Substitute Marriage: Falling For My Ugly Wife

No one would have thought that the Thomas family, the most powerful clan in Preagend, would be fooled like this.

In a large and lavish bedroom, a tall, well-dressed man seized the woman in the magnificent bridal gown by the neck in an outburst of rage.

"You're not Mia! How dare you and your family trick me into marrying you? You must be tired of living already," he growled.

The woman was forced to tilt her head back, but her slender and attractive neck failed to elicit any sympathy from the man.

"Let... let go..."

Half of her features were obscured by a white mask, revealing only her strikingly beautiful eyes, which were starting to water now.

"Let... let go..."

Her cheeks flushed, and she sputtered in distress.

The man tossed Millie Brown to the floor with a vicious swing of his arm and stared down at her condescendingly.

Millie felt a brief flutter of anxiety when she realized her mask had come loose on one side. She immediately moved to adjust it.

The man then slammed the door open and walked out of the room.

The shocked servant, who had seen the whole affair unfold, rushed to help the woman up from the floor.

"Madam, are you alright? Let me help you up," she said.

"Thank you," Millie replied.

When Millie finally stood up, she rubbed her reddened neck, where she had been gripped so tightly, and blinked her red, confused eyes at the open door.

"Is that man Marcus?"

The servant, who was now straightening Millie's bridal gown, answered, "Yes. He is the master of the house and your husband."

Millie frowned. She thought that Marcus Thomas was disabled, like the rumors said. Her half-sister, Mia Brown had cried about it, and in order to avoid marrying a disabled man, she practically forced Millie to wed Marcus instead.

As it turned out, Marcus's legs were fully functional, and he could walk with no issues at all.

The corners of Millie's mouth quirked up into a smirk. Mia would undoubtedly come to regret her decision if she found out that Marcus was not the supposed disabled person but, rather, an attractive man with a model-like physique.

Millie dragged her bridal gown to the bed where she and Marcus were supposed to consummate their marriage and sat on it. She cleared her throat and asked, "Well, isn't it time for dinner now?"

She had gone the entire day without eating, and now, she was starving.

The servant was puzzled. The tears that were flowing down Millie's cheeks earlier as Marcus nearly suffocated her were now gone, and she was acting as if nothing had happened.

When she noticed that Millie was staring at her, she quickly snapped out of her thoughts. Her head dipped as she stuttered, "Actually, madam, you're the only one who hasn't eaten dinner yet; everyone else has already done so."

For a brief second, Millie was speechless.

She guessed that it was probably because she was never really accepted by anyone in the Thomas household. Celeste Thomas, Marcus's mother had a reputation for being a stickler for the rules, but Millie was already being denied food, even though she had just joined the family. This was obviously an effort to assert authority and scare her, the new daughter-in-law.

"Just bring my food here, then," Millie instructed.

The servant's expression became troubled.

"If they ask you why you got me food, just tell them that I haven't eaten in three days and that if I don't eat, I'll starve to death in their house. Also, tell them that I already passed out from hunger earlier," Millie suggested.

"Is that... really going to work?" the servant timidly asked.

Millie gave her a reassuring wink and said, "It will. Trust me."

In the living room, Marcus sat on the extravagant leather sofa. He was holding a glass, and his grip on it was so tight that it looked like he wanted to break it.

His assistant walked up to him, carrying a stack of documents. "Mr. Thomas, after a thorough investigation, we can confirm that the woman you married wasn't Mia but Millie, who's known for her disfigured face. The Brown family had deceived us."

Marcus wrinkled his brow and released his grip on the glass, letting it fall to the floor.

His assistant pulled out two photos and set them down in front of him.

There was a striking difference between the two photos. Mia had fine features, and she looked ethereal. Millie, on the other hand, was scarred horribly on the right side of her face. It looked like a centipede had crawled across her face.

Marcus let out an ominous chuckle. "How dare they trick me into marrying that woman? Do they really think they can get away with it?"

Celeste, dressed to the nines and standing next to Marcus, grabbed the photos. The more she looked at them, the more unsettled she felt.

"Damn these Browns! They thought my son was a disabled man, so they had this hideous woman marry him!" she exclaimed.

Five years ago, Marcus got involved in a car accident, and since then, rumors had been circulating that it left him with paralyzed legs. When Celeste attempted to disprove the claims, Marcus stopped her.

Rhea Evans, who was sitting next to Celeste, felt a tremendous relief wash over her. In her heart, she was the one should be Marcus's wife, and it seemed that was still the case until now. After all, there was no way Marcus would fall for that ugly woman.

"Mrs. Brown, please calm down. Here, let me give you a massage," Rhea said.

The union between the two families was not announced to the public and was instead conducted discreetly.

The Thomas family was set on tying the knot with some well-regarded family, and they had gone through several rounds of interviews and meetings with potential candidates before settling on Mia.

On the day of the wedding, the Thomas family sent only one car to pick up the bride from the Brown family's home, and the ceremony itself was extremely simple. It was common knowledge that marrying into the Thomas family would elevate the Browns' social standing.

However, no one thought that the Browns would have the guts to change the bride without the Thomases' knowledge, successfully deceiving them.

Marcus, who had already met Mia before, did not realize he had married someone else until he got home from work and saw Millie's mask-clad face.

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.

"Go on. Tell me what's different about you in the photo." Marcus's eyes glinted for a second as though something had piqued his interest.

Could it be that her disfigurement was fake?

Millie crouched down to pick up the photo. She examined it for a while before raising her head to beam at Marcus. "Honey, actually, my face has been digitally enhanced to make me look somewhat presentable in this photo. The scar on my face is longer and more unsightly in real life. Do you know who took this photo? Their photography skills are really good. Can you give me their contact information?"

Marcus's forehead began to show visible veins. Was the woman trying to mess with him? Additionally, the blatant way she addressed him as "honey" made him furious. Did she have no shame?

Meanwhile, Millie's eyes sparkled as she plotted new ways to infuriate him.

Inwardly, she snorted and berated Marcus and his family for summoning her just as she was about to fill her stomach and for acting high and mighty as they humiliated her. Whatever was giving them such an inflated sense of self-importance was beyond Millie.

"Are you interested in how I really look? Do you want me to take my mask off and show you my real face? I can do that. I don't mind at all. After all, I can't hide my appearance from my husband and my in-laws forever."

As Millie spoke, she reached for the mask's string. Rhea braced herself as she wondered how hideous the woman's face was.

"Stop! Go back to your room!" Finally, Marcus lost his temper. The woman was not only ugly, but she was also annoying. She was definitely provoking him.

"All right. I'll go now." Millie then climbed the stairs nonchalantly, as if she had not just gotten a rise out of him.

Celeste sensed unease in her gut as she watched the woman leave. A sigh escaped her lips.

"This is a disaster. Did we do something extremely evil in our past lives to attract such a hideous woman to torment us? Oh, I don't think I can handle this. I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack from all this anger."

Once Millie was back inside the bedroom, she raised a hand to take her mask off, only to stop when she realized that the servant who brought her food was still there, eyes wide with curiosity.

"You can leave now. I'll call you once I'm done eating," Millie said.

"Oh, yes, madam." With that, the servant left.

Once she was alone, Millie finally removed her mask.

However, unlike what others claimed, her face was completely scar-free. If anything, she was remarkably beautiful. Her complexion was immaculate, her eyes were bright, her nose was perfectly shaped, and her lips were irresistibly full and plump.

When Millie was just twelve years old, her biological mother passed away from a terminal illness. Shortly after her mother's death, her father married Gianna publicly. She brought with her Mia, Millie's older sister by a year.

Gianna and Mia had always seen Millie as a thorn in their side. There was one time when Millie was stopped by a group of street thugs, whom Mia hired, on her way home from school. They waved knives at her and threatened to cut her face.

At that time, her face could have been badly damaged if a random stranger had not intervened to save her.

Millie also managed to bribe the street thugs to trick Mia and Gianna into thinking that her face had been severely scarred. Since then, she had been hiding her face.

Back to the present, Millie enthusiastically stuffed a slice of braised pork into her mouth, moaning when the savoury flavour assaulted her tongue.

Thirty minutes later, the servant, who had predicted that Millie would be done eating by now, knocked on the door and announced that she would be coming in to get the dishes.

At the moment, Millie had just finished her meal and was now in the bathroom washing her face because wearing the mask all day had left her face feeling suffocated. The servant waited for a response but got none, so she opened the door and went inside.

The servant presumed Marcus would be on his way to the second floor any time soon. He disliked messiness the most, and when he entered the untidy room, he would immediately reprimand the servants.

Millie had just finished washing her face and was looking for her mask when the servant let out a surprised cry.

"Madam... your face..."

The servant's jaws hung open in shock. She thought that Millie was a monstrously ugly woman. However, the woman in front of her had strikingly beautiful features. Was she really Millie?

At first, the servant thought she was seeing things. She and her fellow servants gathered earlier to look at Millie's photo, and the woman in it had a severely scarred face.

Marcus's face was clouded with wrath as he burst through the door. "What the heck is that noise?"