Not The Hideous Bride, Just A Goddess In Disguise

Claire Bennett's wedding night had become completely ridiculous.

Just how ridiculous was it?

At the same moment, a lawyer set a marriage certificate and a set of divorce papers before her. "Mrs. Bennett, I need you to sign here."

She had gotten married that afternoon, but someone was already pressuring her to sign the divorce papers by that evening. The explanation was simple. Her new husband believed she was ugly.

During the introduction arranged by their families, the man she had married had seen her from afar and walked away in anger. They still hadn't even met each other properly.

Her adoptive grandfather and his grandfather had arranged the marriage. Since he couldn't go against their decision, her husband had chosen their wedding night to set the date for their divorce.

However, he had no idea that Claire was secretly part of the core research team at Nebula Bio-Institute. She was in charge of a group that was creating an experimental serum for gene repair, and she had used herself as a test subject.

The serum had caused a side effect that made her skin look dull and her face appear swollen, which had ruined her appearance.

Fortunately, those symptoms wouldn't last. Her body needed thirty days to completely process the serum, and her usual appearance would come back afterward.

By an unlucky coincidence, their arranged introduction had happened during that thirty-day period. Claire had planned to tell him the truth in person, but he hadn't stayed long enough to let her explain.

Still, none of that mattered anymore. She had agreed to the marriage only because she wanted to honor her late adoptive grandfather's final wish.

After reaching that decision, Claire signed the papers.

"The divorce agreement will become official after one year," the lawyer said. "My client wants you to tell both families that ending the marriage was your decision. He doesn't want this matter to cause any more trouble between him and his grandfather."

"That's fine with me," Claire replied.

"My client also instructed me to give you the mansion and this bank card as compensation."

The lawyer set an exclusive black card on the table and placed the marriage certificate and signed settlement inside his briefcase. He would need both documents to complete the divorce one year later.

A trace of amusement came over Claire. She was already married, but she hadn't even looked at her own marriage certificate.

"My client left me with one final message for you," the lawyer continued. "While this marriage remains in effect, he doesn't want you leaving this mansion. He also expects you to keep the marriage a secret from everyone. If you break either condition, you'll lose both the mansion and the card. Please remember that, Mrs. Bennett."

The lawyer finished delivering his message and left.

Fury burned through Claire. That jerk had some nerve. Did he honestly believe he could keep her trapped inside? Did he expect her to quietly follow every rule he set for her?

After telling the house staff not to bother her, she returned to her bedroom. She took a shower, changed her clothes, and slipped through the rear window before landing in the garden. Then she stayed out of sight of the security cameras, climbed over the wall, and escaped.

One hour later, a taxi stopped outside the Zenith Lounge.

Claire stepped out in a flowing blue dress covered with delicate floral prints. Her long and naturally wavy hair framed her soft and radiant appearance. People turned to look as she walked past, and their admiration was easy to see.

Since she was used to receiving attention, she paid them no mind and walked straight inside. Hollie Ashton, her best friend, was waiting to meet her in a private room.

When Claire entered the lobby through the main doors, a man dressed in a black suit approached from the opposite direction.

He stood tall with his back straight, while his sharp features and deep-set eyes made him seem casually indifferent. Even so, his strong presence placed silent pressure on everyone nearby. His personal assistant and several bodyguards followed close behind him. Anyone could tell at a glance that he wasn't an ordinary man.

Out of courtesy, Claire moved to the side and allowed the group to pass.

However, the man suddenly stopped in the middle of a step. Pain flashed through his eyes, and his handsome face lost all its color within seconds.

Claire barely had time to understand what was happening before he fell at her feet.

"Mr. Greene, can you hear me?" The assistant and bodyguards rushed forward to examine him. One of them immediately called 911.

Panic quickly spread throughout the lobby.

Claire was a doctor, so she couldn't simply watch without helping.

One look told her that his condition was severe. Without immediate treatment, he might not survive long enough for the ambulance to reach him.

Claire quickly knelt beside him and unfastened the top buttons of his shirt.

The assistant stared at her in shock and tried to stop her. "What exactly are you trying to do?!"

"I'm a doctor!" Claire spoke with calm authority. Her firm voice left no room for anyone to argue. "Everyone, move away from him! He needs more air!"

For a moment, the assistant studied her with uncertainty. Then he slowly pulled his hand back.

The bodyguards also stepped away without thinking.

First, Claire checked the man's pulse. After determining what had caused his collapse, she opened the rest of his shirt. She placed both hands against his abdomen and started pressing and kneading the area with steady and careful force.

His abdomen was firm and clearly defined with eight strong muscles. Claire moved her slender and smooth hands repeatedly across them. From the crowd's point of view, the scene looked far too intimate.

Without any warning, Claire opened the man's belt and carefully lowered his pants.

Everyone in the crowd gasped at once. Someone hissed, "What in the world is she doing? Is she trying to get herself killed? He's the most feared man in the entire city!"

The assistant looked alarmed. He shouted, "Everyone, leave this area right now!"

With trained precision, the bodyguards surrounded the area and cleared everyone from the lobby.

Since the crowd could no longer see what was happening, their guesses quickly became outrageous. Every new rumor sounded worse than the one before it.

"How do we know she's actually a doctor? She probably made the whole thing up just so she could get closer to Mr. Greene."

"That woman has no shame at all. Mr. Greene can't stand women who play tricks like this. He'll make sure she pays for what she did."

The assistant started to step in because he also suspected Claire's intentions. However, the look on her face made him stop at once. She was completely focused on treating his boss. Nothing in her eyes suggested that she was trying to flirt with his boss. He saw only the steady concentration of a trained medical professional. Eventually, he lowered his hand.

Claire pulled the unconscious man's pants down only far enough to reveal his hip bones. After applying firm pressure to a precise spot on his lower abdomen, she took an auto-injector from her kit and gave him a fast-acting painkiller. The pain on his face faded almost right away.

However, he was still struggling to breathe. Claire shifted closer and placed one hand over the other at the center of his chest before beginning chest compressions.

Almost ten minutes passed before his breathing finally became steady.

At that moment, the ambulance arrived at the scene.

"The paramedics will handle everything from this point." After saying that, Claire got to her feet and left.

To Claire, she had merely handled another emergency during her time as a doctor. She didn't give the incident another thought.

However, Hollie looked horrified when Claire met her at the end of the hallway.

"Good grief, Claire," Hollie whispered as she grabbed her arm. "Do you even know who you just treated?"

Before Claire had a chance to respond, Hollie pulled her out of the club. They hurried away as though they were thieves escaping in the middle of the night.

As soon as they left the building, Hollie slammed her foot on the gas and raced for twelve blocks. She finally stopped on a quiet side street.

Claire looked at Hollie as though her friend had completely lost her senses.

"Claire, you don't understand what you just did!" Hollie's voice shook with fear. "The man you had your hands all over was Nolan Greene! Don't tell me you have no idea who he is."

Claire had spent the last fifteen years living with her adoptive grandfather near the distant border of Ironridge. She had returned to Pilvale only recently because of an arranged marriage. Although she barely knew the city, Nolan's name was still familiar to her.

Among the states in Aetiria, Ironridge was the poorest, while Egomont was the wealthiest. Pilvale was the largest and busiest city in Egomont.

As part of Pilvale's strongest family, Nolan held more power than most people could imagine. He was only twenty-six, yet he already led the Greene Group and had earned a ruthless reputation across the city. Everyone saw him as a living nightmare, and they knew they would face serious consequences if they ever crossed him.

"Nolan can't stand women!" Hollie continued. Her family had belonged to Pilvale's wealthy circle for generations, so she knew Nolan much better than Claire did. "More women than I can count have tried to approach him, but none of them ever came within six feet. Do you want to know what happened? Every woman who stepped too close suddenly... vanished."

To make her point clear, Hollie dramatically drew a finger across her throat.

Claire couldn't hold back her laughter. "I wasn't trying to make him notice me."

"You took off his clothes! Your hands were all over his stomach and chest!"

"I was only giving him emergency treatment," Claire retorted in a flat tone. "I needed to relax his muscles and perform CPR."

"Someone like Nolan won't see any difference between the two!"

Claire paused and said nothing. A moment later, she took out her phone. Her fingers moved quickly across the screen as she broke into the Zenith Lounge's security system and erased every recording that captured her face. "Everything happened so quickly that no one probably saw my face clearly," she said. "Now that I've erased the recordings, he won't have any way to track me down."

"That was brilliant!" Hollie gave Claire a thumbs-up. Soon, another question came to her mind. "That reminds me. What about that awful husband of yours? Wouldn't he regret everything if he ever discovered what you actually look like?"

Claire let out a scornful laugh. "Any man who only values a woman's appearance can't be worth much."

Confusion soon replaced Hollie's curiosity. "That useless husband of yours is hiding something. He must have plenty of money if he owns a property in Eden. Still, no one important in Pilvale's wealthy social circles knows the Bennett family. Where could he possibly have come from?"

Claire couldn't give her an answer.

She only knew that her new husband's name was Christopher Bennett. She hadn't even met anyone from his family.

Without her adoptive grandfather's final wish, she wouldn't have agreed to such a ridiculous marriage.

Both friends continued drinking and talking until late at night. Shortly before four in the morning, Claire secretly returned to the house in Eden and climbed into bed.

At the same time, Nolan had regained consciousness inside a hospital suite.

He had adopted his mother's surname, so his legal name was Christopher Bennett. Hardly anyone knew that Nolan and Christopher were the same person.

Naturally, Claire didn't know that the man she had rescued last night was actually her own husband.

Tension filled the hospital suite and made it difficult to breathe. Nolan's cold stare was enough to make anyone's knees feel weak.

No one felt more afraid than his personal assistant, Sean Marshall. He had already prepared himself to face his boss's anger.

Nolan followed his principles without exception. He had been pushed into marrying a woman he believed was ugly and worthless. However, he planned to stay faithful for as long as their marriage remained valid.

Last night, Sean hadn't bothered to investigate the unknown woman's identity. Instead, he had allowed her to treat Nolan. He had also stood there and watched her do everything she had done to his boss.

By then, the rumors had already gotten out of control. People were saying that a woman had taken advantage of Nolan in front of everyone.

"It was a critical situation, Mr. Greene," Sean said. "That young woman appeared reliable, so I allowed her to step in and help."

He struggled to get each word out.

The attending physician came forward and supported Sean's explanation. "Mr. Greene, your condition was critical. If she hadn't acted right away, you wouldn't have made it through the night."

Nolan's face only grew colder. "Find her and bring her to me before the hour is over."

Sean had no idea what his boss planned to do with the young woman. He immediately stood straight and followed the order. "I'll take care of it, sir."

Once Sean had left, Nolan turned a cold stare toward the doctor who remained inside the room. He lowered his voice to a threatening tone. "According to your reasoning, I'm supposed to wake up each morning and assume it could be my last day?"

He had escaped death this time, but there was no guarantee that he would survive the next attack.

Knowing that death could come for him without warning ate away at his mind. He couldn't allow uncertainty to take control of his life.

"Mr. Greene, no treatment currently available can repair this type of DNA damage," the doctor explained quickly as he tried to calm him. "However, we've heard reports about a certain Dr. C from the Nebula Bio-Institute. According to those rumors, the Institute is developing a serum that can repair damaged genes, and the research team has already achieved an important breakthrough. We're reaching out to every contact we have so we can get in touch with them!"

Naturally, Nolan had already heard about the mysterious Dr. C. He had spent several months searching for the doctor, but every lead had gone nowhere.

The Nebula Bio-Institute kept everything hidden from the public, and Dr. C was one of its most secretive core members. No one outside the institute even knew whether the doctor was a man or a woman.

With a brief motion of his hand, Nolan ordered everyone to leave.

As soon as the door closed, he rushed toward the bathroom. Once he reached the mirror, he stopped and carefully examined his reflection.

He opened his shirt and inspected his chest before checking his lower abdomen.

Although he had drifted in and out of consciousness last night, he could still remember every touch clearly.

Something about her touch had drawn him in completely. As soon as she placed her hands on him, a powerful desire had swept through his body. His throat had turned dry, and rather than asking her to stop, he had wanted her to keep touching him.

He had never felt anything like it before. Even now, a soft and pleasant feeling continued to move through his body.

Her touch wasn't the only thing that had caught his attention. She matched everything he wanted in a woman, and even her scent had appealed to him. The instant he saw her, he had wanted to make her his.

At that moment, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He refused to waste another day trapped in this damned arranged marriage.

Nolan usually remained calm and distant whenever he handled business matters. However, he sounded almost out of control when he called his divorce lawyer. "Get her to sign a new divorce agreement immediately."

After ending the call, he took a quick shower and asked one of his bodyguards to bring him a new suit.

Once he had showered and dressed in the spotless suit, he sat on the bed. Then he waited for Sean to bring back the woman from last night.

However, an hour passed before Sean finally came back alone.

"Mr. Greene, my team searched every hospital across the city, but none of them had any record of her," he said. "To make things worse, the surveillance system at Zenith Lounge stopped working. All the recordings from last night disappeared, and no one could recover them. Without that footage, we don't have any way to find her."

Nolan's face turned cold, and the entire room fell silent.

Sean stood completely still because he was too afraid to make even the slightest movement.

After a full minute of silence, Nolan forced three words through his clenched teeth. "Don't stop searching."

Claire remained asleep until four that afternoon.

She only woke up after the household staff knocked on her door. If they hadn't disturbed her, she would have continued sleeping.

The serum's side effects had temporarily thrown off her circadian rhythm. As a result, her normal sleep and waking cycle had become severely disturbed.

Throughout the day, her metabolism worked at a slower pace. Her body felt weak and heavy, and she stayed tired and sleepy for hours.

Once night came, her metabolism became much more active. Her energy also reached its highest point, so she felt wide awake and ready to do anything.

This reversed pattern between her days and nights would continue for a while.

Claire still couldn't see clearly when she opened the door. Lucy Carter, a servant, stood in the hallway beside Hugh Finch, the butler. Both of them appeared extremely concerned.

"Mrs. Bennett, you've been asleep since seven last night. Twenty-one hours have already passed. Are you feeling all right?" Lucy said.

"Would you like me to contact a doctor?" Hugh added.

Since she couldn't reveal the real reason, Claire gave them a simple excuse. "I'm okay. I just enjoy sleeping for a long time."

Lucy and Hugh stared at her in complete shock. Neither of them had ever met someone who could sleep for so many hours.

"You must be extremely hungry by now. Please come downstairs and have something to eat," Lucy finally said.

"All right," Claire replied.

Without changing out of her pajamas, she headed downstairs.

Her slippers hardly rose from the floor as she slowly dragged her feet forward. She looked messy and completely drained.

Shortly after four that afternoon, Claire already felt much better than she would have earlier in the day. If she had woken up in the morning, her condition would have been much worse.

Her energy dropped to its lowest point at noon before reaching its highest level at midnight. This same pattern repeated itself every day.

When Claire reached the foot of the stairs, she released a long and tired yawn.

Before she could finish yawning, the lawyer entered. "Mrs. Bennett, my client sent me here so you can review and sign a divorce agreement..."