Chapter 1 The Substitute Bride

The ornately decorated wedding car trundled into a quiet villa alone. It was supposed to be a happy day, filled with fun and laughter. But the atmosphere was depressing as a funeral.

Layla Reed looked ahead, with her chin held high, her back straight, trying to look strong and confident. She recalled what her mother, Alina Wallace, had told her before she got in the wedding car. "If you bring any shame or disgrace to the Reed family, I will drive that old woman out of the hospital."

Alina was referring to Layla's grandmother. Although Layla knew she and her grandma weren't related by blood, she still loved the woman with all her heart.

A month ago, Layla was just a country girl.

One day, a group of men in black brought the police to Layla's house, saying she was the daughter of the Reed family who had gone missing for many years. Someone had mistakenly taken Layla away after she was born. Now, her parents found out the truth and wanted to take Layla back.

Layla had always yearned to meet her parents and experience their love and care. Thinking that God had finally heard her prayers, Layla followed the men to the Reed family's villa. However, her heart sank with disappointment when she saw her biological parents, Alina and Jim Reed.

"Is this the child?" Alina looked her up and down, scrunching her nose up in disgust. "Gosh, look at her skin. It's terrible. Give her a facial."

The servants immediately took Layla to a room for beauty treatments. The cozy bed and the relaxing massage made her sleepy. Just as her eyes closed and she was about to fall asleep, she heard the servants whispering to each other.

"Is this the country girl, who is going to get married on behalf of Miss Sandra Reed?"

"Yes. That's sad. I heard the eldest son of the Smith family is a cripple and has a bad temper. Now, the Smith family is on the verge of bankruptcy. They are borrowing money everywhere. Mrs. Reed doesn't want Miss Sandra Reed to suffer, so she has brought the country girl back to marry him. She is the substitute bride."

"I heard Miss Reed is in love with the eldest son of the Lawrence family. Is that true? Then, why didn't Mr. Reed cancel the engagement right away?" one of the servants asked.

"Are you silly? Mr. Reed values people's opinions of him above everything else. Why would he call off the engagement and make a fool of himself?"

Layla's eyes sprang open. A sense of betrayal resided in the pit of her stomach. Anger surged through her veins. She quickly stood up and walked toward the door.

She wanted to go back to her hometown. This place was not her home. They were not her parents! They regarded her as a substitute. Nothing else.

Unexpectedly, just as she stepped out of the room, she saw Alina standing at the door. As if she had anticipated such a reaction from Layla, Alina threw a diagnosis report at her.

"Take a look at this."

Layla frowned and picked it up. Her heart ached when she saw the name on it.

It was her grandma. She was diagnosed with primary myocardial infarction. It was already in the advanced stage. The estimated cost of the operation was five hundred thousand dollars. Layla froze. Where would she get so much money?

"If you marry into the Smith family on behalf of Sandra, I will pay for the old woman's treatment."

This woman, who claimed to be Layla's biological mother, didn't even bother pretending to be nice to her. She instantly proposed a deal, firmly believing that Layla would do anything to stop her grandmother from dying.

"Mrs. Smith, here we are."

The wedding car stopped, and the driver's voice snapped Layla from her thoughts.

"Okay."

She hurriedly grasped the hemline of her wedding dress and ducked out of the car. Unfortunately, she hit the car's roof. She looked up and saw the servants eyeing her with mockery. Loosening her grip on the hemline, she glared at them, took a deep breath, and strode forward.

Just then, her sharp heel stepped on the hemline of her dress, ripping it apart.

Layla lost her balance and fell backward.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for her back to collide with the ground. However, she didn't feel any pain.

Layla slowly opened her eyes. A frown creased her forehead as she found herself lying in the arms of a strange man. She looked up and found his deep eyes set on hers.

The man looked grim. He was sitting in a wheelchair, wearing his wedding suit. A white silk handkerchief peeked out of his breast pocket.

Was he Clark Smith, her husband-to-be?