Chapter 2 In Fact, I Don't Look Like This

The servant carefully climbed the stairs with a tray of food in her hands.

Upon spotting her, Celeste called to stop her. "Hey, where are you taking that?"

The servant answered shakily, "The bride asked me to bring her some food. She said she hasn't eaten in three days and that if she doesn't eat soon, she'll die of hunger here."

"Is that all she knows how to do? Eat? What a pig!" Celeste spat, her tone dripping with disdain.

Lowering her head, the servant asked, "Should I still bring this to her, then? She already fainted earlier due to hunger."

Celeste did not respond. The servant waited for her to say something for a few seconds before climbing the rest of the steps to the second floor. She then exhaled a sigh of relief at the realization that Millie's advice had actually worked.

Back on the first floor, Celeste's phone, which was sitting on the coffee table, lit up. Her eyes widened when she saw the name displayed on the screen.

Millie's stepmother, Gianna Brown, was calling.

Celeste, her fury building, swiped her thumb angrily on the screen to accept the call.

"Gianna, you bitch! How dare you trick us? Just wait. I'll have Marcus acquire all of your family's holdings, and we won't stop until your family is as poor as a rat!"

"This is a misunderstanding, Mrs. Thomas. It was all that damn Millie's fault! That wicked woman drugged our food last night and knocked out our whole family. By the time we woke up, it was already too late. She has already married into your family while pretending to be Mia. Mrs. Thomas, if you want to blame someone, blame Millie. Please don't take out your anger on us. We're innocent," Gianna pleaded.

Shock overtook Celeste. Drugs? So, all of this was planned by Millie alone?

"Shut up! I've had enough of your lies. You'd better start praying for your lives because your downfall will come soon," Celeste snarled.

On the other end of the line, Gianna continued to explain herself. "Mrs. Thomas, I didn't lie to you! It was all Millie's fault. We're also victims here. Your family is the most prestigious and influential one in the town. We've always wanted to have a connection with you, so why would we throw away this chance?"

Mia's miserable sobbing could be heard through the phone as well.

"Mom, Millie has ruined my life! How could she be so cruel to me? I hate her so much! I've always admired Marcus and dreamed of one day being his wife, but Millie took that chance away from me!" Mia cried bitterly.

"You're a bunch of idiots!"

Enraged, Celeste ended the call. However, she had already fallen for Gianna and Mia's deceit.

Marcus, who had overheard their conversation, glanced in the direction of the bedroom on the second floor, his gaze calculating. It seemed that he had married a scheming woman.

"Go and tell that woman to come here," Marcus instructed.

Millie was ready to dig into the food the servant had brought her when a second one burst into the room.

"Sir Marcus wants to see you."

On the first floor, Marcus watched with narrowed eyes as Millie calmly approached him.

The woman had already ditched her bridal gown for a casual dress. She stopped before Marcus and wrapped her left hand around her right wrist in front of her, giving off a sweet and innocent air around her.

The mask she wore obscured half of her features, but it also gave her an air of mystery, and the parts of her face that were not concealed looked smooth and soft to the touch.

"Honey, I heard you wanted to see me," Millie said in a sweet voice, catching everyone off guard.

Marcus's squinted eyes widened.

However, Millie's soothing voice only distracted him for a moment.

Regaining from the daze, he snorted, "Honey? Who told you to call me that?"

"What should I call you if I can't call you that, then? Mr. Thomas? Marcus? Pick one, and I'll gladly call you that." Millie then proceeded to pretend ignorance by cocking her head to one side.

What a cunning woman. Marcus's face darkened.

He could tell that Millie was playing him, but he did not have any evidence to back up his suspicions.

Rhea's jaw tightened as she hissed, "Drop the act. We already know that you drugged your family so that you could marry Marcus. Honestly, I've never met a more wicked woman than you."

Drugged?

Millie's eyebrows furrowed in a thoughtful manner. She did not remember drugging any member of the Brown family.

Her silence prompted Rhea to continue. "You're going to keep playing innocent, huh? Your stepmother had just woken up, and she told us about your evil deeds. You're such a nasty woman. You don't deserve Marcus at all."

Realization crept into Millie. It was all Gianna's doing. It was really true that the guilty dog barked the loudest.

She turned to the woman who had been lecturing her. Rhea's face was roughly oval in shape, and she had attractive features. She was a beautiful woman, but it was ruined by the vicious scorn in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, but... who are you? Do you mind if I ask you to introduce yourself to me?" Millie requested.

Anger flashed across Rhea's face. "You..."

"Enough, Millie!" With a murderous expression on his face, Marcus cracked his knuckles menacingly before pointing at a photo. "Are you the ugly woman in this photo?"

Ugly woman?

Millie grimaced when she saw how red Marcus's knuckles had gotten. He must be really furious at her right now.

"Yes, honey, that's me in the photo, but how did you know what I look like? Have you seen me before?"

Suddenly, Marcus threw the photo, and it landed on the floor by Millie's feet. He was so angry that he felt like he was going to explode soon. Was the woman deliberately trying to piss him off? Everything she did and said infuriated him.

Smiling, Millie said, "Honey, don't be angry. I actually don't look like this in real life. I'm..."

Before she could reveal anything important, though, she stopped talking.