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📢Notice: Reel Drama Dose is an officially authorized publisher of ReelShort content.
I'm Done Playing Along is worth analyzing because it does something rare with the self-growth trope.
Orton isn't just a woman who walks away from a toxic family. She's a woman who discovers she's seriously ill and realizes she's been spending her life begging for love from people who never chose her. Her wedding day – the ultimate humiliation – isn't the breaking point. It's the wake-up call.
What makes this series effective is how quiet it is. Orton doesn't scream. She doesn't plot revenge. She doesn't try to make them jealous. She just leaves. New York behind her. A remote school in New Mexico ahead of her. She teaches. She heals. She builds a life that belongs only to her.
And when they come back – apologies, tears, explanations – Orton doesn't want a place in their lives anymore. She's not bitter. She's not cruel. She's just... done. She realized she doesn't need their love to be worthy.
For viewers who appreciate quiet dramas about self-worth, illness, and the courage to start over, this one delivers.
— DD, the dose you didn't know you needed 🎬
📺Click ReelShort site link to see FULL HD Episodes 🔖https://www.reelshort.com/full-episodes/i-m-done-playing-along-6aa25a957520bcf44103332b
📢Notice: Reel Drama Dose is an officially authorized publisher of ReelShort content.
I'm Done Playing Along is worth analyzing because it does something rare with the self-growth trope.
Orton isn't just a woman who walks away from a toxic family. She's a woman who discovers she's seriously ill and realizes she's been spending her life begging for love from people who never chose her. Her wedding day – the ultimate humiliation – isn't the breaking point. It's the wake-up call.
What makes this series effective is how quiet it is. Orton doesn't scream. She doesn't plot revenge. She doesn't try to make them jealous. She just leaves. New York behind her. A remote school in New Mexico ahead of her. She teaches. She heals. She builds a life that belongs only to her.
And when they come back – apologies, tears, explanations – Orton doesn't want a place in their lives anymore. She's not bitter. She's not cruel. She's just... done. She realized she doesn't need their love to be worthy.
For viewers who appreciate quiet dramas about self-worth, illness, and the courage to start over, this one delivers.
— DD, the dose you didn't know you needed 🎬
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00:04Lucy Whitfield stood in the doorway in an ivory dress.
00:00:07Her face streaked with tears, her steps unsteady.
00:00:10She had once been the little princess the Whitfield family had carefully raised for more than 20 years.
00:00:16Dad, Mom, please don't leave me.
00:00:19Even when she cried, she looked like a fragile work of art.
00:00:21Everyone's eyes were pulled towards her.
00:00:25Lucy, Lucy, don't be scared.
00:00:27Mom is right here.
00:00:30The man who could swallow three docks at a negotiation table without blinking opened his arms and held mother and
00:00:35daughter together.
00:00:37The scene was warm enough to look like a carefully staged movie, and I was the unnecessary person outside the
00:00:43frame.
00:00:44Cole seemed to finally breathe in relief.
00:00:46When he looked at Lucy, the tenderness in his eyes nearly overflowed.
00:00:50Ryan looked back at me and slowly shook his head.
00:00:53I ignored him.
00:00:55I held on to the overturned table corner and got to my feet, pain stabbing through my ankle.
00:01:01My wedding dress dragged across the floor, covered in cream, liquor, and shattered glass.
00:01:08Miss Reed, do you need me to call the doctor?
00:01:11He did not say call the police.
00:01:14Everyone here knew the Whitfield family's affairs could not be handed to the police.
00:01:19No.
00:01:21I limped toward the side door.
00:01:25I had barely taken two steps when someone yanked my wrist.
00:01:31At my wedding, my fiancé, Cole, slapped me hard in front of half of New York's underworld.
00:01:39Lucy almost put a gun in her mouth and killed herself.
00:01:42And all you care about is your wedding?
00:01:45Or did you even possess a shred of decency?
00:01:47The blow sent me stumbling, and I crashed into the five-tier wedding cake.
00:01:51Cream, strawberry cookie, and champagne mixed together,
00:01:55clinging to my expensive white wedding dress like dignity crushed under someone's heel.
00:01:59On our wedding day, my fiancé missed the merger ceremony between two major families
00:02:03because of a cry for help from my stepsister, Lucy.
00:02:06While everyone was frozen in a standoff, I called Ryan Black, the boy I had grown up with, and told
00:02:10him,
00:02:11If you come, I'll marry him.
00:02:15Orton, you really think too highly of yourself.
00:02:18Ryan, are you going to leave me too?
00:02:20Half an hour later, both men arrived at the church.
00:02:23One was the heir of the Harrington family, my fiancé and name, Cole.
00:02:26The other was my childhood friend in the staff building at Whitfield Manor, Ryan.
00:02:30They stepped out of black, bulletproof cars.
00:02:32Behind them stood a line of black suit bodyguards with gun holsters concealed beneath their jackets,
00:02:36like a belated judgment.
00:02:38I had been struck to the floor.
00:02:40Covering my face, I instinctively looked toward Ryan.
00:02:43He stood coldly to the side with both hands in his pockets,
00:02:47a flicker of disgust crossing his eyes.
00:02:52Even my biological parents, Richard, head of the Whitfield family,
00:02:56and his wife, Diana, came over from the main table.
00:02:59The alliance ceremony can be rescheduled any time,
00:03:02but if something happens to Lucy,
00:03:03we cannot afford to lose a single second.
00:03:06At that moment, I finally understood.
00:03:10Within this family, I was their long-lost biological daughter,
00:03:13restored to them by blood,
00:03:15yet also the perfect bargaining chip.
00:03:16The people here tonight were not ordinary relatives and friends,
00:03:19but representatives from families in New York, Chicago, and Boston.
00:03:24Some held wine glasses.
00:03:25Some had their fingers pressed against the inside of their jackets,
00:03:28close enough to touch a gun at any moment.
00:03:30A sharp ting burned across my face,
00:03:32and a drop of blood fell onto my snow-white wedding dress.
00:03:36I touched my nose.
00:03:37It was warm.
00:03:39Cole, are you insane?
00:03:44If Lucy hadn't begged me through tears to come finish this ceremony,
00:03:48do you really think I would be here?
00:03:49After saying that,
00:03:50he pulled a glass from the bottom tier of the champagne tower.
00:03:53The bodyguards at the door tense and stifled.
00:03:55The banquet hall manager went deathly pale,
00:03:57but did not dare step forward.
00:03:58Cole grabbed a bottle of champagne,
00:04:00twisted off the cork,
00:04:01aimed it over my head,
00:04:02and let the cold golden liquid pour down.
00:04:05Didn't you want to marry into the Harrington family?
00:04:07No.
00:04:11Here.
00:04:12This is our champagne, sir.
00:04:14The liquor ran from my lashes,
00:04:15down the bridge of my nose,
00:04:16and off my chin, drop by drop.
00:04:17I could no longer tell
00:04:18whether what fell onto my wedding dress
00:04:19was wine or blood.
00:04:21Satisfied now, my legal wife.
00:04:25In the banquet hall,
00:04:26my bridesmaid Grace stood frozen in place.
00:04:29At an ordinary wedding,
00:04:30someone would call the police,
00:04:32but on Whitfield territory,
00:04:33no one dared call 911.
00:04:35People here believed more in silence,
00:04:37hush money,
00:04:38and bodies encased in port concrete.
00:04:40My childhood friend, Ryan Black,
00:04:42stood in the shadows
00:04:43as if watching a play
00:04:44whose ending had never been in doubt.
00:04:46There was a commotion
00:04:47at the back door of the banquet hall.
00:04:48My biological parents came through the crowd.
00:04:51I thought they would finally ask if it hurt,
00:04:53but Diana did not even spare me a glance.
00:04:56Her voice shook.
00:04:57Where is my Lucy?
00:04:59She's emotionally unstable.
00:05:00How could you leave her alone in a safe house?
00:05:03If anything happens to her,
00:05:04I won't be able to live either.
00:05:07Richard took the microphone.
00:05:09He was the godfather of the Whitfield family.
00:05:12Always composed.
00:05:13Always respectable.
00:05:15Even at a moment like this,
00:05:17he could announce to the room
00:05:18in an almost cruelly steady voice.
00:05:20My apologies, everyone.
00:05:23An emergency has come up within the family.
00:05:26Tonight's alliance ceremony
00:05:27is temporarily cancelled.
00:05:29All gifts and cooperation deposits
00:05:31will be returned in full
00:05:32through the original channels.
00:05:33Richard Whitfield owes you all an explanation.
00:05:37After putting down the microphone,
00:05:38he looked at Cole.
00:05:40Lead the way.
00:05:41You're going to find Lucy.
00:05:42He did not look at me.
00:05:44I sat beside the collapsed cake,
00:05:46filthy and humiliated,
00:05:48like an old prop
00:05:49whose purpose had already been served.
00:05:57Dad, Mom.
00:06:00Lucy Whitfield stood in the doorway
00:06:02in an ivory dress.
00:06:03Her face streaked with tears,
00:06:04her steps unsteady.
00:06:06She had once been the little princess
00:06:07the Whitfield family had carefully raised
00:06:09for more than 20 years.
00:06:11Dad, Mom, please don't leave me.
00:06:14Even when she cried,
00:06:15she looked like a fragile work of art.
00:06:17Everyone's eyes were pulled towards her.
00:06:20Lucy, Lucy, don't be scared.
00:06:22Mom is right here.
00:06:25The man who could swallow three docks
00:06:27at a negotiation table without blinking
00:06:29opened his arms
00:06:30and held mother and daughter together.
00:06:32The scene was warm enough
00:06:33to look like a carefully staged movie,
00:06:36and I was the unnecessary person
00:06:38outside the frame.
00:06:39Cole seemed to finally breathe in relief.
00:06:42When he looked at Lucy,
00:06:43the tenderness in his eyes nearly overflowed.
00:06:45Ryan looked back at me
00:06:47and slowly shook his head.
00:06:48I ignored him.
00:06:50I held onto the overturned table corner
00:06:53and got to my feet,
00:06:54pain stabbing through my ankle.
00:06:56My wedding dress dragged across the floor,
00:06:59covered in cream, liquor,
00:07:01and shattered glass.
00:07:03Miss Reed,
00:07:04do you need me to call the doctor?
00:07:07He did not say call the police.
00:07:09Everyone here knew
00:07:10the Whitfield family's affairs
00:07:11could not be handed to the police.
00:07:14No.
00:07:17I limped toward the side door.
00:07:20I had barely taken two steps
00:07:22when someone yanked my wrist.
00:07:27Orton,
00:07:28you really disappointed me tonight.
00:07:30I thought you were tough.
00:07:31I thought you could take the hits,
00:07:33claw your way out of the muck.
00:07:34Never imagined you'd resort to cheap stunts
00:07:36just to drag everyone's eyes onto yourself.
00:07:38Lucy has already given back
00:07:39everything she once had to you.
00:07:40She lost her parents,
00:07:41her identity,
00:07:42even her place's heir.
00:07:43Why still refuse to let her go?
00:07:48Orton,
00:07:50blood and champagne
00:07:51had dried on my dress
00:07:52like a brand of humiliation
00:07:54burnt into my skin.
00:07:56Suddenly,
00:07:56I wanted to laugh.
00:07:58This wedding dress
00:07:58was the most expensive thing
00:08:00I had ever worn in my life.
00:08:02Before the wedding,
00:08:03I had touched it again and again
00:08:04with careful hands.
00:08:05It came from Milan.
00:08:07More than a thousand
00:08:07hand-sewn crystals
00:08:08covered the train,
00:08:10each one like the future
00:08:11I had naively believed was coming.
00:08:13I had looked forward to this day
00:08:15more than anything,
00:08:15to marrying Cole Harrington beautifully
00:08:21because I had secretly loved him
00:08:23for many years.
00:08:25Half a year ago,
00:08:26Lucy was diagnosed
00:08:27with severe aplastic anemia.
00:08:29Richard and Diana
00:08:30immediately underwent HLA matching,
00:08:33but the results were
00:08:34a complete mismatch.
00:08:35An urgent DNA test
00:08:37exposed the secret.
00:08:39Twenty-two years ago,
00:08:40the Whitfield family housekeeper,
00:08:41Maggie Reed,
00:08:42switched Lucy and me.
00:08:43She sent her own biological doll
00:08:45into the Godfather's house
00:08:46and took the true Whitfield bloodline
00:08:48back to a cramped staff apartment.
00:08:49After the truth came out,
00:08:51Maggie put a gun in her mouth
00:08:52in the underground wine cellar,
00:08:54leaving behind only a letter.
00:08:57I had read that letter.
00:08:59Across two full pages,
00:09:00she did not mention my name once.
00:09:02Lucy could not handle the shock
00:09:04and was diagnosed
00:09:04with severe depression.
00:09:06To preserve the port alliance
00:09:08between the Whitfield
00:09:09and Harrington families,
00:09:11Richard made a swift decision
00:09:12and transferred Lucy's
00:09:14original engagement to me.
00:09:15The reason sounded grand
00:09:16and proper.
00:09:17The old Harrington family pact
00:09:19required both sides
00:09:20to be bound by legal marriage
00:09:22and legitimate direct heirs.
00:09:24Otherwise,
00:09:25the merger of the East River docks,
00:09:27arms routes,
00:09:28and money-laughtering network
00:09:29would all be void.
00:09:31Lucy was too fragile
00:09:33to withstand that kind of pressure,
00:09:34and I was healthy,
00:09:36mentally tougher,
00:09:37and more suited
00:09:38to bear this family responsibility.
00:09:40I did not hesitate.
00:09:42I agreed.
00:09:43Because Cole Harrington
00:09:44was the boy I had loved
00:09:45in secret since childhood.
00:09:48When I was little,
00:09:49I followed my foster mother Maggie
00:09:51to work at Harrington Manor.
00:09:53Lucy sat in the sunroom
00:09:54eating pastries.
00:09:56I was so hungry
00:09:57I could only stare,
00:09:58but I didn't dare come closer.
00:10:01Cole was the one
00:10:02who walked over
00:10:03and beckoned me to him.
00:10:05Lucy wrinkled her brows
00:10:07and said I was dirty,
00:10:08that I didn't deserve
00:10:09to touch her silver fork.
00:10:11But Cole placed
00:10:12a honey muffin in my palm.
00:10:13This country says
00:10:14everyone is equal on the surface,
00:10:16though we all know that's a lie.
00:10:17But at least at my table,
00:10:18you don't have to lower your head.
00:10:24From that day on,
00:10:26he became the light
00:10:27I hid in the deepest part
00:10:28of my heart.
00:10:29Every time I saw him,
00:10:31he would smile faintly at me,
00:10:32like a lamp suddenly lit
00:10:33in a dark warehouse.
00:10:34I was poor and timid,
00:10:36so I only dared watch him
00:10:37from afar.
00:10:38From age 12 to 22.
00:10:43On the day of the engagement banquet,
00:10:45he sat at the end
00:10:46of the long table
00:10:46while the elders raised glasses
00:10:48and discussed darts,
00:10:49containers,
00:10:50roots,
00:10:51and loyalty.
00:10:52He stayed silent for a long time
00:10:53and then asked only one question.
00:10:55Is Lucy doing any better?
00:10:57At the mention of Lucy,
00:10:59everyone's expression softened.
00:11:02I shrank into a corner
00:11:03and said nothing.
00:11:05Cole gave me a cold glance.
00:11:09She's not suited
00:11:10for occasions like this.
00:11:11I heard it,
00:11:12and I remembered it.
00:11:14From that day on,
00:11:16I threw myself
00:11:16into upper-class etiquette,
00:11:19learned to take a part
00:11:20in assemble guns,
00:11:22studied family accounts,
00:11:25and learned how not to show fear
00:11:27in front of wolves
00:11:28dressed in evening wear.
00:11:30I wanted to be a good wife to him.
00:11:32I didn't want to disappoint him.
00:11:34But how did it end?
00:11:36It took me far too long
00:11:38to understand.
00:11:39This engagement had never been
00:11:41love from the start.
00:11:42It was a blood-stained agreement.
00:11:45The Harrington family
00:11:46needed the Whitfield Docks,
00:11:48and the Whitfield family
00:11:49needed the Harrington Arms Lines,
00:11:50and they needed a woman
00:11:51to sit on the altar
00:11:52and complete the final piece.
00:11:55Lucy was too precious
00:11:56to sacrifice,
00:11:59and I had conveniently returned.
00:12:02Suddenly,
00:12:03there was a perfect solution
00:12:04for both sides.
00:12:06Too bad I was the extra bargaining chip
00:12:08outside that perfect solution.
00:12:11Even Ryan Black
00:12:12quickly took Lucy's side,
00:12:13even though,
00:12:14like me,
00:12:15he had grown up
00:12:16in the staff building
00:12:17at Whitfield Manor.
00:12:19Both of our mothers
00:12:20were employees of this family.
00:12:22Both of us had been bullied by Lucy,
00:12:23and both of us
00:12:24had sworn vows
00:12:25in the drafting winter staff quarters.
00:12:27When we were little,
00:12:28Ryan held my hand.
00:12:30One day,
00:12:31I'll climb above them.
00:12:33By then,
00:12:34Lucy Whitfield
00:12:34will never dare bully you again.
00:12:42Why did it become like this?
00:12:44I stumbled out of the church.
00:12:55Lucy Whitfield stood in the doorway
00:12:57in an ivory dress,
00:12:58her face streaked with tears,
00:13:00her steps unsteady.
00:13:01She had once been
00:13:02the little princess
00:13:03the Whitfield family
00:13:04had carefully raised
00:13:05for more than 20 years.
00:13:06Dad,
00:13:07Mom,
00:13:08please don't leave me.
00:13:09Even when she cried,
00:13:10she looked like
00:13:11a fragile work of art.
00:13:12Everyone's eyes
00:13:13were pulled towards her.
00:13:15Lucy,
00:13:16Lucy,
00:13:16don't be scared.
00:13:18Mom is right here.
00:13:20The man who could swallow
00:13:21three docks
00:13:22at a negotiation table
00:13:23without blinking
00:13:24opened his arms
00:13:25and held mother
00:13:26and daughter together.
00:13:27The scene was warm enough
00:13:29to look like
00:13:29a carefully staged movie,
00:13:31and I was the unnecessary person
00:13:33outside the frame.
00:13:35Cole seemed to finally
00:13:36breathe in relief.
00:13:37When he looked at Lucy,
00:13:38the tenderness
00:13:39in his eyes
00:13:39nearly overflowed,
00:13:41Ryan looked back at me
00:13:42and slowly shook his head.
00:13:44I ignored him.
00:13:46I held onto
00:13:47the overturned table corner
00:13:48and got to my feet,
00:13:49pain stabbing
00:13:50through my ankle.
00:13:52My wedding dress
00:13:52dragged across the floor,
00:13:54covered in cream,
00:13:55liquor,
00:13:56and shattered glass.
00:13:59Miss Reed,
00:14:00do you need me
00:14:01to call the doctor?
00:14:02He did not say
00:14:03call the police.
00:14:04Everyone here
00:14:05knew the Whitfield family's
00:14:06affairs could not
00:14:07be handed to the police.
00:14:10No.
00:14:12I limped toward
00:14:13the side door.
00:14:16I had barely
00:14:17taken two steps
00:14:18when someone
00:14:18yanked my wrist.
00:14:22At my wedding,
00:14:23my fiancée, Cole,
00:14:24slapped me hard
00:14:25in front of half
00:14:26of New York's underworld.
00:14:30Lucy almost put a gun
00:14:31in her mouth
00:14:32and killed herself.
00:14:33And all you care about
00:14:34is your wedding?
00:14:35Orton,
00:14:36do you even possess
00:14:36a shred of pieces?
00:14:38The blow sent me stumbling
00:14:40and I crashed
00:14:40into the five-tier
00:14:41wedding cake.
00:14:42Cream,
00:14:43strawberry coulis,
00:14:44and champagne
00:14:45mixed together,
00:14:46clinging to my expensive
00:14:47white wedding dress
00:14:47like dignity
00:14:48crushed under someone's heel.
00:14:50On our wedding day,
00:14:51my fiancée missed
00:14:52the merger ceremony
00:14:53between two major families
00:14:54because of a cry for help
00:14:55from my stepsister,
00:14:56Lucy.
00:14:57While everyone was
00:14:57frozen in a standoff,
00:14:58I called Ryan Black,
00:15:00the boy I had grown up
00:15:01with,
00:15:01and told him,
00:15:02if you come,
00:15:03I'll marry you.
00:15:05Orton,
00:15:06you really think
00:15:07too highly of yourself.
00:15:08Ryan,
00:15:09are you gonna leave me too?
00:15:11Half an hour later,
00:15:12both men arrived
00:15:13at the church.
00:15:14One was the heir
00:15:15of the Harrington family,
00:15:16my fiancée in name,
00:15:17Cole.
00:15:17The other was my childhood
00:15:18friend from the staff building
00:15:19at Whitfield Manor, Ryan.
00:15:21They stepped out of
00:15:21black bulletproof cars.
00:15:23Behind them stood a line
00:15:24of black suit bodyguards
00:15:25with gun holsters
00:15:25concealed beneath their jackets
00:15:27like a belated judgment.
00:15:28I had been struck
00:15:29to the floor.
00:15:30Covering my face,
00:15:32I instinctively
00:15:33looked toward Ryan.
00:15:34He stood coldly
00:15:35to the side
00:15:36with both hands
00:15:36in his pockets,
00:15:38a flicker of disgust
00:15:39crossing his eyes.
00:15:42Even my biological parents,
00:15:45Richard,
00:15:45head of the Whitfield family,
00:15:47and his wife, Diana,
00:15:48came over from
00:15:48the main table.
00:15:49The alliance ceremony
00:15:51can be rescheduled
00:15:52any time,
00:15:52but if something happens
00:15:53to Lucy,
00:15:54we cannot afford
00:15:55to lose a single second.
00:15:57At that moment,
00:15:59I finally understood.
00:16:00Within this family,
00:16:01I was their long-lost
00:16:03biological daughter
00:16:04restored to them
00:16:05by blood,
00:16:05yet also the perfect
00:16:06bargaining chip.
00:16:07The people here tonight
00:16:08were not ordinary
00:16:09relatives and friends,
00:16:10but representatives
00:16:11from families in New York,
00:16:12Chicago,
00:16:13and Boston.
00:16:14Some held wine glasses,
00:16:16some had their fingers
00:16:17pressed against the inside
00:16:18of their jackets,
00:16:19close enough to touch
00:16:20a gun at any moment.
00:16:21A sharp ting burned
00:16:22across my face,
00:16:23and a drop of blood
00:16:24fell onto my snow-white
00:16:25wedding dress.
00:16:26I touched my nose.
00:16:28It was warm.
00:16:30Cole, are you insane?
00:16:35If Lucy hadn't begged me
00:16:36through tears
00:16:37to come finish
00:16:38this ceremony,
00:16:39do you really think
00:16:39I would be here?
00:16:40After saying that,
00:16:41he pulled a glass
00:16:42from the bottom tier
00:16:42of the champagne tower.
00:16:43The bodyguards at the door
00:16:45tensed instantly.
00:16:46The banquet hall manager
00:16:47went deathly pale,
00:16:48but did not dare step forward.
00:16:49Cole grabbed a bottle
00:16:50of champagne,
00:16:51twisted off the cork,
00:16:52aimed it over my head,
00:16:53and let the cold,
00:16:54golden liquid pour down.
00:16:56Did you want to marry
00:16:56into the Harrington family?
00:17:02Here.
00:17:03This is our champagne ceremony.
00:17:04The liquor ran from my lashes,
00:17:06down the bridge of my nose,
00:17:07and off my chin,
00:17:07drop by drop.
00:17:08I could no longer tell
00:17:09whether what fell onto
00:17:09my wedding dress
00:17:10was wine or blood.
00:17:11Satisfied now,
00:17:12my legal wife.
00:17:16In the banquet hall,
00:17:17my bridesmaid Grace
00:17:18stood frozen in place.
00:17:20At an ordinary wedding,
00:17:21someone would call the police,
00:17:22but on Whitfield territory,
00:17:24no one dared call 911.
00:17:26People here believed
00:17:27more in silence,
00:17:28hush money,
00:17:28and bodies in haste
00:17:29to import concrete.
00:17:31My childhood friend,
00:17:32Ryan Black,
00:17:33stood in the shadows
00:17:33as if watching a play
00:17:34whose ending
00:17:35had never been in doubt.
00:17:36There was a commotion
00:17:37at the back door
00:17:38of the banquet hall.
00:17:39My biological parents
00:17:40came through the crowd.
00:17:41I thought they would
00:17:43finally ask if it hurt,
00:17:44but Diana did not even
00:17:45spare me a glance.
00:17:47Her voice shook.
00:17:47Where is my Lucy?
00:17:49She's emotionally unstable.
00:17:51How could you leave her alone
00:17:52in the safe house?
00:17:53If anything happens to her,
00:17:55I won't be able to live either.
00:17:58Richard took the microphone.
00:18:00He was the godfather
00:18:01of the Whitfield family,
00:18:03always composed,
00:18:04always respectable.
00:18:06Even at a moment like this,
00:18:08he could announce to the room
00:18:09in an almost cruelly steady voice,
00:18:11my apologies, everyone.
00:18:14An emergency has come up
00:18:15within the family.
00:18:17Tonight's alliance ceremony
00:18:18is temporarily cancelled.
00:18:20All gifts and cooperation
00:18:21deposits will be returned in full
00:18:23through the original channels.
00:18:24Richard Whitfield
00:18:25owes you all an explanation.
00:18:27After putting down the microphone,
00:18:29he looked at Cole.
00:18:30Lead the way.
00:18:31We're going to find Lucy.
00:18:33He did not look at me.
00:18:35I sat beside the collapsed cake,
00:18:37filthy and humiliated,
00:18:38like an old prop
00:18:39whose purpose
00:18:40had already unserved.
00:18:48Dad, Mom.
00:18:50Lucy Whitfield stood in the doorway
00:18:52in an ivory dress.
00:18:54Her face streaked with tears,
00:18:55her steps unsteady.
00:18:56She had once been
00:18:57the little princess
00:18:58the Whitfield family
00:18:59had carefully raised
00:19:00for more than 20 years.
00:19:02Dad, Mom,
00:19:03please don't leave me.
00:19:05Even when she cried,
00:19:06she looked like
00:19:06a fragile work of art.
00:19:08Everyone's eyes
00:19:08were pulled towards her.
00:19:10Lucy.
00:19:11Lucy.
00:19:12I'm scared.
00:19:13Mom is right here.
00:19:15The man who could swallow
00:19:17three docks
00:19:18at a negotiation table
00:19:19without blinking
00:19:19opened his arms
00:19:20and held mother
00:19:21and daughter together.
00:19:23The scene was warm enough
00:19:24to look like
00:19:25a carefully staged movie.
00:19:27And I was the unnecessary person
00:19:28outside the frame.
00:19:30Cole seemed to finally
00:19:31breathe in relief.
00:19:32When he looked at Lucy,
00:19:33the tenderness in his eyes
00:19:35nearly overflowed.
00:19:36Ryan looked back at me
00:19:37and slowly shook his head.
00:19:39I ignored him.
00:19:41I held on to the overturned
00:19:43table corner
00:19:43and got to my feet,
00:19:45pain stabbing
00:19:46through my ankle.
00:19:47My wedding dress
00:19:48dragged across the floor,
00:19:49covered in cream,
00:19:51liquor,
00:19:51and shattered glass.
00:19:54Miss Reed,
00:19:55do you need me
00:19:56to call a doctor?
00:19:57He did not say
00:19:58call the police.
00:20:00Everyone here knew
00:20:01the Whitfield family's affairs
00:20:02could not be handed
00:20:03to the police.
00:20:05No.
00:20:08I limped toward
00:20:09the side door.
00:20:11I had barely taken
00:20:12two steps
00:20:13when someone
00:20:13yanked my wrist.
00:20:18Orton,
00:20:18you really disappointed
00:20:19me tonight.
00:20:20I thought you were tough.
00:20:22I thought you could
00:20:23take the hits,
00:20:24claw your way
00:20:24out of the muck.
00:20:25Never imagined you'd
00:20:26resort to cheap stunts
00:20:27just to drag everyone's
00:20:28eyes onto yourself.
00:20:29Lucy has already
00:20:29given back everything
00:20:30she once had to you.
00:20:31She lost her parents,
00:20:32her identity,
00:20:33even her place's heir.
00:20:34Why still refuse
00:20:35to let her go?
00:20:36Orton,
00:20:36how did you become
00:20:37like this?
00:20:41Blood and champagne
00:20:42had dried on my dress
00:20:43like a brand of humiliation
00:20:45burnt into my skin.
00:20:46Suddenly,
00:20:47I wanted to laugh.
00:20:48This wedding dress
00:20:49was the most expensive
00:20:50thing I had ever
00:20:51worn in my life.
00:20:52Before the wedding,
00:20:53I had touched it
00:20:54again and again
00:20:55with careful hands.
00:20:56It came from Milan.
00:20:57More than a thousand
00:20:58hand-sewn crystals
00:20:59covered the train,
00:21:00each one like the future
00:21:01I had naively believed
00:21:03was coming.
00:21:04I had looked forward
00:21:05to this day
00:21:05more than anything,
00:21:07to marrying
00:21:08Cole Harrington beautifully
00:21:12because I had secretly
00:21:13loved him
00:21:13for many years.
00:21:15Half a year ago,
00:21:17Lucy was diagnosed
00:21:18with severe
00:21:19obstacognemia.
00:21:20Richard and Diana
00:21:21immediately underwent
00:21:22HLA matching,
00:21:24but the results
00:21:24were a complete
00:21:25mismatch.
00:21:26An urgent DNA test
00:21:27exposed the secret.
00:21:29Twenty-two years ago,
00:21:30the Whitfield family
00:21:31housekeeper,
00:21:32Maggie Reed,
00:21:33switched Lucy and me.
00:21:34She sent her own
00:21:35biological doll
00:21:36into the godfather's house
00:21:37and took the true
00:21:38Whitfield bloodline
00:21:38back to a cramped
00:21:39staff apartment.
00:21:40After the truth came out,
00:21:41Maggie put a gun
00:21:42in her mouth
00:21:43in the underground
00:21:43wine cellar,
00:21:44leaving behind
00:21:45only a letter.
00:21:47I had read that letter.
00:21:49Across two full pages,
00:21:51she did not mention
00:21:52my name once.
00:21:53Lucy could not
00:21:54handle the shock
00:21:54and was diagnosed
00:21:55with severe depression.
00:21:57To preserve the port
00:21:58alliance between
00:21:59the Whitfield
00:22:00and Harrington families,
00:22:01Richard made a swift
00:22:02decision and transferred
00:22:04Lucy's original
00:22:05engagement to me.
00:22:06The reason sounded
00:22:07grand and proper.
00:22:08The old Harrington
00:22:09family pact
00:22:10required both sides
00:22:11to be bound
00:22:12by legal marriage
00:22:13and legitimate
00:22:13direct heirs.
00:22:15Otherwise,
00:22:16the merger
00:22:16of the East River
00:22:17docks,
00:22:18arms routes,
00:22:19and money-lottering
00:22:20network
00:22:20would all be void.
00:22:22Lucy was too fragile
00:22:23to withstand
00:22:24that kind of pressure
00:22:25and I was healthy,
00:22:26mentally tougher,
00:22:27and more suited
00:22:29to bear this
00:22:29family responsibility.
00:22:31I did not hesitate.
00:22:32I agreed.
00:22:34Because Cole Harrington
00:22:35was the boy
00:22:36I had loved
00:22:36since childhood.
00:22:38When I was little,
00:22:40I followed my foster
00:22:41mother Maggie
00:22:41to work at Harrington
00:22:42Manor.
00:22:44Lucy sat in the sunroom
00:22:45eating pastries.
00:22:47I was so hungry
00:22:48I could only stare,
00:22:49but I didn't dare
00:22:50come closer.
00:22:52Cole was the one
00:22:53who walked over
00:22:53and beckoned me to him.
00:22:56Lucy wrinkled her brows
00:22:57and said I was dirty,
00:22:59that I didn't deserve
00:23:00to touch her silver fork.
00:23:02But Cole placed
00:23:03a honey muffin
00:23:03in my palm.
00:23:04This country says
00:23:05everyone is equal
00:23:05on the surface,
00:23:06though we all know
00:23:07that's a lie.
00:23:08But at least at my table,
00:23:09we don't have to work.
00:23:15From that day on,
00:23:17he became the light
00:23:18I hid in the deepest
00:23:18part of my heart.
00:23:20Every time I saw him,
00:23:21he would smile
00:23:22faintly at me,
00:23:23like a lamp suddenly
00:23:24lit in a dark warehouse.
00:23:25I was poor and timid,
00:23:27so I only dared
00:23:28watch him from afar,
00:23:29from age 12 to 22.
00:23:33On the day
00:23:34of the engagement banquet,
00:23:35he sat at the end
00:23:36of the long table
00:23:37while the elders
00:23:38raised glasses
00:23:39and discussed dots,
00:23:40containers,
00:23:41roots,
00:23:41and loyalty.
00:23:42He stayed silent
00:23:43for a long time
00:23:44and then asked
00:23:45only one question.
00:23:46Is Lucy doing any better?
00:23:48At the mention of Lucy,
00:23:50everyone's expression
00:23:51softened.
00:23:52I shrank into a corner
00:23:54and said nothing.
00:23:56Cole gave me
00:23:57a cold glance.
00:23:59She's not suited
00:24:00for occasions like this.
00:24:02I heard it
00:24:03and I remembered it.
00:24:05From that day on,
00:24:06I threw myself
00:24:07into upper-class etiquette,
00:24:09learned to take apart
00:24:10and assemble guns,
00:24:13studied family accounts.
00:24:16and learned how not
00:24:17to show fear
00:24:18in front of wolves
00:24:18dressed in evening wear.
00:24:21I wanted to be
00:24:22a good wife to him.
00:24:23I didn't want
00:24:24to disappoint him.
00:24:25But how did it end?
00:24:27It took me far too long
00:24:28to understand.
00:24:30This engagement
00:24:31had never been love
00:24:32from the start.
00:24:33It was a blood-stained agreement.
00:24:35The Harrington family
00:24:37needed the Whitfield
00:24:38docks
00:24:38and the Whitfield family
00:24:40needed the Harrington
00:24:40arms lines
00:24:41and they needed a woman
00:24:42to sit on the altar
00:24:43and complete the final piece.
00:24:46Lucy was too precious
00:24:47to sacrifice
00:24:50and I had conveniently returned.
00:24:53Suddenly,
00:24:54there was a perfect solution
00:24:55for both sides.
00:24:57Too bad I was the extra
00:24:58bargaining chip
00:24:59outside that perfect solution.
00:25:01Even Ryan Black
00:25:02quickly took Lucy's side
00:25:04even though,
00:25:05like me,
00:25:06he had grown up
00:25:07in the staff building
00:25:08at Whitfield Manor.
00:25:09Both of our mothers
00:25:10were employees
00:25:11of this family.
00:25:12Both of us
00:25:13had been bullied by Lucy
00:25:14and both of us
00:25:15had sworn vows
00:25:16in the drafty winter
00:25:16staff quarters.
00:25:17When we were little,
00:25:19Ryan held my hand.
00:25:21One day,
00:25:22I'll climb above them.
00:25:24By then,
00:25:24Lucy Whitfield
00:25:25will never dare
00:25:26bully you again.
00:25:32Why did it become like this?
00:25:34I stumbled out of the church.
00:25:46Lucy Whitfield
00:25:47stood in the doorway
00:25:48in an ivory dress.
00:25:49Her face streaked
00:25:50with tears,
00:25:50her steps unsteady.
00:25:52She had once been
00:25:53the little princess
00:25:53the Whitfield family
00:25:54had carefully raised
00:25:55for more than 20 years.
00:25:57Dad?
00:25:58Mom,
00:25:59please don't leave me.
00:26:00Even when she cried,
00:26:01she looked like
00:26:02a fragile work of art.
00:26:03Everyone's eyes
00:26:03were pulled towards her.
00:26:06Lucy,
00:26:07Lucy,
00:26:07don't be scared.
00:26:08Mom is right here.
00:26:11The man who could
00:26:12swallow three docks
00:26:13at a negotiation table
00:26:14without blinking
00:26:15opened his arms
00:26:16and held mother
00:26:16and daughter together.
00:26:18The scene was warm enough
00:26:20to look like
00:26:20a carefully staged movie
00:26:21and I was the
00:26:23unnecessary person
00:26:24outside the frame.
00:26:25Cole seemed to finally
00:26:26breathe in relief.
00:26:28When he looked at Lucy,
00:26:29the tenderness in his eyes
00:26:30nearly overflowed.
00:26:32Ryan looked back at me
00:26:33and slowly shook his head.
00:26:34I ignored him.
00:26:36I held on to the
00:26:38overturned table corner
00:26:39and got to my feet,
00:26:40pain stabbing
00:26:41through my ankle.
00:26:42My wedding dress
00:26:43dragged across the floor,
00:26:45covered in cream,
00:26:46liquor,
00:26:47and shattered glass.
00:26:49Miss Reed,
00:26:50do you need me
00:26:51to call the doctor?
00:26:53He did not say
00:26:54call the police.
00:26:55Everyone here knew
00:26:56the Whitfield family's
00:26:57affairs could not
00:26:58be handed to the police.
00:27:01No.
00:27:03I limped toward
00:27:04the side door.
00:27:06I had barely taken
00:27:08two steps
00:27:08when someone
00:27:09yanked my wrist.
00:27:13At my wedding,
00:27:14my fiancé, Cole,
00:27:15slapped me hard
00:27:16in front of half
00:27:16of New York's underworld.
00:27:21Lucy almost put a gun
00:27:22in her mouth
00:27:23and killed herself.
00:27:24And all you care about
00:27:25is your wedding?
00:27:26Orton, do you even
00:27:27possess a shred of decency?
00:27:29The blow sent me stumbling
00:27:30and I crashed
00:27:31into the five-tier
00:27:32wedding cake.
00:27:33Cream,
00:27:34strawberry cream,
00:27:35and champagne
00:27:35mixed together,
00:27:36clinging to my expensive
00:27:37white wedding dress
00:27:38like dignity
00:27:39crushed under someone's heel.
00:27:41On our wedding day,
00:27:42my fiancé missed
00:27:42the merger ceremony
00:27:43between two major families
00:27:44because of a cry for help
00:27:46from my stepsister, Lucy.
00:27:47While everyone was frozen
00:27:48in the standoff,
00:27:49I called Ryan Black,
00:27:50the boy I had grown up with,
00:27:52and told him,
00:27:52if you come,
00:27:53I'll marry you.
00:27:56Orton,
00:27:57you really think
00:27:57too highly of yourself.
00:27:59Ryan,
00:27:59are you going to leave me too?
00:28:02Half an hour later,
00:28:03both men arrived
00:28:04at the church.
00:28:05One was the heir
00:28:05of the Harrington family,
00:28:07my fiancé and name,
00:28:08Cole.
00:28:08The other was my childhood friend
00:28:09from the staff building
00:28:10at Whitfield,
00:28:11Ryan.
00:28:11They stepped out
00:28:12of black bulletproof cars.
00:28:13Behind them stood a line
00:28:14of black suit bodyguards
00:28:15with gun holsters
00:28:16concealed beneath their jackets
00:28:17like a belated judgment.
00:28:19I had been struck
00:28:20to the floor.
00:28:21Covering my face,
00:28:22I instinctively
00:28:23looked toward Ryan.
00:28:25He stood coldly
00:28:26to the side
00:28:27with both hands
00:28:27in his pockets,
00:28:28a flicker of disgust
00:28:29crossing his eyes.
00:28:33Even my biological parents,
00:28:35Richard,
00:28:36head of the Whitfield family,
00:28:37and his wife,
00:28:38Diana,
00:28:39came over
00:28:39from the main table.
00:28:40The alliance ceremony
00:28:41can be rescheduled
00:28:42any time.
00:28:43But if something
00:28:44happens to Lucy,
00:28:45we cannot afford
00:28:46to lose a single second.
00:28:48At that moment,
00:28:49I finally understood.
00:28:51Within this family,
00:28:52I was their long-lost
00:28:53biological daughter
00:28:55restored to them
00:28:55by blood,
00:28:56yet also the perfect
00:28:57bargaining chip.
00:28:58The people here tonight
00:28:59were not ordinary
00:29:00relatives and friends,
00:29:01but representatives
00:29:02from families
00:29:02in New York,
00:29:03Chicago,
00:29:04and Boston.
00:29:05Some held wine glasses,
00:29:07some had their fingers
00:29:08pressed against the inside
00:29:09of their jackets,
00:29:10close enough to touch
00:29:10a gun at any moment.
00:29:11A sharp ting
00:29:13burned across my face,
00:29:14and a drop of blood
00:29:15fell onto my snow-white
00:29:16wedding dress.
00:29:17I touched my nose.
00:29:18It was warm.
00:29:20Cole,
00:29:21are you insane?
00:29:26If Lucy hadn't begged me
00:29:27through tears
00:29:28to come finish this ceremony,
00:29:29do you really think
00:29:30I would be here?
00:29:31After saying that,
00:29:32he pulled a glass
00:29:32from the bottom tier
00:29:33of the champagne tower.
00:29:34The bodyguards at the door
00:29:35tensed instantly.
00:29:36The banquet hall manager
00:29:37went deathly pale,
00:29:38but did not dare step forward.
00:29:40Cole grabbed a bottle
00:29:41of champagne,
00:29:41twisted off the cork,
00:29:43aimed it over my head,
00:29:44and let the cold,
00:29:45golden liquid pour down.
00:29:46Do you want to marry
00:29:47into the Harrington family?
00:29:52Here.
00:29:53This is our champagne ceremony.
00:29:55The liquor ran from my lashes,
00:29:56down the bridge of my nose,
00:29:57and off my chin,
00:29:58drop by drop.
00:29:58I could no longer tell
00:29:59whether what fell onto
00:30:00my wedding dress
00:30:01was wine or blood.
00:30:02Satisfied now,
00:30:03my legal wife.
00:30:07In the banquet hall,
00:30:08my bridesmaid Grace
00:30:09stood frozen in place.
00:30:10At an ordinary wedding,
00:30:12someone would call the police,
00:30:13but on Whitfield territory,
00:30:15no one dared call 911.
00:30:17People here believed
00:30:17more in silence,
00:30:18hush money,
00:30:19and bodies encased
00:30:20in port concrete.
00:30:21My childhood friend,
00:30:23Ryan Black,
00:30:23stood in the shadows
00:30:24as if watching a play
00:30:25whose ending
00:30:26had never been in doubt.
00:30:27There was a commotion
00:30:28at the back door
00:30:29of the banquet hall.
00:30:30My biological parents
00:30:31came through the crowd.
00:30:32I thought they would
00:30:33finally ask if it hurt,
00:30:35but Diana did not even
00:30:36spare me a glance.
00:30:37Her voice shook.
00:30:38Where is my Lucy?
00:30:40She's emotionally unstable.
00:30:42How could you leave her alone
00:30:43in this safe house?
00:30:44If anything happens to her,
00:30:46I won't be able
00:30:46to live either.
00:30:49Richard took the microphone.
00:30:51He was the godfather
00:30:52of the Whitfield family,
00:30:54always composed,
00:30:55always respectable.
00:30:56Even at a moment like this,
00:30:58he could announce to the room
00:31:00in an almost cruelly steady voice.
00:31:02My apologies, everyone.
00:31:05An emergency has come up
00:31:06within the family.
00:31:07Tonight's alliance ceremony
00:31:08is temporarily canceled.
00:31:10All gifts and cooperation deposits
00:31:12will be returned in full
00:31:13through the original channels.
00:31:15Richard Whitfield owes you all
00:31:16an explanation.
00:31:18After putting down the microphone,
00:31:20he looked at Cole.
00:31:21Lead the way.
00:31:22We're going to find Lucy.
00:31:24He did not look at me.
00:31:26I sat beside the collapsed cake,
00:31:28filthy and humiliated,
00:31:29like an old prop
00:31:30whose purpose
00:31:31had already been served.
00:31:39Dad, Mom.
00:31:41Lucy Whitfield stood in the doorway
00:31:43in an ivory dress.
00:31:44Her face streaked with tears,
00:31:46her steps unsteady.
00:31:47She had once been
00:31:48the little princess
00:31:49the Whitfield family
00:31:50had carefully raised
00:31:51for more than 20 years.
00:31:53Dad, Mom,
00:31:54please don't leave me.
00:31:56Even when she cried,
00:31:57she looked like
00:31:57a fragile work of art.
00:31:58Everyone's eyes
00:31:59were pulled towards her.
00:32:01Lucy, Lucy,
00:32:03don't be scared.
00:32:04Mom is right here.
00:32:06The man who could swallow
00:32:08three docks
00:32:08at a negotiation table
00:32:09without blinking
00:32:10opened his arms
00:32:11and held mother and daughter together.
00:32:14The scene was warm enough
00:32:15to look like
00:32:15a carefully staged movie.
00:32:17and I was the unnecessary person
00:32:19outside the frame.
00:32:21Cole seemed to finally breathe in relief.
00:32:23When he looked at Lucy,
00:32:24the tenderness in his eyes
00:32:26nearly overflowed.
00:32:27Ryan looked back at me
00:32:28and slowly shook his head.
00:32:29I ignored him.
00:32:32I held on to the overturned table corner
00:32:34and got to my feet,
00:32:36pain stabbing through my ankle.
00:32:38My wedding dress
00:32:39dragged across the floor,
00:32:40covered in cream,
00:32:41liquor,
00:32:42and shattered glass.
00:32:45Miss Reed,
00:32:46continue to call a doctor.
00:32:48He did not say call the police.
00:32:51Everyone here knew
00:32:51the Whitfield family's affairs
00:32:53could not be handed to the police.
00:32:56No.
00:32:58I limped toward the side door.
00:33:02I had barely taken two steps
00:33:04when someone yanked my wrist.
00:33:08Orton,
00:33:09you really disappointed me tonight.
00:33:11I thought you were tough.
00:33:13I thought you could take the hits,
00:33:14claw your way out of the muck.
00:33:16Never imagined you'd resort
00:33:17to cheap stunts
00:33:17just to drag everyone's eyes
00:33:18onto your stuff.
00:33:19Lucy has already given back
00:33:20everything she once had to you.
00:33:22She lost her parents,
00:33:23her identity,
00:33:23even her place's heir.
00:33:25Why still refuse to let her go?
00:33:27Orton,
00:33:27how did you become like this?
00:33:32Blood and champagne
00:33:33had dried on my dress,
00:33:34like a brand of humiliation
00:33:35burnt into my skin.
00:33:37Suddenly,
00:33:38I wanted to laugh.
00:33:39This wedding dress
00:33:40was the most expensive thing
00:33:41I had ever worn in my life.
00:33:43Before the wedding,
00:33:44I had touched it
00:33:45again and again
00:33:45with careful hands.
00:33:47It came from the land.
00:33:48More than a thousand
00:33:49hand-sewn crystals
00:33:50covered the train,
00:33:51each one like the future
00:33:52I had naively believed
00:33:53was coming.
00:33:55I had looked forward
00:33:56to this day
00:33:56more than anything,
00:33:58to marrying
00:33:59Cole Harrington beautifully,
00:34:02because I had secretly
00:34:04loved him for many years.
00:34:06Half a year ago,
00:34:08Lucy was diagnosed
00:34:09with severe
00:34:09apastic anemia.
00:34:11Richard and Diana
00:34:12immediately underwent
00:34:13HLA matching,
00:34:14but the results
00:34:15were a complete mismatch.
00:34:17An urgent DNA test
00:34:18exposed the secret.
00:34:2022 years ago,
00:34:21the Whitfield family
00:34:22housekeeper,
00:34:23Maggie Reed,
00:34:23switched Lucy and me.
00:34:25She sent her own
00:34:26biological doll
00:34:26into the godfather's house
00:34:28and took the true
00:34:28Whitfield bloodline
00:34:29back to a cramped
00:34:30staff apartment.
00:34:31After the truth came out,
00:34:32Maggie put a gun
00:34:33in her mouth
00:34:33in the underground wine cellar,
00:34:35leaving behind
00:34:36only a letter.
00:34:38I had read that letter.
00:34:40Across two full pages,
00:34:41she did not mention
00:34:42my name once.
00:34:44Lucy could not
00:34:44handle the shock
00:34:45and was diagnosed
00:34:46with severe depression.
00:34:48To preserve
00:34:49the port alliance
00:34:50between the Whitfield
00:34:51and Harrington families,
00:34:52Richard made a swift decision
00:34:53and transferred
00:34:54Lucy's original engagement
00:34:56to me.
00:34:57The reason sounded
00:34:58grand and proper.
00:34:59The old Harrington family
00:35:00pact required both sides
00:35:02to be bound by legal marriage
00:35:03and legitimate direct heirs.
00:35:05Otherwise,
00:35:06the merger of the
00:35:07East River docks,
00:35:09arms routes,
00:35:09and money-laughtering network
00:35:11would all be void.
00:35:13Lucy was too fragile
00:35:14to withstand
00:35:15that kind of pressure,
00:35:16and I was healthy,
00:35:17mentally tougher,
00:35:19and more suited
00:35:19to bear this family
00:35:21responsibility.
00:35:21I did not hesitate.
00:35:23I agreed.
00:35:25Because Cole Harrington
00:35:26was the boy
00:35:26I had loved in secret
00:35:27since childhood.
00:35:29When I was little,
00:35:30I followed my foster mother,
00:35:32Maggie,
00:35:32to work at Harrington Manor.
00:35:34Lucy sat in the sunroom
00:35:36eating pastries.
00:35:37I was so hungry
00:35:39I could only stare,
00:35:40but I didn't dare
00:35:41come closer.
00:35:42Cole was the one
00:35:43who walked over
00:35:44and beckoned me to him.
00:35:47Lucy wrinkled her brows
00:35:48and said I was dirty,
00:35:49that I didn't deserve
00:35:51to touch her silver fork.
00:35:53Cole placed a honey muffin
00:35:54in my palm.
00:35:55This country says
00:35:55everyone is equal
00:35:56on the surface,
00:35:57though we all know
00:35:58that's a lie.
00:35:58But at least at my table,
00:36:00you don't have to lower your head.
00:36:06From that day on,
00:36:07he became the light
00:36:08I hid in the deepest
00:36:09part of my heart.
00:36:11Every time I saw him,
00:36:12he would smile
00:36:12faintly again,
00:36:14like a lamp
00:36:14suddenly lit
00:36:15in a dark warehouse.
00:36:16I was poor and timid,
00:36:17so I only dared
00:36:18watch him from afar.
00:36:20From age 12 to 22.
00:36:24On the day
00:36:25of the engagement banquet,
00:36:26he sat at the end
00:36:27of the long table
00:36:28while the elders
00:36:29raised glasses
00:36:30and discussed
00:36:30docks, containers,
00:36:32roots, and loyalty.
00:36:33He stayed silent
00:36:34for a long time
00:36:35and then asked
00:36:36only one question.
00:36:37Is Lucy doing
00:36:38any better?
00:36:38At the mention of Lucy,
00:36:41everyone's expression
00:36:42softened.
00:36:43I shrank into a corner
00:36:45and said nothing.
00:36:47Cole gave me
00:36:48a cold glance.
00:36:50She's not suited
00:36:51for occasions like this.
00:36:53I heard it
00:36:54and I remembered it.
00:36:56From that day on,
00:36:57I threw myself
00:36:58into upper-class etiquette,
00:37:00learned to take apart
00:37:01and assemble guns,
00:37:04studied family accounts,
00:37:06and learned how not
00:37:08to show fear
00:37:08in front of wolves
00:37:09dressed in evening wear.
00:37:11I wanted to be
00:37:12a good wife to him.
00:37:13I didn't want
00:37:14to disappoint him.
00:37:15But how did it end?
00:37:18It took me far too long
00:37:19to understand.
00:37:21This engagement
00:37:22had never been love
00:37:22from the start.
00:37:23It was a blood-stained agreement.
00:37:26The Harrington family
00:37:27needed the Whitfield docks
00:37:29and the Whitfield family
00:37:30needed the Harrington arms lines
00:37:32and they needed a woman
00:37:33to sit on the altar
00:37:34and complete the final piece.
00:37:36Lucy was too precious
00:37:38to sacrifice
00:37:41and I had conveniently returned.
00:37:44Suddenly,
00:37:45there was a perfect solution
00:37:46for both sides.
00:37:47Too bad I was
00:37:49the extra bargaining chip
00:37:50outside that perfect solution.
00:37:52Even Ryan Black
00:37:53quickly took Lucy's side,
00:37:55even though,
00:37:55like me,
00:37:56he had grown up
00:37:58in the staff building
00:37:58at Whitfield Manor.
00:38:00Both of our mothers
00:38:01were employees
00:38:02of this family.
00:38:03Both of us
00:38:03had been bullied by Lucy
00:38:05and both of us
00:38:05had sworn vows
00:38:06in the drafty winter
00:38:07staff quarters.
00:38:08When we were little,
00:38:09Ryan held my hand.
00:38:11One day,
00:38:12I'll climb above them.
00:38:14By then,
00:38:15Lucy Whitfield
00:38:16will never dare
00:38:17bully you again.
00:38:23Why did it become like this?
00:38:25I stumbled out of the church.
00:38:37Lucy Whitfield stood in the doorway
00:38:38in an ivory dress.
00:38:40Her face streaked with tears,
00:38:41her steps unsteady.
00:38:43She had once been
00:38:43the little princess
00:38:44the Whitfield family
00:38:45had carefully raised
00:38:46for more than 20 years.
00:38:48Dad,
00:38:49Mom,
00:38:50please don't leave me.
00:38:51Even when she cried,
00:38:52she looked like
00:38:52a fragile work of art.
00:38:54Everyone's eyes
00:38:54were pulled towards her.
00:38:56Lucy!
00:38:57Lucy,
00:38:58don't be scared.
00:38:59Mom is right here.
00:39:01The man who could swallow
00:39:03three docks
00:39:04at a negotiation table
00:39:05without blinking
00:39:05opened his arms
00:39:06and held mother
00:39:07and daughter together.
00:39:09The scene was warm enough
00:39:10to look like
00:39:11a carefully staged movie,
00:39:13and I was the unnecessary person
00:39:14outside the frame.
00:39:16Cole seemed to finally
00:39:17breathe in relief.
00:39:18When he looked at Lucy,
00:39:20the tenderness in his eyes
00:39:21nearly overflowed.
00:39:22Brian looked back at me
00:39:23and slowly shook his head.
00:39:25I ignored him.
00:39:27I held on to the overturned
00:39:29table corner
00:39:30and got to my feet,
00:39:31pain stabbing
00:39:32through my ankle.
00:39:33My wedding dress
00:39:34dragged across the floor,
00:39:35covered in cream,
00:39:37liquor,
00:39:37and shattered glass.
00:39:40Miss Reed,
00:39:41would you need me
00:39:42to call a doctor?
00:39:43He did not say
00:39:44call the police.
00:39:46Everyone here knew
00:39:47the Whitfield family's affairs
00:39:48could not be handed
00:39:49to the police.
00:39:51No.
00:39:54I limped toward
00:39:55the side door.
00:39:57I had barely
00:39:58taken two steps
00:39:59when someone
00:39:59yanked my wrist.
00:40:03At my wedding,
00:40:05my fiancée, Cole,
00:40:06slapped me hard
00:40:06in front of half
00:40:07of New York's underworld.
00:40:12Lucy almost put a gun
00:40:13in her mouth
00:40:13and killed herself.
00:40:14And all you care about
00:40:15is your wedding?
00:40:17Or did you even possess
00:40:18a threat of decency?
00:40:20The blow sent me stumbling
00:40:21and I crashed
00:40:22into the five-tier
00:40:23wedding cake.
00:40:24Cream,
00:40:24strawberry coulis,
00:40:25and champagne
00:40:26mixed together,
00:40:27clinging to my expensive
00:40:28white wedding dress
00:40:29like dignity
00:40:30crushed under someone's heel.
00:40:31On our wedding day,
00:40:32my fiancée missed
00:40:33the merger ceremony
00:40:34between two major families
00:40:35because of a cry for help
00:40:36from my stepsister, Lucy.
00:40:38While everyone was frozen
00:40:39in a standoff,
00:40:40I called Ryan Black,
00:40:41the boy I had grown up with,
00:40:42and told him,
00:40:43if you come,
00:40:44I'll marry you.
00:40:47Orton,
00:40:47you really think
00:40:48too highly of yourself.
00:40:50Ryan,
00:40:50are you gonna leave me too?
00:40:53Half an hour later,
00:40:54both men arrived
00:40:55at the church.
00:40:55One was the heir
00:40:56of the Harrington family,
00:40:57my fiancée in name,
00:40:58Cole.
00:40:59The other was
00:40:59my childhood friend
00:41:00from the staff building
00:41:01at Whitfield Manor, Ryan.
00:41:02They stepped out
00:41:03of black bulletproof cars.
00:41:04Behind them stood
00:41:05a line of black suit bodyguards
00:41:06with gun holsters
00:41:07concealed beneath their jackets
00:41:08like a belated judgment.
00:41:10I had been struck
00:41:11to the floor.
00:41:12Covering my face,
00:41:13I instinctively
00:41:14looked toward Ryan.
00:41:16He stood coldly
00:41:17to the side
00:41:17with both hands
00:41:18in his pockets,
00:41:19a flicker of disgust
00:41:20crossing his eyes.
00:41:24Even my biological parents,
00:41:26Richard,
00:41:27head of the Whitfield family,
00:41:28and his wife, Diana,
00:41:29came over
00:41:30from the main table.
00:41:31The alliance ceremony
00:41:32can be rescheduled
00:41:33any time,
00:41:34but if something happens
00:41:35to Lucy,
00:41:36we cannot afford
00:41:37to lose a single second.
00:41:39At that moment,
00:41:40I finally understood.
00:41:42Within this family,
00:41:43I was their long-lost
00:41:44biological daughter
00:41:45restored to them
00:41:46by blood,
00:41:47yet also the perfect
00:41:48bargaining chip.
00:41:49The people here tonight
00:41:50were not ordinary
00:41:51relatives and friends,
00:41:52but representatives
00:41:52from families in New York,
00:41:54Chicago,
00:41:54and Boston.
00:41:56Some held wine glasses,
00:41:57some had their fingers
00:41:58pressed against the inside
00:41:59of their jackets,
00:42:00close enough to touch
00:42:01a gun at any moment.
00:42:02A sharp ting
00:42:03burned across my face,
00:42:05and a drop of blood
00:42:06fell onto my snow-white
00:42:07wedding dress.
00:42:08I touched my nose.
00:42:09It was warm.
00:42:11Cole,
00:42:12are you insane?
00:42:16If Lucy hadn't begged me
00:42:18through tears
00:42:18to come finish this ceremony,
00:42:20do you really think
00:42:21I would be here?
00:42:22After saying that,
00:42:22he pulled a glass
00:42:23from the bottom tier
00:42:24of the champagne tower.
00:42:25The bodyguards at the door
00:42:26tensed instantly.
00:42:27The banquet hall manager
00:42:28went deathly pale,
00:42:29but did not dare step forward.
00:42:30Cole grabbed a bottle
00:42:31of champagne,
00:42:32twisted off the cork,
00:42:33aimed it over my head,
00:42:34and let the cold,
00:42:35golden liquid pour down.
00:42:37Didn't you want to marry
00:42:38into the Harrington family?
00:42:43Here.
00:42:44This is our champagne ceremony.
00:42:46The liquor ran from my lashes,
00:42:47down the bridge of my nose,
00:42:48and off my chin,
00:42:49drop by drop.
00:42:49I could no longer tell
00:42:50whether what fell onto my wedding dress
00:42:52was wine or blood.
00:42:53Satisfied now,
00:42:53by my legal wife.
00:42:57In the banquet hall,
00:42:59my bridesmaid Grace
00:43:00stood frozen in place.
00:43:01At an ordinary wedding,
00:43:03someone would call the police,
00:43:04but on Whitfield territory,
00:43:06no one dared call 911.
00:43:07People here believed more in silence,
00:43:09hush money,
00:43:10and bodies engaged
00:43:11in port concrete.
00:43:12My childhood friend,
00:43:13Ryan Black,
00:43:14stood in the shadows
00:43:15as if watching a play
00:43:16whose ending had never been in doubt.
00:43:17There was a commotion
00:43:19at the back door
00:43:19of the banquet hall.
00:43:21My biological parents
00:43:22came through the crowd.
00:43:23I thought they would finally
00:43:24ask if it hurt.
00:43:25But Diana did not even
00:43:27spare me a glance.
00:43:28Her voice shook.
00:43:29Where is my Lucy?
00:43:31She's emotionally unstable.
00:43:33How could you leave her alone
00:43:34in the same house?
00:43:35If anything happens to her,
00:43:37I won't be able to live either.
00:43:40Richard took the microphone.
00:43:42He was the godfather
00:43:43of the Whitfield family,
00:43:44always composed,
00:43:46always respectable.
00:43:47Even at a moment like this,
00:43:49he could announce to the room
00:43:50in an almost cruelly steady voice,
00:43:53My apologies, everyone.
00:43:55An emergency has come up
00:43:57within the family.
00:43:58Tonight's alliance ceremony
00:43:59is temporarily canceled.
00:44:01All gifts and cooperation deposits
00:44:03will be returned in full
00:44:04through the original channels.
00:44:05Richard Whitfield owes you all
00:44:07an explanation.
00:44:09After putting down the microphone,
00:44:11he looked at Cole.
00:44:12Lead the way.
00:44:13We're going to find Lucy.
00:44:15He did not look at me.
00:44:16I sat beside the collapsed cake,
00:44:19filthy and humiliated,
00:44:20like an old prom
00:44:21whose purpose had already been served.
00:44:30Dad, Mom.
00:44:32Lucy Whitfield stood in the doorway
00:44:34in an ivory dress.
00:44:35Her face streaked with tears,
00:44:36her steps unsteady.
00:44:38She had once been the little princess
00:44:40the Whitfield family
00:44:41had carefully raised
00:44:42for more than 20 years.
00:44:43Dad, Mom, please don't leave me.
00:44:46Even when she cried,
00:44:47she looked like a fragile work of art.
00:44:49Everyone's eyes were pulled towards her.
00:44:52Lucy.
00:44:53Lucy, don't be scared.
00:44:55Mom is right here.
00:44:57The man who could swallow three docks
00:44:59at a negotiation table without blinking
00:45:01opened his arms
00:45:02and held mother and daughter together.
00:45:04The scene was warm enough
00:45:06to look like a carefully staged movie,
00:45:08and I was the unnecessary person
00:45:10outside the frame.
00:45:12Cole seemed to finally breathe in relief.
00:45:14When he looked at Lucy,
00:45:15the tenderness in his eyes nearly overflowed.
00:45:18Ryan looked back at me
00:45:19as slow as she was held.
00:45:21I ignored him.
00:45:23I held onto the overturned table corner
00:45:25and got to my feet,
00:45:26pain stabbing through my ankle.
00:45:28My wedding dress dragged across the floor,
00:45:31covered in cream, liquor,
00:45:33and shattered glass.
00:45:35Miss Reed,
00:45:37do you need me to call the doctor?
00:45:39He did not say call the police.
00:45:41Everyone here knew
00:45:42the Whitfield family's affairs
00:45:43could not be handed to the police.
00:45:47No.
00:45:49I limped toward the side door.
00:45:52I had barely taken two steps
00:45:54when someone yanked my wrist.
00:45:59Orton,
00:46:00you really disappointed me tonight.
00:46:02I thought you were tough.
00:46:03I thought you could take the hits,
00:46:05claw your way out of the muck.
00:46:06Never imagined you'd resort
00:46:07to cheap stunts
00:46:08just to drag everyone's eyes
00:46:09onto your stone.
00:46:10Lucy has already given back
00:46:11everything she once had to you.
00:46:12She lost her parents,
00:46:14her identity,
00:46:14even her place's heir.
00:46:15Why still refuse to let her go?
00:46:18Orton,
00:46:18how did you become like this?
00:46:23Blood and champagne
00:46:24had dried on my dress
00:46:25like a brand of humiliation
00:46:26burnt into my skin.
00:46:28Suddenly,
00:46:28I wanted to laugh.
00:46:30This wedding dress
00:46:31was the most expensive thing
00:46:32I had ever worn in my life.
00:46:34Before the wedding,
00:46:35I had touched it
00:46:35again and again
00:46:36with careful hands.
00:46:37It came from the land.
00:46:39More than a thousand
00:46:40hand-sewn crystals
00:46:41covered the train,
00:46:42each one like the future
00:46:43I had naively believed
00:46:44was coming.
00:46:45I had looked forward
00:46:46to this day
00:46:47more than anything,
00:46:48to marrying Cole Harrington
00:46:50beautifully
00:46:53because I had secretly
00:46:54loved him
00:46:55for many years.
00:46:57Half a year ago,
00:46:59Lucy was diagnosed
00:46:59with severe
00:47:00and plastic anemia.
00:47:02Richard and Diana
00:47:02immediately underwent
00:47:04HLA matching,
00:47:05but the results
00:47:06were a complete mismatch.
00:47:08An urgent DNA test
00:47:09exposed the secret.
00:47:11Twenty-two years ago,
00:47:12the Whitfield family
00:47:13housekeeper,
00:47:13Maggie Reed,
00:47:14switched Lucy and me.
00:47:15She sent her own
00:47:16biological doll
00:47:17into the Godfather's house
00:47:18and took the true
00:47:19Whitfield bloodline
00:47:20back to a cramped
00:47:21staff apartment.
00:47:22After the truth came out,
00:47:23Maggie put a gun
00:47:24in her mouth
00:47:24in the underground wine cellar,
00:47:26leaving behind
00:47:27only a letter.
00:47:29I had read that letter.
00:47:31Across two full pages,
00:47:32she did not mention
00:47:33my name once.
00:47:34Lucy could not handle
00:47:35the shock
00:47:36and was diagnosed
00:47:37with severe depression.
00:47:39To preserve
00:47:39the port alliance
00:47:40between the Whitfield
00:47:41and Harrington families,
00:47:43Richard made a swift decision
00:47:44and transferred
00:47:45Lucy's original
00:47:46engagement to me.
00:47:47The reason sounded
00:47:48grand and proper.
00:47:49The old Harrington family pact
00:47:51required both sides
00:47:53to be bound
00:47:53by legal marriage
00:47:54and legitimate direct heirs.
00:47:56Otherwise,
00:47:57the merger
00:47:58of the East River docks,
00:47:59arms routes,
00:48:00and money-laughtering network
00:48:02would all be void.
00:48:03Lucy was too fragile
00:48:05to withstand
00:48:05that kind of pressure,
00:48:06and I was healthy,
00:48:08mentally tougher,
00:48:09and more suited
00:48:10to bear this family
00:48:11responsibility.
00:48:12I did not hesitate.
00:48:13I agreed,
00:48:15because Cole Harrington
00:48:17was the boy
00:48:17I have loved
00:48:18in secret since childhood.
00:48:20When I was little,
00:48:21I followed my foster mother,
00:48:23Maggie,
00:48:23to work at Harrington Manor.
00:48:25Lucy sat in the sunroom
00:48:27eating pastries.
00:48:28I was so hungry
00:48:29I could only stare,
00:48:31but I didn't dare
00:48:31come closer.
00:48:33Cole was the one
00:48:34who walked over
00:48:35and beckoned me to him.
00:48:37But Lucy wrinkled
00:48:38her brows
00:48:39and said I was dirty,
00:48:40that I didn't deserve
00:48:41to touch her silver fork.
00:48:43Cole placed a honey muffin
00:48:45in my palm.
00:48:45This country says
00:48:46everyone is equal
00:48:47on the surface,
00:48:48though we all know
00:48:48that's a lie.
00:48:49But at least at my table,
00:48:50we don't have to
00:48:51know what happened.
00:48:57From that day on,
00:48:58he became the light
00:48:59I hid in the deepest
00:49:00part of my heart.
00:49:01Every time I saw him,
00:49:03he would smile
00:49:03fainting at me,
00:49:04like a lamp suddenly
00:49:05lit in a dark warehouse.
00:49:07I was poor and timid,
00:49:08so I only dared
00:49:09watch him from afar,
00:49:11from age 12 to 22.
00:49:15On the day of the
00:49:16engagement banquet,
00:49:17he sat at the end
00:49:18of the long table
00:49:19while the elders
00:49:19raised glasses
00:49:20and discussed
00:49:21dots, containers,
00:49:22roots, and loyalty.
00:49:24He stayed silent
00:49:25for a long time
00:49:26and then asked
00:49:26only one question.
00:49:28Is Lucy doing
00:49:28any better?
00:49:29At the mention of Lucy,
00:49:31everyone's expression
00:49:32softened.
00:49:34I shrank into a corner
00:49:36and said nothing.
00:49:38Cole gave me
00:49:39a cold glance.
00:49:41She's not suited
00:49:42for occasions like this.
00:49:43I heard it
00:49:44and I remembered it.
00:49:46From that day on,
00:49:48I threw myself
00:49:49into upper-class etiquette,
00:49:51learned to take apart
00:49:52and assemble guns,
00:49:54studied family accounts,
00:49:57and learned how not
00:49:58to show fear
00:49:59in front of wolves
00:50:00dressed in evening wear.
00:50:02I wanted to be
00:50:03a good wife to him.
00:50:04I didn't want
00:50:05to disappoint him.
00:50:06But how did it end?
00:50:08It took me far too long
00:50:10to understand.
00:50:11This engagement
00:50:12had never been love
00:50:13from the start.
00:50:14It was a blood-stained
00:50:15agreement.
00:50:17The Harrington family
00:50:18needed the Whitfield docks
00:50:20and the Whitfield family
00:50:21needed the Harrington arms lines
00:50:22and they needed a woman
00:50:24to sit on the altar
00:50:25and complete the final piece.
00:50:27Lucy was too precious
00:50:28to sacrifice.
00:50:31And I had conveniently returned.
00:50:34Suddenly,
00:50:35there was a perfect solution
00:50:37for both sides.
00:50:38Too bad I was the extra
00:50:40bargaining chip
00:50:41outside that perfect solution.
00:50:42Even Ryan Black
00:50:44quickly took Lucy's side.
00:50:45Even though,
00:50:46like me,
00:50:47he had grown up
00:50:48in the staff building
00:50:49at Whitfield Manor.
00:50:51Both of our mothers
00:50:52were employees
00:50:53of this family.
00:50:54Both of us
00:50:54had been bullied by Lucy
00:50:55and both of us
00:50:56had sworn vows
00:50:57in the drafty winter staff quarters.
00:50:59When we were little,
00:51:00Ryan held my hand.
00:51:02One day,
00:51:03I'll climb above them.
00:51:05By then,
00:51:06Lucy Whitfield
00:51:07will never dare
00:51:07bully you again.
00:51:14Why did it become like this?
00:51:16I stumbled out of the church.
00:51:27Lucy Whitfield
00:51:28stood in the doorway
00:51:29in an ivory dress.
00:51:30Her face streaked with tears,
00:51:32her steps unsteady.
00:51:33She had once been
00:51:34the little princess
00:51:35the Whitfield family
00:51:36had carefully raised
00:51:37for more than 20 years.
00:51:38Dad?
00:51:39Mom,
00:51:40please don't leave me.
00:51:42Even when she cried,
00:51:43she looked like
00:51:43a fragile work of art.
00:51:44Everyone's eyes
00:51:45were pulled towards her.
00:51:47Lucy!
00:51:48Lucy,
00:51:49don't be scared.
00:51:50Mom is right here.
00:51:52The man who could
00:51:53swallow three docks
00:51:54at a negotiation table
00:51:56without blinking
00:51:56opened his arms
00:51:57and held mother
00:51:58and daughter together.
00:52:00The scene was warm enough
00:52:01to look like
00:52:02a carefully staged movie,
00:52:03and I was the unnecessary
00:52:05person outside the frame.
00:52:07Cole seemed to finally
00:52:08breathe in relief.
00:52:09When he looked at Lucy,
00:52:10the tenderness in his eyes
00:52:12nearly overflowed.
00:52:13Ryan looked back at me
00:52:14and slowly shook his head.
00:52:16I ignored him.
00:52:18I held on to the
00:52:19overturned table corner
00:52:20and got to my feet,
00:52:21pain stabbing
00:52:23through my ankle.
00:52:24My wedding dress
00:52:25dragged across the floor,
00:52:26covered in cream,
00:52:28liquor,
00:52:28and shattered glass.
00:52:30Hey, Miss Reed,
00:52:32do you need me
00:52:33to call a doctor?
00:52:34He did not say
00:52:35call the police.
00:52:36Everyone here knew
00:52:37the Whitfield family's affairs
00:52:39could not be handed
00:52:40to the police.
00:52:42No.
00:52:44I limped toward
00:52:45the side door.
00:52:48I had barely taken
00:52:49two steps
00:52:50when someone
00:52:50yanked my wrist.
00:52:54At my wedding,
00:52:55my fiancé, Cole,
00:52:56slapped me hard
00:52:57in front of half
00:52:58of New York's underworld.
00:53:02Lucy almost put a gun
00:53:04in her mouth
00:53:04and killed herself.
00:53:05But all you care about
00:53:06is your wedding?
00:53:08Orton,
00:53:08do you even possess
00:53:09a shred of decency?
00:53:10The blow sent me stumbling
00:53:12and I crashed
00:53:13into the five-tier wedding cake.
00:53:14Cream,
00:53:15strawberry cream,
00:53:16and champagne
00:53:17mixed together,
00:53:18clinging to my expensive
00:53:19white wedding dress
00:53:20like dignity
00:53:20crushed under someone's heel.
00:53:22On our wedding day,
00:53:23my fiancé missed
00:53:24the merger ceremony
00:53:25between two major families
00:53:26because of a cry for help
00:53:27from my stepsister, Lucy.
00:53:29While everyone was frozen
00:53:30in a standoff,
00:53:31I called Ryan Black,
00:53:32the boy I had grown up with,
00:53:33and told him,
00:53:34if you come,
00:53:35I'll marry you.
00:53:37Orton,
00:53:38you really think
00:53:39too highly of yourself.
00:53:40Ryan,
00:53:41are you gonna leave me too?
00:53:43Half an hour later,
00:53:45both men arrived
00:53:45at the church.
00:53:46One was the heir
00:53:47of the Harrington family,
00:53:48my fiancé and knave,
00:53:49Cole.
00:53:50The other was
00:53:50my childhood friend
00:53:51from the staff building
00:53:52at Whitfield Manor, Ryan.
00:53:53They stepped out
00:53:53of black bulletproof cars.
00:53:55Behind them stood
00:53:55a line of black suit bodyguards
00:53:57with gun holsters
00:53:58concealed beneath their jackets
00:53:59like a belated judgment.
00:54:01I had been struck
00:54:02to the floor.
00:54:03Covering my face,
00:54:04I instinctively
00:54:05looked toward Ryan.
00:54:06He stood coldly
00:54:07to the side
00:54:08with both hands
00:54:09in his pockets,
00:54:10a flicker of disgust
00:54:11crossing his eyes.
00:54:15Even my biological parents,
00:54:17Richard,
00:54:17head of the Whitfield family,
00:54:19and his wife, Diana,
00:54:20came over
00:54:20from the main table.
00:54:22The alliance ceremony
00:54:23can be rescheduled
00:54:24any time,
00:54:24but if something
00:54:25happens to Lucy,
00:54:26we cannot afford
00:54:27to lose a single second.
00:54:29At that moment,
00:54:31I finally understood.
00:54:33Within this family,
00:54:34I was their long-lost
00:54:35biological daughter
00:54:36restored to them
00:54:37by blood,
00:54:37yet also the perfect
00:54:38bargaining chip.
00:54:40The people here tonight
00:54:41were not ordinary relatives
00:54:42and friends,
00:54:42but representatives
00:54:43from families
00:54:44in New York,
00:54:45Chicago,
00:54:45and Boston.
00:54:46Some held wine glasses.
00:54:48Some had their fingers
00:54:49pressed against
00:54:50the inside of their jackets,
00:54:51close enough to touch
00:54:52a gun at any moment.
00:54:53A sharp ting
00:54:54burned across my face,
00:54:55and a drop of blood
00:54:57fell onto my
00:54:57snow-white wedding dress.
00:54:59I touched my nose.
00:55:00It was warm.
00:55:02Cole,
00:55:02are you insane?
00:55:07If Lucy hadn't begged me
00:55:09through tears
00:55:09to come finish this ceremony,
00:55:11do you really think
00:55:12I would be here?
00:55:12After saying that,
00:55:13he pulled a glass
00:55:14from the bottom tier
00:55:15of the champagne tower.
00:55:16The bodyguards at the door
00:55:17tended instantly.
00:55:18The banquet hall manager
00:55:19went deathly pale,
00:55:20but did not dare step forward.
00:55:21Cole grabbed a bottle
00:55:22of champagne,
00:55:23twisted off the cork,
00:55:24aimed it over my head,
00:55:25and let the cold,
00:55:26golden liquid pour down.
00:55:28Didn't you want to marry
00:55:29into the Harrington family?
00:55:34Here.
00:55:35This is our champagne ceremony.
00:55:36The liquor ran from my lashes,
00:55:38down the bridge of my nose,
00:55:39and off my chin,
00:55:39drop by drop.
00:55:40I could no longer tell
00:55:41whether what fell
00:55:42onto my wedding dress
00:55:42was wine or blood.
00:55:43Satisfied now,
00:55:44my legal wife.
00:55:48In the banquet hall,
00:55:49my bridesmaid Grace
00:55:50stood frozen in place.
00:55:52At an ordinary wedding,
00:55:53someone would call the police,
00:55:55but on Whitfield territory,
00:55:56no one dared to call 911.
00:55:58People here believed
00:55:59more in silence,
00:56:00hush money,
00:56:01and bodies
00:56:01in caves to Fort Concord.
00:56:03My childhood friend,
00:56:04Ryan Black,
00:56:05stood in the shadows
00:56:06as if watching a play
00:56:07whose ending
00:56:07had never been in doubt.
00:56:08There was a commotion
00:56:10at the back door
00:56:10of the banquet hall.
00:56:11My biological parents
00:56:13came through the crowd.
00:56:14I thought they would
00:56:15finally ask if it hurt,
00:56:16but Diana did not even
00:56:17spare me a glance.
00:56:19Her voice shook.
00:56:20Where is my Lucy?
00:56:22She's emotionally unstable.
00:56:23How could you leave her alone
00:56:24and say yes?
00:56:26If anything happens to her,
00:56:27I won't be able
00:56:28to live either.
00:56:30Richard took the microphone.
00:56:32He was the godfather
00:56:34of the Whitfield family,
00:56:35always composed,
00:56:36always respectable.
00:56:37Even at a moment like this,
00:56:40he could announce to the room
00:56:41in an almost cruelly
00:56:42steady voice.
00:56:44My apologies, everyone.
00:56:46An emergency has come up
00:56:47within the family.
00:56:49Tonight's alliance ceremony
00:56:50is temporarily canceled.
00:56:52All gifts and cooperation
00:56:53deposits will be returned
00:56:55in full through
00:56:55the original channels.
00:56:56Richard Whitfield
00:56:57owes you all an explanation.
00:56:59After putting down
00:57:00the microphone,
00:57:01he looked at Cole.
00:57:03Lead the way.
00:57:03We're going to find Lucy.
00:57:05He did not look at me.
00:57:07I sat beside the collapsed cake,
00:57:09filthy and humiliated,
00:57:11like an old prop
00:57:12whose purpose
00:57:12had already been served.
00:57:20Dad, Mom.
00:57:23Lucy Whitfield stood in the doorway
00:57:24in an ivory dress.
00:57:26Her face streaked with tears,
00:57:27her steps unsteady.
00:57:29She had once been
00:57:30the little princess
00:57:30the Whitfield family
00:57:31had carefully raised
00:57:32for more than 20 years.
00:57:34Dad, Mom,
00:57:36please don't leave me.
00:57:37Even when she cried,
00:57:38she looked like
00:57:39a fragile work of art.
00:57:40Everyone's eyes
00:57:40were pulled towards her.
00:57:42Lucy, Lucy,
00:57:44don't be scared.
00:57:45Mom is right here.
00:57:48The man who could swallow
00:57:49three docks
00:57:50at a negotiation table
00:57:51without blinking
00:57:52opened his arms
00:57:53and held mother
00:57:53and daughter together.
00:57:55The scene was warm enough
00:57:56to look like
00:57:57a carefully staged movie.
00:57:59And I was the unnecessary person
00:58:01outside the fright.
00:58:02Cole seemed to finally
00:58:03breathe in relief.
00:58:04When he looked at Lucy,
00:58:06the tenderness in his eyes
00:58:07nearly overflowed.
00:58:08Ryan looked back at me
00:58:09as selfish as he had.
00:58:11I ignored him.
00:58:13I held onto the overturned
00:58:15table corner
00:58:16and got to my feet,
00:58:17pain stabbing
00:58:18through my ankle.
00:58:19My wedding dress
00:58:20dragged across the floor,
00:58:22covered in cream,
00:58:23liquor,
00:58:24and shattered glass.
00:58:26Miss Reed,
00:58:28don't need me to call a doctor.
00:58:29He did not say
00:58:30call the police.
00:58:32Everyone here knew
00:58:33the Whitfield family's affairs
00:58:34could not be handed
00:58:35to the police.
00:58:37No.
00:58:40I limped toward
00:58:41the side door.
00:58:43I had barely taken
00:58:45two steps
00:58:45when someone
00:58:46yanked my wrist.
00:58:50Orton,
00:58:50you really disappointed
00:58:52me tonight.
00:58:53I thought you were tough.
00:58:54I thought you could
00:58:55take the hits,
00:58:56claw your way
00:58:56out of the muck.
00:58:57Never imagined you'd
00:58:58resort to cheap stunts
00:58:59just to drag
00:58:59everyone's eyes
00:59:00onto yourself.
00:59:01Lucy has already
00:59:01given back
00:59:02everything she once
00:59:03had to you.
00:59:03She lost her parents,
00:59:05her identity,
00:59:05even her place's heir.
00:59:06Why still refuse
00:59:07to let her go?
00:59:08Orton,
00:59:09how did you become
00:59:09like this?
00:59:13Blood and champagne
00:59:14had dried on my dress
00:59:15like a brand of humiliation
00:59:17burnt into my skin.
00:59:19Suddenly,
00:59:19I wanted to laugh.
00:59:21This wedding dress
00:59:21was the most expensive
00:59:22thing I had ever
00:59:23worn in my life.
00:59:25Before the wedding,
00:59:25I had touched it
00:59:26again and again
00:59:27with careful hands.
00:59:28It came from Milan.
00:59:30More than a thousand
00:59:30hand-sewn crystals
00:59:31covered the train,
00:59:32each one like a future
00:59:34I had naively believed
00:59:35was coming.
00:59:36I had looked forward
00:59:37to this day
00:59:38more than anything,
00:59:39to marrying
00:59:40Cole Harrington
00:59:41beautifully,
00:59:44because I had secretly
00:59:45loved him
00:59:46for many years.
00:59:48Half a year ago,
00:59:49Lucy was diagnosed
00:59:50with severe
00:59:51apoclastic anemia.
00:59:52Richard and Diana
00:59:53immediately underwent
00:59:55HLA matching,
00:59:56but the results
00:59:56were a complete mismatch.
00:59:58An urgent DNA test
01:00:00exposed the secret.
01:00:0122 years ago,
01:00:03the Whitfield family
01:00:03housekeeper,
01:00:04Maggie Reed,
01:00:05switched Lucy and me.
01:00:06She sent her own
01:00:07biological doll
01:00:08into the godfather's house
01:00:09and took the true
01:00:10Whitfield bloodline
01:00:11back to a cramped
01:00:11staff apartment.
01:00:12After the truth came out,
01:00:14Maggie put a gun
01:00:14in her mouth
01:00:15in the underground wine cellar,
01:00:16leaving behind
01:00:17only a letter.
01:00:19I had read that letter.
01:00:21Across two full pages,
01:00:23she did not mention
01:00:24my name once.
01:00:25Lucy could not
01:00:26handle the shock
01:00:27and was diagnosed
01:00:27with severe depression.
01:00:29To preserve
01:00:30the port alliance
01:00:31between the Whitfield
01:00:32and Harrington families,
01:00:34Richard made a swift decision
01:00:35and transferred
01:00:36Lucy's original engagement
01:00:37to me.
01:00:38The reason sounded
01:00:39grand and proper.
01:00:40The old Harrington family
01:00:42pact required both sides
01:00:43to be bound by legal marriage
01:00:45and legitimate direct heirs.
01:00:47Otherwise,
01:00:48the merger
01:00:48of the East River docks,
01:00:50arms routes,
01:00:51and money lottery network
01:00:52would all be void.
01:00:54Lucy was too fragile
01:00:55to withstand
01:00:56that kind of pressure
01:00:57and I was healthy,
01:00:59mentally tougher
01:00:59and more suited
01:01:01to bear this family responsibility.
01:01:03I did not hesitate.
01:01:04I agreed
01:01:05because Cole Harrington
01:01:07was the boy
01:01:08I had loved in secret
01:01:09since childhood.
01:01:11When I was little,
01:01:12I followed my foster mother,
01:01:13Maggie,
01:01:14to work at Harrington Manor.
01:01:16Lucy sat in the sunroom
01:01:17eating pastries.
01:01:19I was so hungry
01:01:20I could only stare,
01:01:21but I didn't dare
01:01:22come closer.
01:01:24Cole was the one
01:01:25who walked over
01:01:26and beckoned me to him.
01:01:28When Lucy wrinkled her brows
01:01:30and said I was dirty,
01:01:31that I didn't deserve
01:01:32to touch her silver fork,
01:01:34but Cole placed
01:01:35a honey muffin
01:01:35in my palm.
01:01:36This country says
01:01:37everyone is equal
01:01:38on the surface,
01:01:38though we all know
01:01:39that's a lie.
01:01:40But at least at my table,
01:01:41you don't have to
01:01:41lower your tongue.
01:01:47From that day on,
01:01:49he became the light
01:01:50I hid in the deepest
01:01:51part of my heart.
01:01:52Every time I saw him,
01:01:53he would smile faintly at me,
01:01:55like a lamp suddenly lit
01:01:56in a dark warehouse.
01:01:57I was poor and timid,
01:01:59so I only dared
01:02:00watch him from afar,
01:02:01from age 12 to 22.
01:02:06On the day
01:02:06of the engagement banquet,
01:02:08he sat at the end
01:02:09of the long table
01:02:09while the elders
01:02:10raised glasses
01:02:11and discussed docks,
01:02:12containers,
01:02:13roots,
01:02:14and loyalty.
01:02:15He stayed silent
01:02:15for a long time
01:02:16and then asked
01:02:17only one question.
01:02:18Is Lucy doing any better?
01:02:20At the mention of Lucy,
01:02:22everyone's expression
01:02:23softened.
01:02:25I shrank into a corner
01:02:26and said nothing.
01:02:29Cole gave me
01:02:29a cold glance.
01:02:32She's not suited
01:02:33for occasions like this.
01:02:34I heard it
01:02:35and I remembered it.
01:02:37From that day on,
01:02:38I threw myself
01:02:39into upper-class etiquette,
01:02:41learned to take apart
01:02:43and assemble guns,
01:02:45studied family accounts,
01:02:48and learned how not
01:02:49to show fear
01:02:50in front of wolves
01:02:51dressed in evening wear.
01:02:53I wanted to be
01:02:54a good wife to him.
01:02:55I didn't want
01:02:56to disappoint him.
01:02:57But how did it end?
01:02:59It took me far too long
01:03:01to understand.
01:03:02This engagement
01:03:03had never been love
01:03:04from the start.
01:03:05It was a blood-stained agreement.
01:03:08The Harrington family
01:03:09needed the Whitfield docks,
01:03:11and the Whitfield family
01:03:12needed the Harrington arms lines,
01:03:13and they needed a woman
01:03:14to sit on the altar
01:03:15and complete the final piece.
01:03:18Lucy was too precious
01:03:19to sacrifice.
01:03:22And I had conveniently returned.
01:03:25Suddenly,
01:03:26there was a perfect solution
01:03:27for both sides.
01:03:29Too bad I was the extra bargaining chip
01:03:31outside that perfect solution.
01:03:34Even Ryan Black
01:03:35quickly took Lucy's side,
01:03:36even though,
01:03:37like me,
01:03:38he had grown up
01:03:39in the staff building
01:03:40at Whitfield Lantern.
01:03:41Both of our mothers
01:03:43were employees
01:03:43of this family.
01:03:44Both of us
01:03:45had been bullied by Lucy,
01:03:46and both of us
01:03:47had sworn vows
01:03:48in the drafty winter staff corners.
01:03:50When we were little,
01:03:51Ryan held my hand.
01:03:53One day,
01:03:54I'll climb above them.
01:03:56By then,
01:03:57Lucy Whitfield
01:03:57will never dare
01:03:58bully you again.
01:04:05Why did it become like this?
01:04:06I stumbled out of the church.
01:04:12Why did it become like this?
01:04:13Why did it become like this?
01:04:14Why did it become like this?
01:04:16Why did it become like this?
01:04:16Why did it become like this?
01:04:17Why did it become like this?
01:04:17Why did it become like this?
01:04:18You
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