The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus)
Chapter 3

He gazed at the distant ocean, his icy demeanor as chilling as frost, making one feel as though they were in the midst of a freezing winter rather than the blossoming spring.

"Mr. Magnus," his butler, Linden, softly spoke. "We received word that your wedding with Natalia is due in a week. Is there anything you need to prepare?"-

Magnus slightly curled his lips at the butler's words. "Prepare? A single bridal suite will suffice." His deep voice, as enchanting as a siren's song, carried an irresistible magnetic pull.

"Yes, Mr. Magnus. Chase and James called today, and everything is going according to your plan. After your wedding, we'll put everything into action." Linden had served Magnus for over a decade. "Yes. We can't afford any mistakes with the grandpa's affairs." Magnus responded lightly as he continued to gaze at the sea.

"A grand wedding! Lucius, it's been nine years, I hope you're well!"

The Andersen family ruled Melfort, owning both the Andersen Corporation and CT Technologies. Morgan Andersen, the founder of the Andersen Corporation, was a force to be reckoned with in his youth. After establishing the two business giants, he sat unchallenged at the top. He married the woman he loved most and had a son and daughter with her, but she left him after their children were born.

His son, Anthony, married the virtuous Lillian and had three grandsons. The eldest, Jamie, passed away at the age of twelve due to illness, leaving Morgan distraught for a long time.

The second, Lucius, was arrogant and cruel, with an overwhelming desire to possess. He was Anthony and Lillian's favorite, but Morgan was always indifferent to him.

The youngest, Magnus, was obedient and clever from a young age, earning Morgan's affection.

When Magnus was sixteen, the Andersen family mansion caught fire. His legs were crushed in the blaze, and he was sent to the family's private isle for recovery. From then on, he was bound to a wheelchair.

Morgan was heartbroken once again. To compensate Magnus, he transferred forty percent of the Andersen Corporation's shares to Magnus' name. Thus, the only candidate for the presidency of the Andersen Corporation and its subsidiary, CT Technologies, was Lucius.

Magnus sat on the balcony, his eyes narrowed like a hawk's. The fire from nine years ago had cast a grey shadow over his life. He watched as Lucius, in the midst of the raging flames, pushed him into the fire. A burning beam fell and crushed his legs. In the end, it was Linden who bravely dashed into the fire to save the critically injured Magnus.

Ever since then, his legs were irreparable. Morgan, swallowing his immense grief, built a mansion on his island named Sapphire Island, where Magnus could recuperate. Morgan loved his grandson dearly and fulfilled all of his requests. But since moving to the island, Magnus wanted nothing and refused all contact with the outside world. He had stayed on the island for nine years, and aside from Morgan, no one from the Andersen family had visited.

When he turned eighteen, Morgan transferred forty percent of the Andersen Corporation's shares to Magnus. He would always remember that day. As he received the shares, Lucius looked at him sitting in his wheelchair with a mocking smile. He crouched down next to the wheelchair and loudly said, "Magnus, don't worry. Your brother will make the Andersen Corporation thrive. You just sit back and enjoy these shares!"

Then, in a voice only Magnus could hear, he added, "You must really have no shame, living off of others' fortunes. If it were me, I'd consider myself a burden if I couldn't stand. And to make matters worse, you have the audacity to accept so many shares from the Andersen Corporation. What use are they? You'll just be sitting in your wheelchair watching me take the president's seat!" After he finished speaking, he patted Magnus on the shoulder, laughed, and walked away.

From that moment, Magnus vowed to stand again or die trying. Nine years had passed, and it was time for him to reclaim what was rightfully his.

Lucius was about to marry into the Clarkson family, and Magnus' first move was to steal his woman and deliver a deadly blow. Then, he would let Lucius watch as he tormented the woman he loved, letting him taste the pain of despair. Thinking of this, a playful smile appeared his lips. The game that lay ahead was looking more and more enticing.

"Lucius, I'll make you taste every bit of suffering I've endured these past nine years. I'll let you enjoy everything I've had to bear! Our game is just beginning!"

The Clarkson family was another business giant in Melfort. If the Andersen family was ranked first, then the Clarkson family was undoubtedly second.

Kyler and Addison were college sweethearts. After getting married, they had a daughter named Kendra. When Kendra was seven, Kyler brought home a five-year-old girl named Natalia.

Kyler claimed that Natalia was the result of an affair Kyler had outside of his marriage. From that day forward, Natalia lived a life of neglect from her stepmother and bullying from her stepsister, Kendra. Kyler did everything in his power to protect her until she went to university.

At Melfort College, Natalia was a vision in her blue dress, her seaweed-like hair fell to her waist. Her large eyes were a deep blue, her eyelashes curled, and her skin was glowing. She was the epitome of beauty.

At the tender age of five, she could vividly recall her father leading her into their home, only to be met with her stepmother's angry shouts. "Who's this, Kyler? Another bastard child from one of your shameless affairs? If you don't explain this to me right now, I'm gonna get a divorce!"

With a firm grip on her small hand, her father coolly glared at the shouting woman. "From now on, she's my daughter. If you can't handle that, you can leave this house!"

The authority in her father's voice finally gave her a sense of belonging, a family. From that day forward, she called Addison "Mom," and she called Kendra, "sister." Whenever their father was absent, her mother and sister would resort to all kinds of ways to torment her. They made her do basic chores and fed her leftovers. She didn't complain and was enduring the hardships because she was hungry. She needed to survive.

She had lived in this family for fifteen years.

A year ago, she was finally admitted to her dream university. Thanks to her father's continuous protection, she finally walked into Melfort College alongside her classmates.

After school, Natalia and her two best friends, Lexi, and Sabrina, walked towards the school gate. Just as they reached the gate, they heard someone call out, "Natalia, wait up."

A gentle, magnetic voice sounded behind them. The three girls turned around simultaneously to see Hector smiling and catching up, a small box in his hand.

"This is for you." He handed the small box to Natalia.

"What's this, Hector? Another gift for Natalia?" Sabrina snatched the box curiously.

"You..." Hector watched as the box was whisked away by Sabrina, his heart racing.

"Sabrina, knock it off! That's Natalia's." He looked at the box in Sabrina's hand, about to reach for it.