A Fate Sealed

Lin Anyi was halfway to work when her phone rang.

"Come home now," her mother's voice was sharp and urgent. "There's something important to discuss."

A strange feeling settled in her stomach. Her family rarely called her unless they needed something. She considered ignoring it, but something in her mother's tone made her turn back.

When she arrived home, the sight that greeted her only deepened her unease. Her parents sat in the living room with serious expressions, and her younger sister, Lin Meixiu, stood silently beside them, her head slightly lowered.

"What's going on?" Lin Anyi asked warily.

Her father didn't hesitate. "You are to be married next month."

Lin Anyi blinked. "What?"

Her mother added, "To Mo Chen of the Mo family."

She felt the air leave her lungs.

Mo Chen. Everyone in the city knew his name. The once-brilliant heir of the Mo family wealthy, powerful, untouchable. Until an accident left him crippled and reclusive. Some said he had become a ghost of his former self, a man locked away in his grand estate, unwanted and unloved.

Lin Anyi's heart pounded. "I refuse," she blurted out, her voice rising. "Why should I marry him? And Mom, I already have someone I want to marry!"

A sharp slap echoed through the room. Her mother's hand trembled as she pulled back. "Do you think you have a choice?" she snapped.

Lin Anyi's cheek stung, but the pain was nothing compared to the anger rising inside her. She clenched her fists. "Why me? I never agreed to this."

Her father let out a sigh, his voice cold and indifferent. "It was meant to be Lin Meixiu's marriage. But the Mo family changed their minds at the last moment and chose you instead."

Lin Anyi turned sharply to her sister. "You were supposed to marry him?"

Lin Meixiu kept her head down, refusing to meet her gaze.

"Why?" Lin Anyi demanded, her voice shaking. "Why did they change their minds?"

No one answered.

She looked from her father to her mother, then back to Lin Meixiu, searching for an explanation. But all she saw was avoidance.

Lin Meixiu finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "I… I couldn't marry him."

Lin Anyi let out a bitter laugh. "So that's it? The marriage was for you, but you refused, so now I have to take your place?"

Her mother's sharp gaze cut into her. "Enough, Anyi. This marriage has already been arranged."

Lin Anyi clenched her jaw. It was always like this. Lin Meixiu, the perfect daughter, was cherished, protected, given choices. But Lin Anyi? She was an afterthought. The spare. The one expected to obey.

But this time, she wouldn't accept it so easily.

She took a deep breath and straightened her back. "Fine," she said, meeting their eyes with a cold stare. "I'll marry him."

A flicker of relief crossed her mother's face. Her father nodded in approval. Lin Meixiu, however, looked at her with something close to pity.

Lin Anyi didn't want her pity.

"But I have a condition," she added before they could celebrate their victory.

Her father frowned. "What condition?"

"If I marry Mo Chen, I want twenty percent of the shares in the family company."

Her mother's face darkened. "That's not possible."

"Then find someone else to take my sister's place," Lin Anyi said coolly.

Silence filled the room.

Her father exchanged a glance with her mother. They weren't expecting her to negotiate. But Lin Anyi knew her worth. If they were going to trade her like a pawn, she would at least get something in return.

Finally, her father exhaled. "We'll consider it."

Lin Anyi smirked. "Good. Let me know when you've made your decision."

With that, she turned and walked away.

But even as she left, one question burned in her mind:

Who exactly was Mo Chen? And why had the Mo family suddenly decided they wanted her instead of Lin Meixiu?

She intended to find out.

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