Chapter 1 You Can't Be My Mom

"Baby..." From the darkness, the man's husky, magnetic voice slipped into Lila Cross's ears. ... Lila Cross snapped awake, her body slick with cold sweat. She pressed her hands to her burning cheeks. Five years had passed—why was she still dreaming this? She rose and splashed water on her face in the bathroom. The cool liquid instantly cleared her mind. Taking her glass, she headed downstairs to refill it. "I don't want to—! I'm not marrying that old pervert!" "Everyone knows the third son of the Quinn family is an ugly, aging man! Hardly any woman in Aurevia would dare to marry him!" "After he was burned five years ago and disfigured, his mind twisted! They say he's already driven two women to their deaths! I won't marry him!" A shrill voice rang from the living room. "Besides, if anyone's going to marry him, it should be Lila Cross! She's not a virgin anyway—she's already given birth! She's experienced. It wouldn't be a waste to give her to that old freak!" "Mia!" Jonathan Cross snapped at her. "She's your sister!" Sophia Cross clenched her teeth, her voice trembling with tears. "Dad, *I'm* your real daughter. Lila Cross is just a switched-at-birth orphan—she's nothing to us. I suffered eighteen years of poverty because of her! Now that I'm back in the Cross family and building my career, you can't force me into marriage!" "That's right," Eleanor Cross chimed in. "Mia's already rising in the business world. She's the pride of our family. We can't sacrifice her!" "And besides, we've raised Lila for twenty-three years. It's time she repaid us." With that, the three of them lifted their eyes, all staring at Lila standing on the second floor. Lila's fingers whitened around her glass. Now she understood. They wanted to form an alliance with the Quinn family, but didn't want to sacrifice Sophia—so they'd sacrifice her instead. She took a deep breath, walked downstairs, and held out her hand to Jonathan Cross. "The agreement." Jonathan frowned. "What agreement?" "If I take Sophia's place in marriage to repay the Cross family for raising me, there should be a written agreement. Otherwise, if one day you use this so-called debt to force me to commit murder or arson, should I just obey?" Jonathan froze. Behind him, Sophia and Eleanor were equally stunned. "Not signing?" Lila took the paper and pen, scribbled a few lines, then signed her name. "Fine. Stop pretending. I'll marry him." With that, she calmly went to the kitchen, refilled her glass, and turned to go upstairs. Sophia rushed over and snatched the paper. It clearly read: Lila Cross marries in place of Sophia Cross. The twenty-three years of upbringing are now settled. It was too smooth to be believable. Sophia stared at Lila's retreating back and whispered, "Mom, is Lila Cross crazy? She actually agreed to marry him? What about her boyfriend?" Eleanor quickly clamped a hand over Sophia's mouth, glancing nervously toward Lila, afraid she might change her mind. Lila heard every word. She gave a bitter smile. Two days ago, she did have a boyfriend—someone she'd loved for six years, someone she'd have given everything for. But now, that was over. To her, marrying anyone was just changing where she lived. It made no difference. * Three days later, Lila was brought to the Quinn Estate. They didn't go straight to the marriage license. Instead, they asked her to live in the villa first and *then* decide. In other words, even though few in Aurevia dared to marry him, Mr. Quinn wasn't about to marry just anyone. Jonathan Cross had given Lila a clear order: win over Mr. Quinn, make him marry her, and secure investment for Crosswell Group. Night fell. Lila sat quietly in the bedroom, waiting for the man's arrival. "Snap—" The lights went out. The entire villa plunged into darkness. Lila's body instinctively trembled. She was afraid of the dark! Ever since that night five years ago, she'd never been able to face darkness alone. Even sleeping required a nightlight beside her bed for peace of mind. Now, in this unfamiliar place, she was already on edge—and then the power went out! Instinctively, she hugged her knees, shivering in the dark. So overwhelmed by fear, she didn't even notice the bedroom door opening. Something brushed against her foot, then pressed over her hand. A cold, slimy thing rubbed against her palm. Lila turned deathly pale. Her blood seemed to freeze. She screamed, scrambling backward until her spine slammed against the cold, hard wall—pain nearly knocking her unconscious. Yet in the darkness, that unknown creature crawled toward her again. A voice, rough and creaky like a rusty door, rasped, "Wife… my wife… I'm your husband…" As the voice came, "Click!"—the lights blazed on. Lila finally saw what that "thing" in front of her was. It was a horrifying man! Or perhaps, not even human… Hunched and dwarf-like, his limbs were just black, shapeless lumps with no visible joints. Wrapped in a bathrobe, he lay by the bed, staring at her with hollow, black eyes. And his face… It couldn't even be called a face. His skin was a mess of crisscrossing scars, features grotesquely twisted—like a demon risen from hell! "Ahh—!" Even though Lila had mentally prepared herself, seeing this monstrous figure calling her "wife" triggered an instinctive scream. The man cackled, "Wife, why are you screaming? Scared of me?" "But you promised to marry me—" Lila was losing her mind. Panicked, she scrambled off the bed, trembling violently as she fled, not daring to look back. She ran blindly, not even noticing when her leg slammed into a flowerpot in the hallway, cutting her skin and drawing blood. "Hahahaha—!" Watching Lila vanish down the corridor, the "man" on the bed crawled out from under the robe, removed his gloves and mask, revealing a clean, adorable baby-face. "Want to be my mommy? Not a chance!" He jumped off the bed, excitedly rushing to the small study. "Bro, I scared off another one!" In the study, another little boy who looked exactly like him sat under the lamp, reading. "Hmm." The baby-face pouted, plopping down on a tiny chair. "Can't you care a little more about Dad? He obviously hates being around women, yet Grandfather keeps setting him up with fiancées. This is the third one!" The boy lifted his brows slightly, his palm-sized face bearing a maturity far beyond his years. "Mm-hmm." Baby-face: "..." His brother had genius-level intelligence, but was cold and silent—just like Dad. A real man of few words! He pursed his lips, then ran up to the grand study on the third floor. The small figure pushed the door open. "Mr. Adrian Quinn, your third fiancée? Not impressive at all!"