I Spoke My Vows, My Fancies Came True

News spread through the citys elite: Darius Lorre, the arrogant heir of the Lorre family, had been in a terrible car crash. Blinded and paralyzed, doctors said hed never walk or have children again.

The news reached the Beaumont estate. My older sister, Sylvie, a famous celebrity, broke down in tears and knelt before me, begging me to take her place in the arranged marriage.

I curled my lip and coldly kicked her hand away. When the Lorres were a top dynasty, they specifically asked for a Beaumont heiress. To lift you up, they erased me from the family register, labeled me illegitimate, and made you the only Miss Beaumont. My voice was low and threatening. Now that Darius is blind and crippled, you suddenly remember me? Dream on!

Before I finished, Gareth Maxwell kicked the unlocked door open. He swept Sylvie up and glared at me with pure disgust.

Seraphina, dont be ungrateful. This engagement was always meant for you. This is just fixing things! He threw a prenup at me. Tomorrow, Sylvie and I get our marriage license. As for the Lorres, youre marrying him!

I froze, my chest tightening as if filled with a vinegar-soaked sponge, a hollow ache spreading inside.

"The Lorres want a Beaumont heiress," I countered, my voice tight. "I'm merely an 'illegitimate daughter' whose name isn't even on the family register. If I marry him, that's commercial fraud!"

Just then, my parents, Richard and Eleanor Beaumont, stormed in, their faces grim. They tossed a brand new household register and a share transfer deed onto the coffee table.

"Starting tomorrow, your identity as the Beaumont heiress will be publicly restored. Sylvie is a public figure; she cannot endure a lifetime of loneliness, let alone the torment of that madman Darius," Eleanor stated, her voice flat. "You will marry him, settle in as Mrs. Lorre. This is for the good of the family."

Looking at my utterly biased family of three, a laugh bubbled up, quickly turning to tears. My heart, once a fragile thing, solidified into a block of ice. "Fine. Ill marry him. I hope you don't regret this to your dying day."

My concession instantly eased the tension in the room. My father, Richard, grinned, praising my maturity. My mother, Eleanor, exhaled in relief, commending my sensibility. Gareth, ecstatic, lifted Sylvie into his arms and spun her around twice, relief washing over him.

"Oh, Sylvie, this is wonderful! You won't have to be ruined by that blind man! We'll make our announcement tomorrow!"

Sylvie, sniffling in his embrace, forced a watery smile, as if she'd narrowly escaped disaster. I watched them, my gaze cold, then spoke, enunciating each word. "But I have a condition."

Their smiles stiffened, and all four faces immediately clouded over. They demanded to know what it was. My voice was as calm as if I were negotiating a business deal. "There can only be one Beaumont heiress. I want Sylvie to publicly acknowledge she's adopted, and return all the status and shares that rightfully belong to me."

Eleanor's composure snapped. "Seraphina Beaumont, don't be so excessive! Sylvie's status is impeccable; she won't interfere with you. Must you ruin her?"

I looked at the woman who had given birth to me, my chest aching as if stabbed by a thousand needles. "I am your biological daughter! From childhood, why did you lavish so much affection on an adopted child, even helping her steal everything that was mine?"

Her face hardened, her voice brittle. "If Sylvie's biological mother hadn't taken a blade for me, I would be dead! I owe it to her to treat Sylvie well!"

Right. Six months ago, after Sylvies birth motherwho had been our housekeeperpassed away, my mother had become inexplicably obsessed with Sylvie, doting on her to an absurd degree. When the news of the Lorre engagement first broke, Sylvie expressed interest, and my mother immediately pressured my father to alter my family registration, effectively exiling me to the countryside. When I returned to confront her, she had me locked in the basement for three days without food, claiming I "lacked propriety."

Shaking myself back to the present, I took a deep breath, suppressing the burning in my eyes. "So, for the sake of gratitude, youll disregard your own daughters well-being? Even push her into the jaws of hell?" A thought struck me. "Do you have some leverage she holds over you?"

Eleanors eyes darted away, refusing to address the question. Gareth, his face cold, interjected, "Sylvie is simply naive and timid, not like your scheming, calculating self. Aunt Eleanor, being kind-hearted, naturally favors the more vulnerable one."

Richard lit a cigarette, sighing. "It's come to this. For the sake of the Group's interests, we can only let you marry Darius. I'm sorry, Seraphina. Don't hate me." My father had once loved me, but he was a man easily swayed by my mother and ultimately, a self-serving individual. Faced with Eleanor's insistent whispers and the Group's bottom line, my sacrifice was insignificant.

Sylvie dabbed at her eyes again, her voice feigning fragility. "Sister, just agree. No matter what, it's still the Lorre family. Even a fallen giant holds more sway than an ordinary man. No one would dare bully you."

"No one would bully me?" I scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping. "Who in this city doesn't know that Darius is now volatile and unpredictable? Not only is he blind, his mind is twisted. Do you not know what happened to his previous fiances?" My voice dropped, chillingly precise. "The Lorre family is currently embroiled in severe infighting, and Darius is losing his grip on power. Once he's completely sidelined, his enemies will tear him apart! You claim you're sending me to live a life of luxury, but in reality, you're sending me to my death!"

My family exchanged wary glances, momentarily speechless. I smirked, pressing my advantage. "My reclaiming the heiress status is also for the Beaumonts' benefit. What if the Lorre family discovers you tried to fob them off with an illegitimate child? If they retaliate, will the Beaumont Group's stock still hold its value?" I watched Richard's hand tremble at the mention of the stock price. "So, I want you to issue a public statement, clarifying to the entire network that I, Seraphina Beaumont, am the only true Beaumont heiress."

He nodded frantically. "Yes, yes, we'll do as you say. I'll have the statement released first thing tomorrow morning." The other three wanted to object but, cowed by the Lorre family's formidable reputation, dared not utter a sound.

I offered a small, predatory smile. "Fine. The moment that announcement is public, I'll pack myself up and send myself straight to the Lorre estate."

The next day, the public clarification regarding the true and false Beaumont heiress dominated the trending topics. The entire network was buzzing, siding with me. It turned out the "illegitimate daughter" who had been universally reviled was the true heiress, while Sylvie, who had meticulously crafted her image as a socialite, was merely adopted, and was now returning my status to escape the arranged marriage.

Sylvie had planned to announce her engagement to Gareth and get married today, but the public backlash was so severe she didn't dare leave her room. She spent the entire day locked away, smashing things, refusing to eat or drink. My parents brought her countless limited-edition designer bags, but nothing could soothe her.

Gareth, seething with rage, burst into my room. He grabbed my throat, his eyes blazing crimson. "Sylvie is overwhelmed by the public backlash, on the verge of a breakdown! Is this what you wanted to see?"

Suffocating, I clawed at his arm, forcing out a few strained words. "You choke me to death and Sylvie will still have to marry that blind man"

He recoiled violently, as if I were something vile and contaminated. I clutched my throat, coughing uncontrollably, greedily gasping for air. When my breath finally steadied, I looked up, my gaze glacial. "Was anything in that statement untrue? The public's eyes are keen, Gareth. They're simply speaking the truth."

Gareth was left speechless, his jaw clenched, then pleaded through gritted teeth, "Can't you release a statement? Just say you concealed your identity for personal growth, that it had nothing to do with Sylvie?"

"Dream on!" I retorted, my voice sharp and uncompromising.

"If Sylvie does something foolish, I swear I'll never forgive you!"

I scoffed disdainfully. "I don't know whether she'll die or not. But I do know this: if I die, the Lorre wedding procession will be pulling up to my funeral parlor tomorrow."

"You!" Gareth's forehead pulsed with visible veins, his fists clenching until his knuckles cracked. Yet, he didn't dare lay another hand on me. "Fine, Seraphina Beaumont, you've got guts! I'll just wait to see you marry that lunatic, wait until you're thrown out on the streets to die!"

Watching him slam the door behind him, my heart felt like it was being sawed through with a dull blade. The boy who had once sworn he would marry no one but me had, at some point, lost his sight and blackened his heart. He even wished for my death with such venom. A single tear splattered onto the back of my hand, scalding hot. I wiped it away, the last fragile thread of affection in my heart snapping cleanly.

That night, my mother, Eleanor, suddenly burst into my room, wielding a golf club. She ordered two bodyguards to pin me to the floor, leaving me utterly helpless. I struggled fiercely, screaming, "Mother, what are you doing?! I'm marrying into the Lorre family tomorrow! I'm Darius Lorre's fiance! How dare you lay a hand on me?!"

She ignored me completely. Turning, she handed the golf club to Sylvie, whose eyes were swollen like peaches. Eleanor's voice was sickeningly sweet. "Sylvie, darling, go ahead. Hit her as many times as you like, anywhere you want! Mother needs to help you get this anger out!"

A flash of malicious glee flickered in Sylvie's eyes. She seized the club and brought it down with brutal force across my back. "Ah" I screamed in agony, gritting my teeth as I warned, "Darius may be blind, but he's not dead yet! Do you really want to die, touching his fiance?!"

Sylvie, as if possessed, continued to strike my back, blow after blow. Her strength wasn't immense, but her aim was viciously precise, repeatedly targeting the same spot. The searing pain made my vision swim, and cold sweat instantly drenched my clothes. My mother stood by, watching with chilling indifference, even adding fuel to the fire: "You haven't married him yet! As long as you're in this house, I have every right to discipline you!"

With my mother's backing, Sylvie grew even more brazen: "Mother's right! You made me a laughingstock online. If I don't get my revenge, how am I supposed to sleep tonight?! Anyway, there's still a whole night. As long as I don't hit your face, what can that blind man see if you just put on some thick powder?"

Just as I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness from the pain, my father, Richard, suddenly ran in, panting. "Stop! Don't hit her! The Lorre family just called; the wedding ceremony has been moved up to first thing tomorrow morning!"