Chapter 1 Fall from Grace

Deanna Jones felt a fog descend over her vision, blurring everything around her.

She couldn't see her hand in front of her face, but her senses were vividly sharp.

It was as if flames engulfed her entire body, with waves of heat crashing over her.

Heavy breathing filled her ears, a man's low, unbearable moans hinting at possession.

She tried to open her eyes, desperate to see the man, but she was too weak to do that.

After a long time, peace came back to her. She finally glimpsed a firm, sexy chest with a black eagle tattoo soaring near the heart. The eagle's eyes were sharp and fierce, like those of a beast, carrying an ominous aura that sent chills down her spine.

"Ah!"

Deanna screamed and jolted awake from her nightmare.

She sat up in bed, her body covered in cold sweat.

Her nine-month pregnant belly made her movements clumsy and difficult.

Old Ashley, who was sleeping beside Deanna, sensed her granddaughter's distress and quickly got up to ask, "What's wrong, dear? Another nightmare?"

Deanna nodded weakly, unable to deny it.

Old Ashley looked at Deanna's pale, gaunt face with a heart full of pity and quickly tried to comfort her. "What happened back then wasn't your fault."

"Really? But they all blame me and curse me."

Deanna's gaze was unfocused as she stared ahead.

Nine months ago, she had been the young lady of the Jones family, about to get engaged to her childhood sweetheart, Raphael Howard.

But the night before the engagement, she lost her virginity at a singles party.

The next day, the scandal swept across the internet.

"Shocking! Young lady of Seachester Jones family—Deanna, spends a passionate night with a gigolo in a hotel room before her engagement!"

Her reputation was ruined.

Her mother, Olivia Parker, was so devastated by the scandal that she committed suicide.

Deanna's father, Garrett Jones, felt so disgraced that he expelled Deanna from the Jones family and declared he no longer recognized her as his daughter.

Raphael announced the cancellation of their engagement a week later and got engaged to Deanna's stepsister, Emily Jones.

Deanna became a despised, disreputable woman, a disgraceful daughter. Even now, nine months later, she still faced online abuse.

She had nightmares every night—nightmares of her mother's death, her father's angry tirades, and the faceless man haunting her.

Deanna was exhausted and tormented.

She couldn't understand why, on the night nine months ago, she had ended up in that stranger's room.

Raphael had been with her at the singles party. Why hadn't he watched over her? Why had he gotten engaged to someone else just a week later? And her mother, always strong and independent, even when she divorced her father, why would she suddenly commit suicide over this?

These questions filled Deanna's mind, causing a dull pain in her head and a matching ache in her abdomen.

Old Ashley, seeing her granddaughter's distress, quickly fetched some water and comforted Deanna softly, "Don't mind what others say. I believe you're not that kind of person. Here, have some water."

Deanna took a deep breath and reached for the glass when she suddenly felt a warm flow between her legs.

Looking down, she saw blood gradually soaking her dress.

Two hours later, due to complications with her pregnancy, Deanna gave birth prematurely to twins in an old, rundown hospital on the outskirts of the city.