ran down the stairs, ready to leave, when she accidentally bumped into someone, and the person didn't seem well.

"Excuse me... Are you okay?" Clarice asked, and the person mumbled a few words, pointing all the while to his chest.

"Medicine... medicine." The man said, and Clarice approached, noticing a small medicine bottle in his jacket. She picked it up and showed it to him.

"Is this it?" she asked, and he nodded, becoming paler, with some drops of sweat trickling down his face. She had to admit he was a handsome man despite his pained expression.

Clarice didn't dare to linger and immediately took one of the pills from the bottle and placed it in the palm of her hand. She then turned the man with his back against the wall and placed it near his mouth. The pale lips of the man touched her palm, and he swallowed the pill and rested for two minutes. His breathing gradually calmed down.

“Thank you for saving me!" He said, looking at her.

"You don't have to thank me, but are you feeling better? Do you need a doctor?" Clarice asked with concern. But the mysterious man only nodded his head, still looking pale, but not as much as before, life was slowly returning to his body.

"I'm much better than before. I really thought I was going to die."

"Come, I'll help you sit down; it's not good to stay on the dirty floor!"

"Sorry to trouble you," the man said, nodding. Then he forced himself to stand, and Clarice provided support. Looking around, she noticed a sofa not too far away.

"Let's sit on that couch over there," she pointed while leading him. After the man sat down, she suggested getting some water for him, but before he could respond, she turned and walked over to the food table.

As she passed through the crowd, she saw her mother's stepdaughter and her fiancé, who was actually her boyfriend for years, both smiling and toasting with the guests in celebration of their engagement. Not wanting to confront them, she immediately turned, hoping to escape. Unbeknownst to her, her ex-boyfriend, Roberto, had already noticed her presence.

With a slightly closed expression, Samantha sensed the difference and followed Roberto's gaze, realizing that he was looking at Clarice. She knew that this was the perfect moment to act.

"Why is she here?" Samantha asked, revealing a worried expression. "Darling, do you think she hasn't given up on you and came here to ruin our engagement ceremony?"

"She would never dream of that," Roberto said, and his face darkened even more.

"Roberto, it's as if you don't know who her mother is, right? She and her mother have the same ability to go after men with money!"

"But I'll never give her that chance; you're a hundred times better than her," Roberto said through gritted teeth, recalling everything he had gone through with Clarice.

Clarice had no idea that there were two pairs of eyes behind her, and she continued walking toward the mysterious man. But before she could hand him the glass, she was stopped by two people.

"Why are you here?" a voice said, forcing her to step back.

Hearing the voice, she saw Samantha, who appeared to be enjoying a good show, and the other person was Roberto.

When Samantha saw the man sitting there, she was momentarily stunned.

"Mr. Murray, how could you…" She immediately turned the spotlight on Clarice. "Clarice, I really didn't think you would be so shameless as to fish for my guest. How could you think that a person like Mr. Edward Murray would lay hands on someone like you? Are you trying to seduce him?"

"What did you say?" Clarice thought she must have misheard; she never thought Samantha would actually say such malicious words. However, Samantha ignored her and turned to Edward, apologizing.

"Mr. Murray, I'm really sorry; I disappointed you. This woman is not our guest; I don't know how she sneaked in."

"Samantha! You're despicable!" At this moment, Clarice fully understood that all of this was something Samantha had created for her.

"Me? Yes, there are many beautiful girls out there now, so the competition in your industry is quite intense," Samantha continued to insult her, and Clarice trembled at her words, while Roberto, standing beside her, had crimson eyes and clenched fists. It was clear he believed Samantha's words.

He was staring at Clarice, and with Edward's hand on his shoulder, he realized what was going on.

"Can we go? I don't want to stay here anymore!" Clarice felt suffocated. The people here were like wolves and tigers, as if they could swallow her at any moment. She just wanted to leave, even though she didn't know where her home was now, with everything happening at once.

"Alright," Edward agreed gently as he supported her trembling body to leave. Eric still tried to encourage them to stay, but in the end, he didn't dare to press further. He clearly knew in his heart that he had completely offended the second son of the Murray family today.

After leaving the Gatti family mansion, Clarice leaned lightly on Edward for support and ran to the side of the road, where she vomited violently, almost wanting to throw up bile. Edward turned and went to the car, picked up a water bottle, and handed it to her.

Clarice took the water, rinsed her mouth, and took a few sips. Only then did the disgusting feeling finally subside.

"Thank you." Raising her head to look at Edward in front of her, she didn't dare to imagine what would have happened to her if it weren't for him today. The corner of Edward's mouth lifted slightly, showing a faint smile. He took a tissue from his pocket and stretched it to the corner of her mouth.

He lightly wiped and cleaned the water droplets at the corner of her mouth. Clarice didn't expect him to make such a move; her expression stiffened, revealing a strange look.

"Ah, yes, how's your body? Are you feeling better now?" Remembering how unwell he had been earlier and how he had defended her, she couldn't help but ask with concern.

"I've already taken my medicine, and there won't be any more problems now. In fact, I should be the one thanking you," he chuckled. "If it weren't for you, I could be in the hospital's emergency room right now or even worse."

"And I could be receiving another slap, so we're even," she replied with a smile.

"In fact, I feel like a hero saving the princess!" Edward responded, and his words successfully lightened the atmosphere, causing a faint smile to appear on Clarice's face.

"And before you judge me, I didn't just randomly barge in. I had an invitation, and the bride herself gave it to me," Clarice felt the need to explain to him since she was accused by Samantha earlier.

"You don't have to explain; I believe you!" Edward replied, and Clarice didn't expect him to trust her. They were two people who had met by chance, and the circumstances weren't the best.

"Your eyes, they can't lie," Edward laughed, extending his hand to open the car door. "You haven't eaten anything tonight and threw up so much just now. Let me take you for some delicious food as a token of my gratitude for saving my life."

"You don't have to; you saved me as well. Neither of us owes anything to the other," Clarice didn't want to bother him any further, and after Edward heard her refusal, he didn't push.

"Then, let me just drop you off at home?"

"Thank you, but it's not necessary. I have a driver waiting for me. You can rest assured," Clarice politely declined, and Edward nodded in understanding.

"I should have guessed. Someone who can afford such an expensive dress must have a private driver."

"Huh?" Clarice looked at him confused.

"Don't get me wrong; your dress is beautiful," Edward said.

"Don't misunderstand, I'm pregnant, and I have a boyfriend, so I can't repay your kindness with anything more than gratitude."

"I'm sorry, I didn't see a ring on your finger. But still, could you give me your phone number?"

"Huh?" Clarice looked at him in surprise, and Edward had already taken the initiative to grab her phone, unlocked the screen, and handed it back to her.

"Unlock it," Clarice could only enter her password to unlock the screen. Edward opened her contact list and quickly entered a number. After that, he dialed a number from her phone, and her own phone rang.

"This is my number. Remember to send me your wedding invitation," he returned the phone to her and said. "Alright." Before she could say anything, she noticed that his jacket was still with her, and she couldn't help but smile. When she looked up, he was already gone.

What kind of man was he, not only mysterious but also sharing the same last name as Nicholas? Was fate playing a trick on her?