Chapter 1: Perish Together

March 8, 2039, evening, in a luxury suite on the nineteenth floor of the Tianlun Pavilion Hotel.

Although the passion had faded, a hint of ambiguity still lingered in the room. David Bolton, bare-chested, sat on the bed, staring at the empty pillow, his heart still filled with disbelief.

He had come to attend—or rather, to make one last effort to stop his girlfriend's wedding! The reason... he was not the groom!

He and Ethan Clark met in the online game "Miracle," starting as enemies, then slowly becoming friends, and eventually falling in love. But Ethan Clark's family background was anything but simple. With assets worth tens of billions, the Lin family would never hand over their only daughter to someone as unknown as David Bolton!

Although David Bolton was by no means poor—he owned a luxury house, several cars, and had over ten million in the bank, making him a diamond bachelor in the eyes of ordinary women—compared to the Lin family, he was still far, far behind!

David Bolton's efforts failed. The elders of the Lin family treated him with utter coldness, almost chasing him out with a broom! As for Ethan Clark, she just kept crying in front of him, but no matter what, she refused to agree to his request to elope, and desperately begged David Bolton never to see her again!

David Bolton knew that Ethan Clark was a filial daughter. Her mother threatened her with death, so Ethan Clark was forced to agree to marry William Foster, the only son of the Liu family, whose status matched the Lin family! In fact, their marriage should have taken place three or four years ago, but Ethan Clark kept resisting, delaying it until now. But clearly, this time... there was no more delaying!

After leaving Ethan Clark's wedding in despair, David Bolton returned to his hotel. Thinking of the woman he loved about to become someone else's wife, he couldn't help but feel suffocated. He drank alone, returned to his room drunk, and muddle-headedly answered a phone call, not even hearing what the other person said. Not long after, a woman entered his room and got into his bed.

David Bolton was truly drunk. When a warm, fragrant body pressed against him, he instinctively "moved." A fierce battle broke out, but halfway through, David Bolton sobered up a bit and suddenly recognized that the woman beneath him was none other than his college Chinese teacher, Grace Bennett!

Grace Bennett also barely recognized David Bolton. Both were extremely embarrassed and hastily ended the "battle." Grace Bennett was even more ashamed—working as an escort and running into a former student, how could she face this? She didn't even bother to collect her payment and left in a hurry.

With the lipstick mark from Grace Bennett's kiss still lingering on his chest, David Bolton shook his head, trying hard to push this woman, with whom he had shared a one-night stand, out of his mind.

Why did Grace Bennett give up her job as a university teacher to become an escort in a hotel? There could be many reasons—maybe she thought teaching didn't pay enough, maybe she fell in with the wrong man and was forced into this by her boyfriend or husband, or maybe she needed money to treat her terminally ill parents...

David Bolton had no energy to think about her situation. The moment his mind cleared, he was once again tormented by relentless pain, and could only think of one person: Ethan Clark!

"Bang!"

With a loud crash, the door was violently kicked open. Two muscular men in suits and sunglasses swaggered in, their faces cold, their sharp features exuding a murderous aura.

Immediately after, a young man of average build, dressed in a white tuxedo, walked out from behind the two musclemen. He was quite handsome, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and had a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his face, giving him a refined appearance.

"William Foster!" David Bolton recognized the young man at a glance and couldn't help but grit his teeth with a cold snort.

One of the musclemen brought over a chair. William Foster sat down arrogantly, crossed his legs, and said, "You must be wondering why I left my beautiful bride to come here in the middle of the night?"

"Hmph, cut the crap!" David Bolton stared coldly at this "rival," his voice icy. Both he and Ethan Clark knew that William Foster was determined to marry Ethan Clark, not because he loved her, but because he coveted the Lin family's business! Both the Liu and Lin families were business giants. By joining through marriage, they could seize an even larger market share.

William Foster let out a laugh, though there was little humor in it, and said, "How can a woman of mine have another man in her heart? Even if she does, that man can only be a dead man! David Bolton, do you understand?"

David Bolton was slightly stunned. He knew the Liu family's only son was lawless, but to commit murder in a public hotel—wasn't that a bit too brazen?