Chapter 1: A Bride for Luck
In the autumn of 2019, Mira Xia sat quietly on a train bound for Yunson City, leaving behind the rural village where she had lived for over a decade.
She’d been abandoned there at nine years old.
Today, the Xia family had finally come to bring her back. The reason? A marriage—not for love, but for luck.
The groom she was to marry lived in the famed Jade Grove Estate. Rumor had it he was on the verge of death. The Xia family had two daughters, yet neither wanted to marry a dying man. So, they turned to Mira—the girl they’d stashed away in the countryside all these years. A daughter by blood, yes, but never by name. Now she was summoned to marry a stranger and “bring him luck” with her life.
Mira sat on the hard sleeper bunk, a book resting lightly in her hands. She was reading, or trying to, when the door slammed open. A gust of frigid wind rushed in—sharp, bitter—and carried with it the metallic tang of blood.
She looked up.
A man staggered in, tall and broad-shouldered, before collapsing on the floor in front of her.
Unconscious. Maybe dying.
Before she could move, a group of masked men in black stormed in behind him.
“Boss, no one’s around. Let’s send him straight to hell.”
“Who said no one’s here?”
The scarred leader turned and locked eyes with Mira.
She hadn’t expected danger to strike so fast and so violently. The man who had fallen into her compartment hadn’t just brought blood—he’d brought death. And now, they were looking at her like she was next.
Her gaze flicked to their weapons. Calm on the outside, she quickly assessed. Then she spoke, voice trembling with well-placed fear. “I-I didn’t see anything. Please… don’t hurt me.”
The scar-faced man approached. Mira’s face was half-covered by a delicate veil, but her eyes—clear, deep, shimmering like black crystal—peeked out from beneath. They were striking enough to halt the man in his tracks.
He had never seen eyes like hers before—mesmerizing, alluring. And it had been too long since he’d touched a woman.
He smirked. “We don’t have to hurt you, little beauty... if you’re willing to entertain the brothers here.”
Mira’s long lashes trembled. She looked fragile, helpless. “I’m scared… I don’t want to die. If you let me live, I’ll… I’ll do whatever you say.”
Her soft, honeyed plea broke what little restraint he had left. With a growl, he lunged, pinning her beneath him.
“You go first, boss. Once you’re done, we’ll all have our fun.”
Laughter, vile and lewd, echoed through the tiny compartment. As the scarred man reached to unbutton her clothes, Mira moved.
One small, pale hand gripped his wrist.
He froze. Her eyes met his again—but they weren’t pleading anymore. They were cold. Sharp. Lethal.
“You—!”
Before he could finish, Mira’s fingers moved like lightning. A silver acupuncture needle slipped into his temple.
His eyes rolled back.
He dropped, unconscious.
“Boss!”
The masked men panicked and surged forward—only to be stopped by a blur of movement. The man who had collapsed earlier was suddenly on his feet, eyes open and razor-sharp. In one swift motion, he disarmed one of the attackers and turned their weapons against them.
It was over in seconds. Every masked man was down.
Lightning-fast. Ruthless.
Mira sat up slowly. She had known from the start—he wasn’t unconscious. The blood on him wasn’t his.
She looked at him. He looked back.
His eyes were dark, narrow, piercing. Like a hawk sizing up its prey. There was a depth to them, like two bottomless abysses. Staring into them felt like being pulled into a void.
“Sir, we’re late.”
His men arrived, taking over the scene with efficient silence. One of them handed him a clean handkerchief.
He wiped his hands gracefully, then walked toward her. His fingers, long and well-defined, tilted her chin up.
He studied her with interest. “What do you think I should do with you?”
His touch was deceptively gentle, but it made Mira stiffen. His aura was suffocating—cold, commanding, dangerous.
She could still smell the faint trace of blood on him.
She knew it—she’d seen too much. Getting out alive wouldn’t be easy.
Slap.
She slapped his hand away and raised her chin. “Watch yourself. I’m the bride meant for Jade Grove Estate.”
His brow arched. The bride? His bride?
“You’re from Yunson City?” he asked.
“Then you must know the Xia family is marrying their daughter into Jade Grove. The whole city’s talking about it. I’m the bride. If anything happens to me… don’t you think that’ll bring you a whole lot of trouble? Let me go. I didn’t see anything. I won’t say a word.”
For once, Mira silently thanked her stepmother, Yuli Li. Sure, she’d made Mira take the cheapest train ride back, but the woman had thrown a wedding that was loud, lavish, and undeniably attention-grabbing—all to polish her own image.
The Xia daughter marrying into Jade Grove was the biggest gossip in Yunson right now. Mira was gambling—and she knew it. Gambling that this man didn’t want that kind of heat on him.
He looked at her with amused curiosity. An unexpected twist in his day. Someone had tried to have him killed, and in the chaos, he’d stumbled across this girl.
No more than twenty, face pale and clothes rumpled. But her eyes were sharp, intelligent, brilliant.
And most intriguingly… she was his bride.
Without another word, he turned and left.
Mira slowly unclenched her fists.
Then, just before disappearing from view, the man glanced back. His lips moved silently, but she understood him perfectly:
“We’ll meet again—very soon.”
The wedding was held at the opulent Li Palace Estate.
Inside the bride’s dressing room, Farfalla Xia stood in front of her half-sister, sneering. “Mira Xia, you lost your mother when you were nine. Then you pushed Grandpa down the stairs. Even the fortune teller said you bring misfortune—so Dad sent you to the countryside to rot. If it weren’t for this wedding, you’d still be living like a dog out there.”
Mira sat calmly at the vanity. “Who’s the dog barking at?”
Farfalla scoffed. “At you, obviously!”
Mira’s lips curved slightly. “Ah, then you can stop barking now.”
It took a second for Farfalla to realize she’d walked right into that.
Her eyes narrowed, fixating on Mira’s veiled face. Only her eyes were visible—but that alone was enough to make him furious. How could this country girl have such breathtaking eyes?
She wanted to claw them out.
Mira couldn’t possibly be beautiful. She had to be hiding something. She had to be ugly.
“Evening’s here, time to head out!” Patrick Xia and Yuli Li walked in, followed by a crowd of esteemed guests.
Author's Note:
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~Sherry
