Three days.
That's all the time Leon Xu had given her.
And the entire world knew.
Ella Lin stood before the towering windows of her penthouse, her knuckles white as she gripped the edge of the marble counter.
Every major media outlet was broadcasting the same breaking headline:
"Leon Xu Declares Century's Most Lavish Wedding—Bride: Ella Lin!"
Her phone was a relentless storm of calls and messages.
Investors panicked.
Allies demanded explanations.
Enemies celebrated her impending fall.
And Leon?
He sat on every news channel, giving calm, calculated interviews. His every word was laced with intoxicating confidence and deadly finality.
"The Queen will return to her rightful place… beside her King," he'd declared to billions. "The wedding is set. And if she refuses… she knows exactly what will burn first."
Behind his words, the threat was crystal clear.
He wasn't just threatening her heart.
He was threatening to tear down everything she'd built.
In the privacy of her study, the twins stood silently by the door.
"Mommy… if you don't go, will Daddy really destroy everything?"
Ella turned, her heart breaking at the fear in their young eyes.
"He wouldn't hurt you," she whispered, more to herself than to them.
But would he?
The man who burned entire empires just to feel her closer?
The man who would rather die than see her stand taller without him?
The countdown had begun.
The invitations were sent.
The world wasn't just watching anymore—they were demanding a conclusion.
And as midnight approached, a single black velvet box arrived at her door.
Inside—
A blood-red wedding contract.
And a note written in Leon's cruelly familiar script:
"Three days, Ella. Walk down that aisle… or watch your kingdom crumble to ash."