Chapter 4 Being Discovered

"Sir, her face..."

Millie's heartbeat sped up as she panicked at the thought of her deception being discovered.

She hurriedly ducked her head, put her mask on, and grabbed the servant's hand.

Millie quickly cut her off mid-sentence, saying, "It's nothing. She just got scared when I took my mask off."

"No, I wasn't scared. It's..." The servant tried to continue explaining, but she paused when Millie anxiously squeezed her hand.

The servant gave Millie a questioning look, wondering why she was preventing her from telling Marcus the truth.

Millie rubbed the servant's back in a comforting manner. "It's okay. I'm sorry for scaring you. Don't worry. I won't take my mask off again when you're around."

The servant gaped at her. She could not fathom why Millie would say such a ridiculous lie.

With furrowed brows, Marcus regarded the unusual scene before him thoughtfully.

"It's good that you have some self-awareness. You'd better hide that face of yours properly. Don't you dare embarrass me by showing it to anyone."

Marcus did not show it on his face, but he felt a shiver run down his spine. Millie's face had scared the servant so much that she actually screamed. It must have been a horrifying sight.

A sigh of relief escaped Millie's lips, thankful that Marcus had bought her story. The man left the room and retreated to the first floor. He did not want to stay in the bedroom any longer after witnessing the servant's reaction to Millie's face.

"You don't have any scars on your face at all. Why would you..."

Millie examined the servant from head to toe. Based on her innocent-looking face, the young woman looked to be in her early twenties. She did not look like a troublemaker, either.

"What's your name?" Millie asked.

"I'm Gemma," the servant replied.

"Alright, Gemma. Listen, you mustn't tell anyone about what you saw. There's a reason why I'm hiding my face, so please don't let anyone know about this. Keep this a secret for me, and I'll treat you more nicely."

"Oh. Uh, okay, I guess..." Gemma Wright replied, squirming the words out of her mouth with difficulty.

After Gemma left with the dishes, Millie checked her phone and saw a message from Grace Bector, her best friend.

"Are you still alive, Millie? The Thomas family hasn't torn you apart, have they?"

Millie immediately typed a response. "Hoping for something bad to happen to me already, you wicked girl? Why can't you just wish me well? By the way, how are D.S's new jewelry sales coming along?"

Grace instantly responded, "Please, I'm just expressing my concern for you. Anyway, the new jewelry is selling like crazy. Millie, you're amazing. Your jewelry designs always end up being bestsellers. You really are a genius designer."

With a radiant smile on her face, Millie twisted the tiny ruby ring on her middle finger.

"Well, now you know how great I am. Treat me better in the future, and you'll reap the rewards."

"Don't worry. My heart will always belong to you, Millie. By the way, do you really plan to keep wearing the mask even when you're at the Thomas family's house? You have a gorgeous face, but you hide it behind a mask, making everyone think that you're ugly. It's a real pity," Grace commented.

"I'll keep wearing the mask. I didn't choose this marriage; it was thrust upon me. I want Marcus to be disgusted with me, so he has to continue believing that I'm really ugly. Then, once he has enough, he'll divorce me, and I'll be free again. In the meantime, I have to track down Leon and persuade him to operate on my grandmother. I'll only consider this endeavour a success if I manage to convince him."

Millie only agreed to marry Marcus because Gianna and Mia had threatened her regarding her grandmother's condition. Her grandmother was currently suffering from a massive brain tumour that required delicate surgery to remove.

There were only two surgeons she knew who were capable of performing this procedure. The first was Joel Roberts, Mia's uncle, and the second was Leon Thomas, Marcus's cousin.

Leon was a mysterious person who was much spoken of but rarely seen in public. Before she found him, Millie was set on having her grandmother operated on by Joel. It was because of it that she let Mia have complete authority over her.

Unfortunately, Joel would not agree to operate on her grandmother unless she married Marcus as a stand-in for Mia.

Mia, being the proud woman that she was, refused to marry Marcus because he was known to be a useless cripple.

She did not wish to wed Marcus, but Gianna had her eyes set on a piece of land given by the Thomas family as a gift for the union, so the two women concocted a plan in which Millie would marry Marcus instead.

After she and Grace finished their conversation, Millie realized she was thirsty.

She looked around the room for water, but there was not a single drop of water inside the pitcher that she found.

She had no choice but to go downstairs.

When Millie got to the first floor, she stopped a passing servant. The house was big, and she did not know where the kitchen was, so she had to ask for directions.

"I'm thirsty. Can you tell me where the kitchen is?" Millie asked.

The servant stared intently at Millie's face, trying to see the hideous scar beneath her mask. Only when Millie frowned did she realize she was being rude.

"Of course, madam. Please follow me," the servant replied.

Millie cast a backward glance as they walked toward the kitchen. The servant had been staring oddly at a certain room earlier. It made her think that something was hidden inside it.

Once they reached the kitchen, Millie instructed, "There's a pitcher in the bedroom. Can you please fill it with water?"

After dismissing the servant, she poured herself a glass of water and drank it. She then walked out of the kitchen and toward the direction the servant had been staring at earlier.

The door to the room was slightly ajar.

A soft, melodious voice could be heard coming from inside.