Chapter 7 Replacing the Bride with Camelia

• "Camelia? What are you doing here? Where's Rachel?" Kenneth was astonished as he looked through the iron gate into the pitch-darkness, where even the kidnapper had disappeared.
• I was curious too. Where had my body gone? How was Camelia going to explain this absurd farce?
• The cold wind rustled the leaves, pushing Camelia to cling tightly to Kenneth. She was trembling, crying so hard she could barely catch her breath.
• "I, I was afraid the kidnapper would hurt you, I wanted to rescue Rachel first, but she said the kidnapper was coming back soon and told me to pretend to be her, but, but... Kenneth, I was so scared, it was so dark inside, and the kidnapper even started to pull at my clothes... All I could think about was you, thank goodness you came to save me..."
• Camelia seemed like she had been betrayed, curling up in Kenneth's arms and refusing to come out. She looked up at Kenneth as if he were her savior. That look instantly triggered Kenneth's protective instincts, and he gritted his teeth.
• "That wicked woman! To think she just ran off and left you behind! I was so wrong about her!"
• Kenneth automatically filled in the blanks of Camelia's unfinished sentences, his eyes full of anger, as if he wished he could slap me.
• "Once I find Rachel, I'm going to make her beg for mercy and apologize to you!"
• I felt a bone-chilling cold, numb with disbelief. He was Camelia's savior, but what about me? When I was held at knifepoint in the dark, begging him to answer the phone, where was he? He lied about being at the office but showed up at Camelia's welcome party instead. We were supposed to be married in a week, and I was already pregnant... But now, just on the strength of a flimsy lie, he doubted me?
• I still remembered in negotiations, how Kenneth would seize on any loophole in the opposition's words and easily secure an extra point of profit for the company. On the day we secured a partnership, he was so happy, saying the only people he trusted more than Madison were me.
• It's laughable, Kenneth. I watched as Camelia fainted into his arms from crying. Watching him tenderly wipe the tears from her eyes, lifting her into the car.
• Kenneth, do you still remember your promises?
• The car sped to the hospital, and I reluctantly followed Kenneth there. He stayed by the bedside of the unconscious Camelia, who frowned as if trapped in a nightmare.
• She murmured, "Kenneth, Kenneth..."
• Kenneth quickly grabbed her hand, soothing her softly. If she hadn't been holding another woman's husband, and her trembling eyelashes hadn't betrayed her, I might have actually cried for their love.
• "Doctor, please be gentle."
• Kenneth looked anxious, which made the nurse beside him chuckle.
• "You're so good to your fiancee."
• Fiancee... Something crossed Kenneth's mind, he opened his mouth but eventually said nothing.
• "Don't worry, it's all superficial injuries, your fiancee needs you more than the doctor right now."
• The doctor's ambiguous remark was misunderstood by Kenneth.
• He held Camelia's hand tightly, filled with guilt. "Kenneth, Kenneth, I was so scared."
• Camelia pretended to struggle awake. Seeing Kenneth, who had stayed by her side the whole time, she lunged at him, moved to tears.
• Tears shimmered in the corners of her eyes, her voice soft and aggrieved, "Kenneth, I just missed you so much, I came back to the country to see you, I never meant to disturb you and Rachel. I understand Rachel, she was just too scared, but it was really dark inside..."
• Kenneth's eyes filled with more and more pity, "It's okay, it's okay, I'm here."
• He gently embraced Camelia, feeling her body trembling beneath him, soothing her with a warm voice. Camelia's understanding words seemed to fill him with loathing for me.
• "Kenneth, the kidnapper tried to tear off my clothes. I struggled desperately because I didn't consent, but... but I still feel tainted. Would you despise me?" Her eyes brimmed with tears, as if a single 'no' from Kenneth could shatter her. Her pale face reflected in Kenneth's eyes, her delicate body gently pressed against him. Kenneth's compassion reached its peak.
• Camelia clutched at Kenneth's collar, their eyes locked, and she couldn't help but press her cold lips gently against his thin ones. Kenneth didn't pull away; he felt the kiss he had missed for six years stirring emotions within him, his hands tightening into fists as he held Camelia. I turned away, feeling so nauseated that I wanted to vomit.
• "Kenneth, she killed me, and our baby too! She deceived you! It was her!" I cried out in despair. Why should my child and I die in despair in the darkness, while they could kiss here? But they couldn’t hear me. I collapsed to the ground dejectedly, just as a cellphone ringtone startled the kissing couple.
• Camelia, her face flushed with modesty, sported a smug smile where Kenneth couldn't see. "Hello, Mom." The voice on the other end was Madison. The face I knew all too well appeared on the screen.
• "Kenneth, did you pay the ransom? Oh, why are you in the hospital? Did that menace Rachel get you hurt?" Madison asked urgently, her disdain for me unmasked.
• "Madam Madison, Kenneth is fine, don't worry." Camelia quickly intervened, deliberately showing a bandaged wound on her forehead in the camera. The glaring bandage was hard to ignore.
• "Camelia, why are you wrapped in bandages?" Seeing that Kenneth wasn't the one hurt, Madison’s concern eased somewhat. "Madam Madison, I’m okay, just a minor injury."
• Camelia bit her lip, forcing a smile that seemed anything but genuine. "Rachel was probably just too scared, it wasn't intentional that she left me with the kidnappers."
• She hurriedly explained, but it was undoubtedly making the situation worse. Kenneth, hearing her still defending me, tightened his grip on Camelia's cold hand.
• "Camelia, you’re too kind. Rachel left you with the kidnappers? Kenneth, what exactly happened!" Madison demanded sharply.
• Kenneth frowned and had no choice but to recount how Camelia went to save me, and how I ended up running away.
• "Madam Madison, Kenneth, I’m fine, really. Rachel must have gone home after she ran away, don't blame her..." Camelia, pale-faced, feigned strength to comfort them.
• "Camelia, you don’t need to defend her! Mom, burn Rachel’s things, whatever can’t be burned, throw it out. We Johnsons won’t keep her!"
• Kenneth's guilt toward Camelia transformed into rage against me. Watching Madison on the video mercilessly following his orders, my heart, which I thought couldn’t hurt any more, twitched again.
• After my parents died, I truly saw Madison as my own mother. I watched as traces of my six years were being destroyed bit by bit.
• I pressed my hand against my chest, realizing it no longer beat. To them, I no longer held the joy
• I once did, only finding their two-faced nature utterly ridiculous. "Kenneth, the wedding is only a week away, and the invitations are already sent out. I absolutely won’t allow that menace into the Johnson family, but we also can’t have it become a public spectacle."
• Hearing Madison’s words, excitement flickered in Camelia’s downcast eyes. Madison paused, seeing no objection from Kenneth, she continued. "We owe Camelia so much over the years; why not change the wedding to be yours and Camelia’s? I just don’t know if Camelia would agree?"