“I, Serena Sterling, was infamous in our social circle for being ugly. Heavy bangs that hid my eyes, a face scattered with freckles, and clothes that never quite fit right made me unpleasant to look at. And yet, somehow, this very appearance caught Adrian Blackwood's attention. Even under pressure from his family, even as people mocked him for having a "taste for the ugly," he still insisted on marrying me. In the three years that followed, he spoiled me into becoming the most envied wife in our circle. I thought it was real love-the kind that saw past appearances and reached the soul. Until the day I stumbled upon ninety-nine love letters in his study-and a trust document bearing another woman's name. Only then did I realize that all his devotion had been nothing but a lie-one that turned me into a shield for the woman he truly loved. He had never loved me. Now that he had secured his position in the Blackwood family, he was finally free to be with her. I didn't argue. I handed him the divorce papers, wiped away the disguise that had made me "ugly," and disappeared from his life.”