"From now on, you are my precious daughter, Arabella Montclair."
Sunday morning, a black maybach sped down the empty highway.
Rubella Hillington sat in the passenger seat. She glanced at the rearview mirror, studying the doll-like beauty staring back at her.
Bright eyes, rosy powdered cheeks, and ruby-red lips. Without any doubt, she was getting engaged today, and not just to anyone else.
Her soon-to-be spouse was none other than the country's Fourth Prince—the notorious cursed mad prince, Julien Sterling.
Thus, how exactly could a country bumpkin like her be connected to such a person way out of her league?
Ruby lowered her eyes, her long lush lashes casting a gloomy shadow against her otherwise rosy cheeks.
It all started a week ago, when she was suddenly summoned back to the Montclair's Mansion.
Ruby looked up to the all-familiar four-storey mansion behind the tall gates, wondering what might be the reason behind her sudden summon.
She had been the Montclair's pampered heiress, Arabella Montclair's playmate since they were both children and after they both entered university, they had agreed to meet up only on term breaks.
The sudden summoning caught Ruby off guard, and nervousness wrecked her even more when she was seated before Madam Montclair, with no sign of Arabella in sight.
"Good evening, Madam." Ruby fidgeted in her seat, her eyes darting here and there but never staying half a second longer on the Madam.
"Stop looking. I am the one who has called for you."
The madam said, her cold face betraying not a slight of emotion.
Ruby forced out an endearing smile. Carefully, she asked in a sweet voice.
"Madam, what can I do for you?"
The Madam looked at the amicably smiling Ruby, her stiff face relaxing when she saw how cooperative the girl was being.
"I need you to be a stand-in for Arabella. Don't worry, once the deal is over, I will transfer one million dollars to your account."
One Million Dollars!
Ruby's heart skipped a beat. Not even in her dreams would she imagine herself pocketing such a fortune with her measly twelve dollars per hour part-time pay.
This… should be considered a jackpot… right?
Unsurprisingly, she took the deal and from then on, she trained in the Montclair mansion for a week.
She was taught basic manners and etiquette with the expectation of becoming the exact carbon copy of Arabella Montclair, an easy job for Ruby who had spent nearly half of her life catering to the snobby princess' demand.
In fact, the key is simple—all she needed to wear was a spiteful frown and act rude.
A week later, Ruby was assigned a personal nanny. They were both arranged into a nice car, all dressed up to the nines and ready to be sent into the Sterling's House of Thorns, when the ambush happened.
Everything took place at the speed of light.
A speeding jeep twice their size closed in. The driver honked without mercy, but no warning was heeded. Instead, the jeep directly smashed their rear, as if taking the driver's warning as a challenge instead.
Ruby jolted in her seat. Through the side mirror, she saw another car speeding from another direction. It was only then did she realize, this was no ordinary taunt, but rather an attempt of murder!
Ruby thought back to her deal with the Montclair's.
Become a stand-in for Arabella Montclair, marry the Sterling's Cursed Prince, survive through the marriage trial until the engagement was annulled, and one million dollars will be all hers to take.
SURVIVE. No wonder the million dollars.
Ruby hadn't thought of anything else, when the car was hit once more.
CRASH!!!
The car lost control, spinning as the driver held onto the brake. Along with the forceful bump, her head hit the window with a loud "thud", sending a wave of pain and dizziness.
Still, despite the pain, Ruby forced her eyes wide open. In fact, the driver's effort of stabilizing their car wasn't without results.
However, Ruby saw it through the corner of her eye. Another inconspicuous jeep closed in, aiming to take them from the other side.
'This is the end…'
Ruby held her breath, her mind a blank slate. The old nanny's screams were deafening, her ghostly wrinkled face the last thing Ruby saw as the car flipped over upon crashing onto the steel railings.
.
.
.
'... No, this is not the end…'
Ruby didn't know how long had passed when her eyes shot open, the heart drumming against her ribcage as if on the verge of exploding. She coughed at the smell of gasoline attacking her from all sides.
Slowly, the darkness surrounding her scattered. Ruby looked around, her face turning pale as her sight pierced through the dense smoke. The nanny was covered in blood, the driver beyond saving.
Ruby wanted to cry but couldn't find her voice. Tears welled in her eyes as she crawled out of the crushed compartments with the bloodied nanny in her arms.
But… the ambush didn't end just there.
Ruby saw them—masked men in black suits drawing near from the distance. She heard the clinking of their guns, her skin crawling as she knew, her time wasn't much.
At that very moment, her instincts kicked in as her eyes roamed around her surroundings, her sight locking onto the woods. Without any more thought, she kicked her heels aside and sprinted for the nearby forest with the unconscious Nanny against her back.
She let her adrenaline take over, her speed never slowing down as she navigated through the complex territory. Vines of thorns cut her here and there, countless dried leaves and branches crushed under the desperation of her bloodied feet.
Ruby's breath was short and heavy. And amid the moment of chaos, a question couldn't help but repeat itself.
If she were to die in this place, would anyone mourn for her?
Ruby felt an ache in her chest. She didn't know if she would live through this all. The sound of their steps still rang behind her, sounding so near but never truly close enough.
However…
Her eyes stubbornly stayed on the path stretched out before her.
One thing she knew was, she wasn't ready to die–not just yet. Since she had come to this point, she might as well work to her best and acquire the one million dollars she was promised with.
That way, everything might be worth the fight.
…
Hufff…Hufff…
Ruby felt like eternity had passed when her feet gave way. With the unconscious Nanny on her back, her knees crashed against the muddy ground, her eyes shining exceedingly bright as she took in the Sterling's massive gates from the distance.
They… had survived… What's next?