I was getting married today!
However, my newly wedded husband was dead.
Yep, you didn't hear me wrong. I would become a widow right after the wedding.
I knew, this sounded incredible.
But, it was true.
My biological father asked me to marry a dead man to protect his other daughter.
To understand how I got here, we need to go back a few years...
I had no parents, and was raised by my uncle since I could remember things.
A few months ago, the Smith family, wealthy in the city, suddenly found me.
They said that I was a Smith by blood. They also said that I had fallen into the wrong hand because of the fire in the hospital where I was born.
Like Cinderella, I became Miss Kelly Smith overnight.
However, this fact didn't change my life.
They told me my mother had died in that fire in the hospital.
My father soon got married with his current wife.
The girl, who had taken my place for years, was their beloved daughter.
I was a tool for the Smith family to play up to the Brown family.
So even on the day of the wedding, they didn't show up.
They sent a housekeeper over. The housekeeper gave me a golden velvet jewelry box and said, "Miss Kelly, this is a wedding gift from Mrs. Smith. Please take it!"
A necklace, which seemed to be of great value, was in the jewelry box. The pendant was an orchid gem with countless small diamonds around it. I didn't know much about jewelry, but this necklace looked expensive.
"Thank you."
I took the necklace and put it on my neck.
Perhaps, my father and stepmother loved me.
They just didn't know how to get along with me.
I was still in a daze when the car stopped at the gate of the Brown family.
The magnificent building was like a castle described in books. The driver led me into the house. I saw a large coffin in the living room. The coffin, made of obsidian, looked horrible against the light.
A white-haired old man greeted me.
He wore a black suit with a white flower pinned on his left lapel. I couldn't tell whether the expression on his face was happy or sad.
"Nice to meet you," I said hesitantly.
"Madam, you may call me Joey, the butler here. Please keep Master company tonight. Let him feel the joy of wedding."
After that, Joey raised his wrinkled hand and pressed hard on the corners of his eyes to wipe those, invisible tears.
I stood by the coffin and felt the situation ironic.
The butler couldn't shed a drop of tear for Carroll Brown.
However, he asked me, who had never met Carroll before today, to company him.
Did the Brown family really think that an outsider like me cared about Carroll more than them?
Many people looked at me when I walked into the house.
They heard Joey and then began a heated discussion.
"Is she the wife of the dead Mr. Carroll?"
"Watch your mouth. This is a posthumous marriage, but it doesn't mean she has to die with Mr. Carroll. She'll be Mrs. Brown anyway."
"The Brown family is so ridiculous. Mr. Carroll is dead, so what's the point of his getting married? I feel sorry for this girl!"
The discussion gradually turned in another direction, and the crowd began to speak evil of Carroll and felt sorry for me.
It seemed that Mr. Carroll was not popular.
None of these mourners were sad for his death.
Therefore, I thought that Mr. Carroll and I were of the same kind.
I couldn't help but look up at the portrait above the coffin, and my heart skipped a beat for this glance.
The man in the portrait was the most handsome one I had ever seen. He was more gorgeous than the superstars in Hollywood.
He had beautiful eyebrows, bright eyes, fair skin, and a deeply lined face.