Jane Fitzergald, a 22 year old medical student and the illegitimate daughter of the Harrison family, was forced to take her half-sister’s place as a substitute bride to the eldest son of the Harrington family, Ethan, a deformed cripple with less than 6 months to live. She dealt with mockery right from her wedding from everyone and was a victim of vicious plots due to her naivety which caused a strain on the relationship with her new husband whom had already decided to be on good terms with. Unbeknownst to her and everyone else who looked down on her husband, he was not what he seemed. Ethan Harrington knew that she was not his bride but he didn’t mind as long as she stuck to his words, his known health status was a front to cover his escapades. He’s set to unmask some plots but what happens when he starts to fall for his naive wife who shows him the love and care he never got? Will their budding love be cut off or will they weather the storm together?
Lihat lebih banyakStanding in front of the mirror in an ill-fitting wedding dress, Jane studied her reflection and felt the corner of her lips twist into a wry smile.
“Sign this contract”.Jane caught the document that her father, Peter Harrison, tossed at her. Her eyes traveled to the bottom of the page where her husband-to-be’s signature stared back at her: Ethan Harrington.The handwriting was neat as though in fine print but the pen had been gripped with enough force for the ink to have bled through the other side of the paper.“You’ll be well taken care of as his wife but…”, he warned, “… you’d better behave”.An edge crept into his voice like the hints of a dark cloud looming over the horizon.“Think about what will happen to your grandmother if you ruin everything”.It should have been Stacy in her place, Jane thought. But Stacy didn’t want to marry a man on the verge of death — why would she?She had fled just a few hours before her wedding but to tell the groom’s family would be nothing short of insulting, even humiliating, which was why her father had — rather callously— threatened Jane with her grandmother’s life to coerce her into taking Stacy’s place.And so to protect her grandmother, Jane found herself dressed in a wedding gown that had belonged to another woman; the bride to be of the sickly eldest son of the Harrington family.Her father might insist that it was a privilege to be in her shoes but Jane knew better. If she were truly all that lucky, why did Stacy run away in the first place?“You’re right”, Jane replied, her voice smooth and clear.“Thank you for your reminder, if not, the small matter of of me becoming the matriarch of the Harrington family would have slipped my mind completely. Although… correct me if I’m wrong but my new status would make it incredibly easy to punish those who try to hurt me, wouldn’t it?”Her father’s expression changed instantly.Jane raised her head to look him in the eye, all demure and innocent.“So don’t hurt my grandmother. She’s the only family I have left after all, if something happens to her, I can’t imagine what I’d be capable of”.“You…”, Peter seethed. He opened his mouth as if to hurl more verbal abuse at her but at that moment, a staff came to inform them that it was time for the bride to take her place.Clamping down his fury, Peter smoothed his expression and brusquely escorted her into full view of the guests.Slowly she made her way to the center. The veil hid her face from the sea of guests around her but it failed to block their whispers and snickers.“Who would have thought that even a sickly whelp like Ethan Harrington would find himself a bride?”“I hear he’s practically on his deathbed and he’s only marrying the Harrisons’ daughter to improve his luck and prolong his life”“The Harrisons? Their brazen hussy of a daughter? I heard she was throwing herself at a man she met at a party not long ago. Young Master Ethan must be begging to be cuckolded”.“Speaking of which, the bride’s a little on the skinny side, isn’t she? She can barely hold up that gown of hers… if you catch my meaning”.With each step, Jane ignored the murmurs of the throng, her gaze fixed on the man in the wheelchair in front of her. A mask covered the bottom half of his face but his eyebrows were set in two gentle lines.Sporadically, he would let out a cough or two, his fists clenching in a valiant attempt to control himself and avoid disrupting the wedding but he only succeeded in making himself cough harder.It went in for so long that Jane couldn’t help but wonder if he would even survive the wedding. I would enter a bride and leave a widow, she thought humorlessly.Peter must have been afraid that the wretched, pitiful noises tearing from her husband-to-be’s chest were the result of some kind of infectious disease.After placing Jane’s hand into Ethan’s, he wasted no time in covering his nose and hurrying off.The pastor began reciting the ceremonial vows. He asked Jane, “Do you agree to take this man as your husband, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, from this day till your last?”Did she really have a choice when she had already signed the marriage contract?She rolled her eyes behind the veil, “I do”.The pastor repeated the question to the groom who responded with several violent coughs before mustering up the strength to say “I do”.“I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride”.No sooner than he had uttered the words did a look of mortification spread across the pastor’s face. If simply swearing his vows had been such an impossible feat, surely this wheelchair-ridden man wasn’t capable of sharing a kiss with his bride.He was about to rescind what he had said when Jane bent down and lifted her veil over her husband’s head, shielding them both from view.It was said that two became one beneath a wedding veil. Jane had been prepared for this moment ever since she donned her gown.She might have been forced into this position by her father to ward off the Harrington family’s outrage but she needed the power of the Harrington family name to keep her grandmother safe. The longer her husband lived, the better.Jane pulled down his mask, revealing the lower half of his face which was decorated in a pattern of hideous scars. The sight was repulsive — horrifying, even — but Jane pretended not to notice.“The ceremony is completed, the contract has been signed”, she said keeping her face neutral.“We are husband and wife now. What you cannot do alone, I can help you with”.Without the mask to conceal his visage, she could see Ethan Harrington’s features creasing in a slight frown, presumably at not being given the chance to speak.But then he took in her words and she caught the hints of a glimmer in his eye.Jane woke up in an abandoned warehouse north of the city.Because the wedding was tomorrow, Jane had been resting very early recently and even slept in separate rooms with Ethan.Ever since they started having sex, her husband's self-control seemed to evaporate every night, as if he wanted to make up for years of deprivation.It drained Jane of her energy, leaving her unable to wake up the next morning. Ivy had laughed about it at her expense for a long time.However, Jane did not expect to receive a call from the old folks' home the day before her wedding. They had said that her grandmother was dying and wanted to see her for the last time.After careful consideration, Jane decided to grant her request. Ethan had been very busy recently as most of his businesses were conducted domestically now.Now, Ethan had changed and was stepping into new shoes as a new man, so Jane chose to pop down and come back without disturbing him.Unexpectedly, as soon as she stepped into the ward, her gra
Jane was stunned silly, his father had gone that far?“Jane?...”“Continue, I'm listening. How did he even know her in the first place?”“He had an ulterior motive that he didn't want to handle directly so when Claire orchestrated the accident that took the Owens' lives, he secretly contacted her and threatened her with it.”“She was only too ready to comply with his orders. Claire had initially thought that Cassidy and I would be married when we were older and she apparently… liked me.”“So she figured marrying me as Cassidy would solve that for her but you came into the picture, she was receptive to my father's orders.”“He had told her to get you out of the house in anyway possible and he would take it from there…”“So?”“He arranged the robbery… when your passport was stolen. You would be stuck there if you didn't have it.”“He had arranged for you to meet Brock Davenport at the hospital so he would take you with him…”“Hold on, so Brock knew?”“He was in on it because my father p
Ethan's eyes went wide, Bruce put his hands on his head and Arnold stumbled a bit.The officer finally decided he had had enough and left after tucking the speeding ticket into Bruce's pocket. He shook his head and mumbled, “Rich people and their problems”.When he had come out to work today, he had not expected to see the drama from the novellas his wife always watched in real life.The other guards stood by silently, watching and wishing they had not given in to this Young Miss. She wouldn't have been able to come here on her own.Jane clenched her fists and finally decided she had had enough and she let her words out without filtering them one bit.“Now listen here, you poor excuse of a noblesse daughter,” Everyone's eyes went wide, “I do not care where you have come from, your money, title or none of that shit.”“That is all you will say in front of me. You open your gutter and utter one more word, I will make sure to give you what your abductors did not.”“A new facial reconstruc
Jane sneered at the television in disdain and picked up her phone to call Bruce.When he finally picked up, she stated abruptly, “Tell your Young Master not to come back!”“He should not set foot in the villa. I have changed the passcode so he shouldn't bother with anything.”__________Bruce was stunned and immediately walked up to Ethan who was on his way out after the conference was done.“Young Master, the Young Madam called.”A smile bloomed on his stoic face at the mention of his Jane.“She said not to bother coming back and that she has changed the passcode of the villa.”Ethan's smile fell and an overwhelming sense of panic set in, he ran off to the parking lot with Bruce hot on his tail, both ignoring the calls of Cassidy.He got to the car and frantically gestured for Arnold to unlock it. They both got in with a confused but alert Arnold wondering what the problem was.“To the villa, as fast as you can go!”Arnold started the car and raced out of the parking lot, no one noti
Ethan opened his eyes first and glanced at the alarm clock on his own bedside table. It read 6:00am, he turned to admire his wife with her hair fanned out on the pillow.Smiling at the memory of last night, he tucked a stray lock of hair away from her face. It had taken some time and serious work to convince her but he did.He had to go pick up Cassidy from the abductors’ den. His guards had infiltrated the den the night before and rounded them up in minutes.They were no match for these ones as they were former mercenaries he had given shelter, a job and a new life.Ethan got up reluctantly to take a shower. All he wanted to do was stay with his little wife in bed and cuddle.He would have that soon enough, bringing back the annoying little critter was more important at the moment since his jet was more convenient than a commercial flight.Shooting Bruce a text to pick him up, he then proceeded to accessorize before planting two kisses on her lips and forehead.He left once Bruce let
Jane's eyes fluttered open and the soreness of her lady bits hit her like a train, she recalled what had happened and blushed. She had finally consummated her marriage.The rumbling of her stomach jolted her from her thoughts, she was hungry. She sniffed the air and smiled, he was in the kitchen.She had a quick shower and tip toed out of the room, she peeked into the kitchen and watched her husband's back muscles ripple as he plated the pasta he just cooked.“Jane, baby, get over here and sit. I can feel your eyes on my back,” he chuckled and she scrunched her nose as she blushed in embarrassment.“That's impossible, how did you know?” She took a seat at the kitchen island and beamed at her plate.“I heard you close the bedroom door. Letting the door close noisily is not exactly wise if you were trying to sneak up on me.”He pinched her cheeks still rosy from her shower. She dug into the pasta with gusto, moaning at the first bite.Ethan swallowed as his brain fed him with flashbacks
Ethan kissed her again and laid her down on the messy covers. Leaning forward, he let his mouth linger on the shell of her ear, his breath tickling her neck.Jane shuddered at his touch, eyes bright and hazy with the eagerness to learn and desire pooling in her belly.He lightly traced her jawline with his nose, enjoying the way her breath hitched.Jane felt she could burst into flames at any moment, feeling goosebumps spread down her neck and chest. He had barely touched her but she was ready to melt into a puddle.Ethan wasted no time sinking his hand into the hair at the nape of her neck with a mild grip. His free hand slipped around her body and palmed her ass as his lips hovered barely an inch over hers, making her moan into his mouth.It felt like he was everywhere at once and all she could do was hold onto him and take it. Then his mouth travelled down her neck, sucking and nipping, she was now practically panting.Ethan sunk to his knees by the bed in front of her, tugging at
The cops tried to talk her out of it as she backed the exit and attempted to leave with the hostage but was quickly immobilized by two bullets from a Ruger SR22.Shot on target by a retired female general and shattered her kneecaps.She was quickly dragged out and calm was restored within the shocked guests.“I would like to state that the real Cassidy Owen is safe and will be returning soon, that's all.”Ethan walked out amidst shouts for interview requests from the reporters and stunned silence from the rest of the audience.Only the comments from the live stream was active even after he left.He rushed to the car and settled in, thinking of how cool he must have looked.“Take me to the villa instead, and don't wait. I will be sleeping with my wife today.”Bruce and Arnold glanced at each other, understanding their Young Master's intentions so when they dropped him off in front of the gates of the villa, they shouted some encouraging words.“Take care, Young Master. You have to do i
There was an uproar both at the event and in the comment section of the live stream. The directors stood stunned at his statement and the reporters began taking pictures and video cameras were focused on the people at the doors of the vault.Jane went mute in front of the television while Ivy screamed in surprise.Cassidy went pale in fear and horror but composed herself and tried to defend herself.“Mr. Harrington, we have been friends for many years but I do not think I like this joke.”“Friends? I have no recollection of ever being friends with a wannabe imposter. That is extremely beneath me and very insulting.”“Mr. Harrington,” the older director, Mr Jenkins, called out to him, “You do realize that you can't just say things like this…”“Oh I can, because I've known my friend since childhood and that… is not my friend.”“Ethan, if this is about what happened at your house with your wife… I apologize. However, you can't disrupt my inauguration because you want to be petty…”“Petty
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