Chapter 2 The Substitute Bride.

Candice quickly turned around and saw a man sitting in a wheelchair by the entrance, his sharp gaze fixed on Alan. The morning light shone through the living room, outlining his rugged features even more deeply. Despite being in a wheelchair, he emitted a powerful presence.

This man was someone Candice knew well, Evan Royston, Alan's brother, and the CEO of the Royston Group, the legend himself.

"Evan..." At the sight of Evan, both Alan and Lydia were stunned! They stood still like they had been struck by lightning, completely at a loss!

"Being with your future sister-in-law, how accomplished you must feel." The man's coldness intensified. Alan felt ashamed upon hearing Evan's words.

It was as if he had transformed into a completely different person from when he faced Candice earlier! He never expected Evan to suddenly appear here. Wasn't he out of town on a business trip? Why did he suddenly show up here?

Candice looked at Evan, then at the two people not far away, and suddenly burst into laughter. "Sister-in-law? Alan, are you actually sleeping with your sister-in-law?"

For the first time, Candice mocked him, causing Alan's face to become extremely ugly. But in front of Evan, he didn't dare say a word.

"Rex, help Miss Hayes up."

"Yes." The assistant standing behind Evan quickly stepped forward and helped Candice up from the ground. Before getting up, Candice took off the high heels on her feet and threw them out.

Her ankle was in great pain, already red and swollen. She had sprained her foot twice, so the injury was not light. But Candice gritted her teeth and walked out.

When she tried to pass the man in the wheelchair, he suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist. Confused, Candice looked at him, not understanding the meaning behind his actions, and was pulled towards him. Candice's body fell onto his lap unexpectedly.

She had never been this intimate with a man before, and in panic, she struggled, but the man circled his hand around her waist and looked at her expressionlessly. "With injuries like this... Are you sure you can still walk?"

Under the gaze of those deep abyssal eyes, Candice felt herself enveloped in a powerful aura, feeling inexplicably afraid of this man. It was rumored that he was decisive, ruthless, and cruel. But it was precisely this kind of man who made her feel an inexplicable warmth at this moment.

Evan looked at the two people not far away with a cold and terrifying expression, "Lydia Collins."

"Evan..." Lydia swallowed her uneasiness and desperately suppressed her inner guilt and panic.

"Addressing me so intimately, do you think you're still worthy?" His voice was neither urgent nor slow, without any detectable emotional changes, yet it gave off an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Lydia choked, her face even paler, tightly pursing her lips as she stood there, gripping the edge of her towel.

"Evan, don't blame Lydia... It's me..." Alan tried to explain, even though he was forcing himself.

The man lowered his gaze, landing on the disheveled face of the woman in his arms, and somehow produced a tissue from somewhere, handing it to her. Candice immediately took it to wipe the blood off her face.

"Don't be nervous. I came here today specifically to thank you. I just didn't expect you to give me such a spectacular performance! Rex, let's go!"

"Yes Sir." Rex promptly pushed the wheelchair away.

The three of them entered the elevator, and as the doors slowly closed before her eyes, Candice felt a sense of unease and moved slightly in Evan's arms.

"Mr. Royston... Thank you for earlier. I can get off now." In her mind she thought that this man had just taken her away, certainly to salvage a bit of his dignity in front of his younger brother and fiancée.

Evan looked down at her silently for a few seconds, not responding to her words. A unique aura lingered around them, emphasizing the sense of oppression in this cramped space. Candice dared not move, enduring until she could leave as soon as she got downstairs.

Rex quickly pushed the wheelchair out of the apartment lobby and parked it next to a black luxury car.

"Rex, help Miss Hayes into the car. I have something to say to her."

"Right away sir." He had said, and Candice didn't insist any further.

It was just two steps into the car, but the pain in her ankle seemed to worsen, with a bone-deep ache every time she moved even slightly.

Evan promptly got into the car as well and sat beside her. As the car started, tears once again slid down Candice's cheeks. She didn't want to cry, but she couldn't control it. In the past seven years, Alan had almost occupied her entire life.

He liked sexy women, so her wardrobe was filled with revealing clothes. He liked women wearing high heels, so she forced herself to adapt, even if her feet were covered in blisters, she gritted her teeth and persisted.

He liked to eat chicken soup she made, so she always prepared it meticulously. He liked spicy food, so she forced herself to eat it, even if she would end up with allergies and be hospitalized every time.

"I haven't uttered a single word to him," she mused, her thoughts filled with countless similar instances. Ivy had repeatedly cautioned her that Alan wasn't her destined partner, but she simply couldn't bring herself to believe it. Her stubbornness had persisted, leading to moments where she had unwittingly made a mockery of herself.

Outside the window, the sky was a deep blue, with a few soft white clouds floating in the distance and the scorching sun. But she felt an icy coldness all over her body, as if she had fallen into hell.

"Miss Hayes." Evan’s deep voice brought Candice back to reality. She realized that the car had entered the courtyard of a villa at some point and had come to a stop. "Being betrayed like this, are you willing?"

Candice chuckled bitterly in response, her voice choked with emotion as she whispered, "What can I even do?" She might be foolish, but she wouldn't be foolish enough to like that bastard again.

"The woman upstairs is Lydia Collins, my ex-fiancée. Tomorrow was supposed to be our wedding day, and the wedding invitations were sent out half a month ago. Many friends from out of town and abroad have already checked into the hotel today, so this wedding cannot be stopped, because I won't allow myself to become a joke to others! But now, I'm missing a bride."

Candice looked at him sympathetically. She thought she was the most pitiful one, but this man seemed even more pitiful than her. "Sorry, I'm not in the mood to help you find a bride right now."

He had said so much to her just to ask for her help in finding someone, but she didn't have that kind of mood right now.

"You misunderstand, I'm not asking you to help me find someone. I'm asking you to be my bride."

"What did you say!!?" Candice stared at him in disbelief. Be his bride? Was this man joking with her?