: Shen Wuyan
2
My name is Willow Sterling, a daughter of the Sterling Family from the south side of the city.
Ever since I was a child, I've been enrolled in all sorts of classes. My parents were dedicated to raising me to be the perfect, well-bred lady.
I've known since I was young that it didn't matter who my future husband would be, as long as the marriage benefited the Sterling Family.
I wasn't particularly resistant to the idea, because not getting married was simply not an option.
If I ever said anything about not wanting to get married, my parents would have been the first to object.
They would probably threaten to cut off my allowance and freeze my cards.
After all, whenever I did anything that displeased them as a child, they would reduce my allowance.
Later on, I never developed any strong passions of my own, so I just went along with their arrangements.
Growing up, my material needs were always met.
Aside from my parents' overbearing nature.
You could say the greatest hardship I've ever endured is an iced Americano.
My parents aren't terrible people. The blind date they set me up with wasn't some fifty or sixty-year-old with a beer belly.
They chose Ian Valerius for me—a man whose family background and capabilities were impeccable.
I met Ian Valerius on a blind date.
I had always lived a placid, desire-free life, and never even had a boyfriend in college.
There was no particular reason.
Chocolate-flavored shit, or shit-flavored chocolate.
I didn't want to choose either.
The moment I walked into the restaurant and saw Ian Valerius, I thought, 'He's not a bad option'.
It wasn't that my heart was fluttering or anything.
It was mainly his face, his physique, and on top of that, his family background.
It made me feel like settling for this would be acceptable.
As soon as I sat down, I got straight to the point.
"Mr. Valerius, do you have any plans to get married?"
He seemed taken aback by my directness.
He was silent for a long while before letting out a soft "Mm."
'Perhaps his silence then was just him thinking about his White Moonlight.'
"Then I'll be blunt. You're a good marriage prospect. If it's agreeable, I hope we can have a pleasant partnership."
Ian Valerius didn't waste any more time either.
"A pleasant partnership, then."
A month later, he threw me a grand proposal.
Surrounded by the blessings of our family and friends, Ian Valerius put the ring on my finger.
And just like that, we were married soon after.
At the wedding, my brother cried like a whistling kettle that had come to a boil.
He only reined it in after my dad shot him several harsh glares.
It was still incredibly embarrassing, though.
As the brother-in-law, he went on stage to give a speech.
My brother had barely gotten a few words out before he lost control of his emotions again and started bawling.
"Thank you all for coming to my sister's wedding, BOO HOO HOO..."
I was happy that day.
