Nina was the illegitimate daughter of the Collins family in Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her mother, Laura Collins, was the first love of the head of Collins family. He was later forced by his family to marry a lady of well\u2013matched social status, but Laura was already pregnant at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before she died, Laura entrusted her to the head of the Collins family. She still remembered the shock and insecurity she felt the first time she saw the Collins\u2018 home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Collins\u2018 home was like a palace that had trapped her mother, and now it had trapped her too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nina wasn\u2019t liked by the Collins family. Even the servants could call her the illegitimate daughter. Jessica Collins, Mrs. Collins\u2019s daughter, had enjoyed bullying her since they were kids.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later, to prevent Jessica from an arranged marriage, David Collins forced her to marry the extremely ugly Mr. Bron-\u00a0<\/p>\n
ner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking at the WhatsApp contact David pushed toward her, Nina\u2019s hand trembled slightly, but she finally steeled her- self and tapped \u2018add\u2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sean was a paranoid and extremely possessive person. Even if he didn\u2019t like her, he would never let her leave him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, the only way to leave him was to get married.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, I\u2019m Nina.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man on the other end didn\u2019t respond at all, and Nina froze for a second.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While she was still spacing out, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. \u201cHey!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She turned around, confused, and saw that it was the same young girl who had tapped her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The young girl had a sweet face, but her skin had an unhealthy paleness to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m Isabelle White. And you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNina.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be sad. Whatever it is, it\u2019ll pass. I\u2019ve been through a lot of hardship, and it all passed in the end.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nina\u2019s restless heart calmed a little. She stared blankly at the clouds outside the window.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today was Sean\u2019s birthday, and she had rushed back from out of state to celebrate with him, not sleeping all night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But just a moment ago, Sean had told her he didn\u2019t have time to pick her up. Nina\u2019s fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of her phone as she followed the crowd off the plane.\u00a0<\/p>\n
0.0 %\u00a0<\/p>\n
22:53\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, she heard a very familiar voice. \u201cIsabelle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nina\u2019s head snapped up, and she saw the man standing not far away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sean was in a black suit, waving to Isabelle, his expression as gentle as a calm lake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nina\u2019s heart gave a painful lurch. Her hand unconsciously tightened on the hem of her dress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Didn\u2019t Sean say he didn\u2019t have time\u2026?\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Nina stood there, stunned, Sean, who wasn\u2019t far off, seemed to sense something and glanced in her direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nina couldn\u2019t look away in time, and her eyes met his cold gaze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment Sean saw her, his brow furrowed. \u201cNina, come here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a command, and Nina had no choice but to brace herself and walk over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
288 Vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
Isabelle froze for a second when she saw Nina, then broke into a wide smile, \u201cIt\u2019s you! You must be Sean\u2019s girlfriend, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nina stared at Isabelle, a bit lost in thought. \u201cYou\u2019re\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as Sean was about to speak, Isabelle jumped in, \u201cI\u2019m his sister.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sean frowned but didn\u2019t say anything more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When they got in the car, Isabelle offered to sit in the back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nina nodded and was about to get into the passenger seat, but Sean stopped her. \u201cYou go in the back. Isabelle isn\u2019t well; it\u2019s uncomfortable for her back there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking at his serious expression, Nina slowly nodded and stepped away from the passenger side, an indescribable feeling churning inside her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She gets terrible car sickness, and Sean knew it. In the three years they were together, she had never sat in the back\u00a0<\/p>\n
seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Isabelle quickly suggested some activities they could play at the birthday party lat-\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nina just listened quietly, not saying a word.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sean frowned and glanced at her, his voice a bit hoarse. \u201cWhat\u2019s with you today? You\u2019re not being very social.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A sharp pain shot through her heart, as if pierced by a blade. She didn\u2019t like lively places; Sean had always known\u00a0<\/p>\n
that\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
The weather in the southern city was unpredictable; it quickly started raining outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
David called unexpectedly, \u201cNina, you need to clear out your things from the house. The new maid needs the room.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
46.4 %\u00a0<\/p>\n
22:53\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Collins family was so huge and wealthy, how could they not even have a spare room\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
The car was instantly silent. Nina felt utterly humiliated, her face stinging as if she\u2019d just been slapped hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was helplessly silent, her face filled with exhaustion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to get out of the car.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
93.2 %\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
Loomwood Galleries Framed Pilgrim Murals by Iris Vaughn 2 Nina was the illegitimate daughter of the Collins family in Los […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-girl-in-the-shadows-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24292\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}