On the first night of her marriage, Diana Bell had a sex dream.
She dreamt of that wild, decadent night from a year ago.
A man's hands were braced on either side of her body. Beads of scalding sweat rolled off his forehead, splashing onto her pale, heaving chest and sliding down her smooth skin, igniting a trail of electric shivers.
His voice was deep, husky, and resonant—like a glass of neat, aged whiskey. When he whispered in her ear, the very air seemed to shimmer with intoxication.
"Baby, do you know who I am?"
Diana's porcelain neck arched back like a fish gasping for air on a cutting board—longing, hoping, trembling. Every ounce of pleasure she felt was his doing.
Her heart was racing out of control. Her eyelashes fluttered like rain-soaked butterflies as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
No man had ever cherished her like this; he was as gentle as a spring breeze, yet as fierce as a predator.
How is he so good at this? she wondered.
He held her in a wide, warm embrace. He kissed her lips, kissed the tears from the corners of her eyes—tenderly, lingeringly, protectively. She had never imagined her first time could be so perfect.
He was truly a master. Even with a woman who was a stranger to him, he was perfectly composed and effortless.
His technique was flawless.
She was blissfully happy because of him. She opened her eyes, desperate to see what he looked like.
Then, she saw his face—William Knight!
"Ah—!" Diana bolted upright, screaming as she woke from the dream.
She had dreamt that the man she spent that night of passion with a year ago was William Knight!
How was that possible? How could it be him?
She had drunkenly stumbled into the wrong room, but the odds of the man inside being the Knight Family Heir—the most powerful man in the East City—were astronomical.
And in the dream, he had called her "baby."
William Knight would never use such a sappy pet name.
I must have just noticed how handsome he is and how great his body looks, so I've started using him as 'material' for my fantasies, Diana thought, knocking on her own head. Stop it, Diana! You weren't a thirsty person before. How did you end up having sex dreams?
In the end, she couldn't escape the temptations of the flesh. It was a total disaster. Beauty was truly a distraction, and it was all William's fault for being so damn good-looking.
Diana jumped out of bed and headed to the bathroom for a hot shower, trying to wash away the sticky heat of the dream. Changing into a sleek athletic set, she began her ritual morning workout.
After an hour of high-intensity cardio, she added a set of squats. In the mirror, even without makeup and drenched in sweat, her long legs—defined by her tight yoga pants—were stunning. Her glutes were firm and lifted, radiating a sense of raw, natural beauty.
Since losing the weight, she had become obsessed with the feeling of being in control of her own body.
After a quick rinse, Diana tied her hair into a high ponytail and went to the kitchen to steam two baskets of beef buns.
The aroma of the dough soon woke the "beast" in the house. Noah Bell rushed out with bedhead, reaching for a bun before washing his eyes. Diana expertly swatted his hand away with a chopstick.
"Wash your hands. You're seventeen, not a monkey."
As the siblings ate, the dreaded call from the nursing home arrived.
"Miss Bell, your grandmother's care and medication fees for this month are ten days overdue. You know the rules; if the balance isn't cleared, we'll have to process her discharge."
Diana's grip tightened on her bun, but her voice remained steady. "Please give me three more days. I'm going to the office today to finalize my commissions. As soon as I get my bonus, I'll transfer the money. Thank you for your patience."
Hanging up, she looked at her brother, who was devouring his food. Her gaze softened. Noah was a bit of a brat, but he was sharp. He put down his bun and muttered, "Sis, maybe I shouldn't finish senior year. I can go do deliveries. I'll make enough for Grandma's meds."
Diana gave him a flick on the forehead. "I'm not dead yet, so don't talk about dropping out. Get back in your room and study. If you don't get into a good university, I'll deal with you myself."
After settling her brother, Diana hopped on her small pink electric scooter and headed to work.
The moment she walked through the doors, she sensed something was wrong. Colleagues who were usually friendly now looked at her with cold "good luck with that" expressions.
She had just sat at her desk when a woman with an intricate "perm-curl" hairstyle and a cloud of heavy perfume stormed in, slamming her hand onto Diana's desk.
"So, you're the Diana Bell who's been seducing my husband?" The woman's voice was shrill, instantly igniting the office gossip mill.
Diana didn't even look up as she organized her lesson plans. "Who are you? And which 'husband' are we talking about?"
"I'm the boss's wife!" the Perm-Curl woman shrieked. "Atticus Archer told me everything! He said you go into his office every day dressed like a tramp, 'accidentally' dropping things just to bend over in front of him! You're a shameless homewrecker!"
Just then, Boss Archer walked out, his beer belly leading the way. He looked "heartbroken." "Diana, I tried to protect you, but I couldn't keep this from my wife. If you just admit you were wrong and beg for her forgiveness, maybe I can find a way for you to keep your job."
A classic double act. Diana sneered. These two knew she was desperate for her bonus; they were trying to use it as leverage to rob her of her hard-earned money and clear Atticus's name of sexual harassment.
"Admit I was wrong?" Diana stood up, her aura shifting to total dominance. "Boss Archer, is your urinary frequency from that enlarged prostate under control yet? Or did your three-minute stamina give you the delusion that you're actually a man?"
Hearing this, the wife went ballistic. she lunged forward to slap Diana, but Diana caught her wrist in a vice grip.
Slap!
A crisp sound echoed as Diana backhanded her.
"Since you can't keep your pig of a husband on a leash, I'll teach him a lesson for you."
Then, Diana spun around and delivered another stinging slap to Atticus.
"That one was for all the colleagues whose bonuses you've docked. Atticus Archer, you look like a turtle that can't retract its head, but your heart is thicker than lard."
Before the crowd could process the "double kill," the wife let out a blood-curdling scream and lunged, tearing the front of Diana's shirt. Diana gasped, clutching her torn clothes to her chest.
"You bitch! Don't you touch my sister!"
Noah had followed her there. Like a furious young lion, he burst through the crowd, grabbed the wife by her curls, and threw her to the floor. Then, he landed a solid punch right on Atticus's nose.
"You fat pig! I'll kill you for touching my sister!"
The office descended into chaos, but no one stepped in to help the boss. In fact, many were silently cheering the Bell siblings on.
Atticus, clutching his bleeding face, wailed, "Call the police! I'm calling Lord Knight! Diana Bell, you're dead. William Knight and I are old friends—he's a legend in the East City. One word from him and your brother will rot in prison for life!"
Hearing the name "William Knight," Diana tightened her grip on her collar, a mocking smile touching her lips.
"What a coincidence. I know William Knight too. And our relationship is much... deeper than yours."
The wife scrambled up from the floor, her face contorted in a sneer. "You know Lord Knight? If you know him, I'll spend the rest of my life washing my hair while standing on my head! A piece of trash like you on a pink scooter wouldn't even be allowed to look at him!"
Atticus painfully dialed a number and put it on speaker, his voice turning into a pathetic whimper. "Lord Knight... it's me, Atticus. There's a crazy woman named Diana Bell here using your name to scam people and extort money from me. I thought you should know..."
There was a half-second of silence on the other end. Then, a deep, resonant voice—elegant as a cello but cold as ice—rang out through the entire office:
"She isn't lying. Diana Bell is my wife."
The smile on Atticus's face froze.
The sneer on his wife's face vanished.
The entire office stood in stunned silence, looking like a flock of paralyzed chickens.
Diana smiled faintly into the phone. "Hi, honey."