A surge of panic rose in her chest, and Alina quickly protested. "Stop. I'm not your bride."
With a cold sneer, Kellan responded, and his tone carried both disdain and menace, "The Hayes family has already taken plenty from us, and now you think you can walk away from this?"
Alina spoke again and rushed to explain. "You have the wrong person. I am not Jessica Hayes. My name is Alina Riley. We happened to get married on the same day, so our cars must have been switched, and I ended up here by mistake."
Even while she spoke, confusion flooded her thoughts as she tried to piece everything together.
She clearly remembered stepping into the car that Alan had arranged for her. None of it made sense, and the situation only grew more unsettling the more she thought about it.
Hearing her explanation, Kellan went still for a moment, and his eyes swept over her with a slow and calculating intensity. "The Hayes family will answer for this. As for you, whether you're truly Jessica or not makes no difference to me."
Without giving her time to react, Kellan leaned down once more, attempting to claim her lips again.
Alarmed by his sudden move, Alina raised her hand to stop him, and her palm pressed against his face. The instant she touched him, heat radiated from his skin, and she realized something was wrong. He was burning up, and it became clear to her that he had been drugged.
Keeping her voice firm despite the tension, Alina tried to reason with him. "Mr. Gilbert, I already have a fiancé, so I cannot let this mistake continue. However, I can help you deal with the effects of whatever you were given."
Fixing his gaze on her, Kellan searched her face as if weighing her words. Acting without hesitation, she reached for the silver needles she always carried and skillfully pressed them into the necessary points on his body.
In a matter of moments, the unbearable heat coursing through him began to ease.
As he turned his attention back to Alina, something unreadable surfaced in his expression.
Surprise flickered in his mind. She possessed such precise and uncommon skill?
Taking advantage of his distraction, Alina quickly rose to her feet and reached for the switch to turn on the lights.
Once the room was illuminated, her gaze landed on Kellan's face, and she froze in place.
Covering part of his features, a mask hid half of Kellan's face, while the visible side appeared marred by overlapping scars.
However, with her careful observation, Alina noticed something unusual, and it became clear that the scars were not real. Beneath that disguise, his true appearance must have been remarkably handsome.
Since there were no genuine injuries, she couldn't understand why he chose to conceal himself in such a way.
Trying to steady herself, Alina spoke again with urgency. "Mr. Gilbert, as I explained earlier, there must have been a mix-up with the cars. My fiancé is still waiting for me, so I need to leave right now."
A trace of mockery crept into Kellan's gaze as he responded, "So you expect me to believe that on your wedding day, with so many people around, both you and Jessica somehow got into the wrong cars, and yet no one has tried to reach you this entire time?"
Even though she recognized the mockery in his tone, Alina could not deny how strange everything had become.
By now, the wedding ceremony should already be underway, and her absence should have caused concern.
Under normal circumstances, Alan would have come looking for her the moment she failed to show up.
Instead, her phone remained silent, and not a single message or call came through.
A quiet pain settled in her chest, and it lingered there heavily.
With a cold expression, Kellan spoke again. "If you refuse to believe it, then go and see the truth for yourself."
Taking his words as permission, Alina hurried out of the room and moved quickly through the lavish hallway toward the exit. Waiting outside was a Rolls-Royce, and she stepped inside without pausing.
Without giving any instructions, she stayed silent, while the driver seemed to already know where to take her. Soon after, the car brought her straight to the hotel where the ceremony was being held.
When the elevator doors opened, Alina caught sight of Alan in his formal suit as he slipped into the bridal suite.
Without hesitation, Alina followed after him and quickened her pace.
As she reached the door, sounds from inside made her stop in her tracks.
"Alan, we can finally be together now, even if we had to give up the ceremony."
"It's fine, Jessica. I'll find a way to make things right for you."
Moans escaped from Jessica. In a teasing tone, she spoke again. "Alan, have you really given up on Alina?"
"Alina? She's dull and lifeless. She could never stand beside you. If today was not part of the plan, I would have ended things with her long ago." Alan's voice grew rough, driven by desire.
Through the narrow gap of the door, Alina caught sight of them locked in an intimate embrace on the sofa. Doubt crashed over her as she struggled to believe the man before her was the same gentle, refined, and upright Alan she was supposed to marry.
Shock hit her hard, and she stumbled backward as if her strength had been stripped away.
After a moment, Jessica spoke again. "I heard Alina contributed a lot to your company. Are you certain you can just walk away from her like that?"
"She's only clinging to me because she craves affection. Give her a little attention, and she will gladly give everything in return. As for the work she handled, it meant nothing. Those were minor tasks at best. Someone like her is only suited to stay at home. You are nothing like that, Jessica. You are intelligent, you are stunning, and you have a career at Oqruron Research Institute. She cannot even be compared to you!" While he was speaking, Alan's hands moved over Jessica, and the atmosphere in the room turned increasingly inappropriate.
Forcing her emotions down, Alina pulled out her phone and captured everything she saw.
Once she returned to the Rolls-Royce, Alina leaned back and slowly shut her eyes.
Deep inside, she made a quiet vow never to allow Alan to hurt her like this again.
When her eyes opened once more, the sadness was gone, and resolve had taken its place.
Thinking it through, she realized Jessica had gone to such lengths to win Alan over only because she believed Kellan was scarred and powerless. If the truth ever came to light, Jessica would carry that regret for the rest of her life.
After all, Jessica had always taken pride in herself and looked down on others with arrogance.
Without wasting another moment, Alina headed back to the Gilbert family's residence and went straight to Kellan's room.
Inside, she found him seated at a table with a glass in hand. Although the scars on his face appeared unsettling, the way he carried himself remained refined and composed, and an air of quiet nobility surrounded him.
A faint trace of amusement flickered in Kellan's eyes. "So, you came back after all?"
Alina stepped closer, bent toward him, and placed a brief kiss on his lips.
Since he was caught off guard, Kellan's body went still for a moment, and the light scent of cherry blossoms from her lingered in the air. That fleeting contact made him aware of how gentle her lips felt, and the sensation stayed with him longer than expected.
Before Kellan could respond, Alina had already pulled away and put distance between them again.
At such close range, she became even more convinced that the scars on Kellan's face were not real.
With a low and captivating tone, Kellan spoke again. "What's the meaning of this?" Did stepping out make you change your mind, and are you now willing to share a bed with me?"
