Substitute Marriage: Falling For My Ugly Wife

No one would have thought that the Thomas family, the most powerful clan in Preagend, would be fooled like this.

In a large and lavish bedroom, a tall, well-dressed man seized the woman in the magnificent bridal gown by the neck in an outburst of rage.

"You're not Mia! How dare you and your family trick me into marrying you? You must be tired of living already," he growled.

The woman was forced to tilt her head back, but her slender and attractive neck failed to elicit any sympathy from the man.

"Let... let go..."

Half of her features were obscured by a white mask, revealing only her strikingly beautiful eyes, which were starting to water now.

"Let... let go..."

Her cheeks flushed, and she sputtered in distress.

The man tossed Millie Brown to the floor with a vicious swing of his arm and stared down at her condescendingly.

Millie felt a brief flutter of anxiety when she realized her mask had come loose on one side. She immediately moved to adjust it.

The man then slammed the door open and walked out of the room.

The shocked servant, who had seen the whole affair unfold, rushed to help the woman up from the floor.

"Madam, are you alright? Let me help you up," she said.

"Thank you," Millie replied.

When Millie finally stood up, she rubbed her reddened neck, where she had been gripped so tightly, and blinked her red, confused eyes at the open door.

"Is that man Marcus?"

The servant, who was now straightening Millie's bridal gown, answered, "Yes. He is the master of the house and your husband."

Millie frowned. She thought that Marcus Thomas was disabled, like the rumors said. Her half-sister, Mia Brown had cried about it, and in order to avoid marrying a disabled man, she practically forced Millie to wed Marcus instead.

As it turned out, Marcus's legs were fully functional, and he could walk with no issues at all.

The corners of Millie's mouth quirked up into a smirk. Mia would undoubtedly come to regret her decision if she found out that Marcus was not the supposed disabled person but, rather, an attractive man with a model-like physique.

Millie dragged her bridal gown to the bed where she and Marcus were supposed to consummate their marriage and sat on it. She cleared her throat and asked, "Well, isn't it time for dinner now?"

She had gone the entire day without eating, and now, she was starving.

The servant was puzzled. The tears that were flowing down Millie's cheeks earlier as Marcus nearly suffocated her were now gone, and she was acting as if nothing had happened.

When she noticed that Millie was staring at her, she quickly snapped out of her thoughts. Her head dipped as she stuttered, "Actually, madam, you're the only one who hasn't eaten dinner yet; everyone else has already done so."

For a brief second, Millie was speechless.

She guessed that it was probably because she was never really accepted by anyone in the Thomas household. Celeste Thomas, Marcus's mother had a reputation for being a stickler for the rules, but Millie was already being denied food, even though she had just joined the family. This was obviously an effort to assert authority and scare her, the new daughter-in-law.

"Just bring my food here, then," Millie instructed.

The servant's expression became troubled.

"If they ask you why you got me food, just tell them that I haven't eaten in three days and that if I don't eat, I'll starve to death in their house. Also, tell them that I already passed out from hunger earlier," Millie suggested.

"Is that... really going to work?" the servant timidly asked.

Millie gave her a reassuring wink and said, "It will. Trust me."

In the living room, Marcus sat on the extravagant leather sofa. He was holding a glass, and his grip on it was so tight that it looked like he wanted to break it.

His assistant walked up to him, carrying a stack of documents. "Mr. Thomas, after a thorough investigation, we can confirm that the woman you married wasn't Mia but Millie, who's known for her disfigured face. The Brown family had deceived us."

Marcus wrinkled his brow and released his grip on the glass, letting it fall to the floor.

His assistant pulled out two photos and set them down in front of him.

There was a striking difference between the two photos. Mia had fine features, and she looked ethereal. Millie, on the other hand, was scarred horribly on the right side of her face. It looked like a centipede had crawled across her face.

Marcus let out an ominous chuckle. "How dare they trick me into marrying that woman? Do they really think they can get away with it?"

Celeste, dressed to the nines and standing next to Marcus, grabbed the photos. The more she looked at them, the more unsettled she felt.

"Damn these Browns! They thought my son was a disabled man, so they had this hideous woman marry him!" she exclaimed.

Five years ago, Marcus got involved in a car accident, and since then, rumors had been circulating that it left him with paralyzed legs. When Celeste attempted to disprove the claims, Marcus stopped her.

Rhea Evans, who was sitting next to Celeste, felt a tremendous relief wash over her. In her heart, she was the one should be Marcus's wife, and it seemed that was still the case until now. After all, there was no way Marcus would fall for that ugly woman.

"Mrs. Brown, please calm down. Here, let me give you a massage," Rhea said.

The union between the two families was not announced to the public and was instead conducted discreetly.

The Thomas family was set on tying the knot with some well-regarded family, and they had gone through several rounds of interviews and meetings with potential candidates before settling on Mia.

On the day of the wedding, the Thomas family sent only one car to pick up the bride from the Brown family's home, and the ceremony itself was extremely simple. It was common knowledge that marrying into the Thomas family would elevate the Browns' social standing.

However, no one thought that the Browns would have the guts to change the bride without the Thomases' knowledge, successfully deceiving them.

Marcus, who had already met Mia before, did not realize he had married someone else until he got home from work and saw Millie's mask-clad face.