Chapter 1: The True Heiress

Fast-forward back to the present.

I stood outside Pho Than Ngon’s bedroom, clutching a heavy plastic woven sack. Inside, he sat in his wheelchair, pale, brooding, and radiating an aura sinister enough to send a ghost running for the hills. The second he set eyes on me, a sneer curled his lips. His gaze turned instantly murderous, and he snatched a glass off the table, slamming it straight onto the floor.

Shatter!

Glass erupted around my feet. “Get out!” His tone was brutally cold.

Honestly, though? I wasn’t particularly scared. Back at my adoptive parents’ house, their fits of rage were a hundred times worse. Unfazed, I set my sack down and strolled over, smoothing my voice into the gentlest tone I could muster.

“Time for dinner.”

It wasn’t that I enjoyed being hated. It was simply that the servants had made it clear: if Than Ngon didn’t come down, nobody ate.

He glared daggers at me. “Get lost. Don’t push your luck.”

Right. The soft approach wasn’t working.

I leaned down. Under his utterly bewildered gaze, I scooped him straight up into my arms.

“What the hell?! What do you think you’re doing?!” he roared, thrashing wildly in my grip. “You country bumpkin! Where are your manners?! Who gave you permission to touch me?!”

Predictably, he bristled like an angry cat. I gave him a gentle hoist, narrowing my eyes playfully. “Keep squirming and I’ll loosen my grip. If you drop, that’s on you.”

To prove my point, I purposefully relaxed my arm. Than Ngon gasped, his entire body stiffening. By instinct, his arms whipped around my neck, holding on for dear life. A faint, intoxicating scent wrapped around me. A spoiled city heir through and through, he smelled incredible.

I couldn’t help blurt out, “You smell really good.”

“Damn it!” He snatched his arms back, his face flushing crimson as he snarled, “You did that on purpose!”

“You were squirming, so I lost my grip,” I replied coolly, painting the picture of absolute innocence.

He choked on his words, breathing heavily from sheer indignation, but he didn’t dare budge another inch.

I carried him downstairs and set him into a chair at the dining table. The servants stood frozen, eyes wide as saucers. I tapped the table. “Serve the food.”

I had only one thought on my mind: I’d spent a day and a night traveling from the countryside, transferring between countless buses and trains. Before I could even warm a seat, I’d been shipped over here to play wife. I was starving. I was exhausted. All I wanted was a full belly and a bed.

The servants snapped back to reality, but their eyes darted nervously toward Than Ngon, waiting for his command.

He curled his lip. “Nobody’s eating.”

I paused for a second to consider my options. Fine, soft approach round two. I dragged a chair right next to his, grabbed his hand, and gave it a gentle tug.

“Hubby, I’m hungry. Can we please eat? Pretty please?”

His face cycled through a glorious spectrum of colors: red, green, then a deep, furious black. Finally, he shoved my hand away.

“Are you trying to make me throw up? Who gave you permission to call me that?! Did they send you here just to humiliate me because I’m crippled?!”

Shaking with rage, he grabbed a vase, intending to smash it. I reacted fast, catching his wrist, that was a gorgeous vase, and destroying it would be a sin. Seeing him practically vibrating with anger, I suddenly leaned in and wrapped him in a tight hug, gently patting his back.

“I don’t know why they sent me here,” I murmured softly. “But I came voluntarily. Because I like you.”

“Bullshit!”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re so handsome. I’ve never seen anyone look this good. And you smell amazing; I took one breath earlier and wanted to take a bite out of you. Your skin is so soft, too… How could I not like you?”

Than Ngon froze completely. First his ears flared red, then his entire face flushed. He slapped a hand over my mouth, lowering his voice into a fierce whisper. “Stop talking! Have you no shame?!”

Watching the servants pretend to busy themselves while covertly eavesdropping, I did a quick mental calculation: A handsome husband who couldn’t walk, he had no choice but to stay in my arms and let me tease him.

Jackpot.

I parted my lips to deliver another dramatic confession of love, but Than Ngon moved faster, shutting me up before I could utter a word. Barking an order for the servants to set the table, he averted his gaze, not daring to look me in the eye.

“Fine! Just eat. I won’t have you making a circus out of me.”

I didn’t stand on ceremony. To make up for the grueling journey, I polished off four bowls of rice without breaking a sweat. Than Ngon watched me at first with sheer disgust, which quickly shifted to utter shock. Eventually… perhaps hypnotized by how deliciously I was devouring my food, he quietly finished two bowls of his own.

He ate slowly, chewing every grain of rice with meticulous precision. The moment he set his chopsticks down, I stood up and scooped him right back into my arms.

“Damn it! What’s the rush now?!” he yelped, bristling all over again, though his arms dutifully locked around my neck.

“Bridal suite,” I said flatly.

The room fell dead silent for a fraction of a second before Than Ngon exploded.

“WHAT?! What the hell are you talking about?!”

The servants clearing the table flinched, their heads snapping toward us in unison. Every pair of eyes lit up, a wild mix of shock, awe, and pure, unfiltered curiosity.