Repudiated luna

The Discarded Heiress: Marrying My Lethal Husband

Xiao Wang

The rain in Detroit was slick with grime when my family finally came to fetch me. They didn't want a reunion; they wanted a sacrificial lamb to marry into the Kaufman empire to save their failing business. I thought I was just being sold off, but the limo ride ended under a dark overpass where six hired thugs were waiting with chains. My own sister had ordered them to "break my spirit" so I’d be a shaking, pathetic mess by the time I reached the altar. They called me "Detroit trash" and sprayed air freshener when I sat on their leather seats. My stepmother wanted a video of me begging for my life, and my father was ready to trade me like a used car to a man everyone called a "vegetable." They expected a submissive country girl, unaware that I was a high-level "cleaner" who could snap a radius bone before they could even scream. When I finally reached the Kaufman estate, I found my fiancé, Barron, slumped in a wheelchair, drooling and silent. But as soon as the doors closed, the "invalid" grabbed my wrist with a grip of iron and whispered a command that changed everything. I didn't understand why my own blood was so desperate to see me destroyed. What had I ever done to deserve a hit squad and a forced marriage to a man they thought was a corpse? But Barron isn't a vegetable, and I'm not a victim. We just touched down at the Moon family gala in a matte-black helicopter, and as the doors slide open, the "broken" bride is about to show them exactly what happens when you throw away the wrong daughter. "If we're going to crash a party," Barron whispered, his eyes burning with lethal clarity, "we should make an entrance."

Billionaires Modern CEO

Download the Book on the App

Valerie's POV

I once read somewhere that it took a special kind of bravery to stay sober in a room full of drunk people.

I was sitting before the makeshift bar in Adam's party, watching my friends take shot after shots of burning liquid from nameless bottles.

I stared at their swaying, bleary-eyed form, wondering why anyone would want to subject themselves to that for an entire night and end up wasted in some random place, and wake up with severe hangovers. Stupid nineteen-year olds. I stared at the golden-colored liquid in my own glass. Apple juice was all the refreshment I needed.

Maybe it wasn't bravery though. Maybe I was just being plain stupid and I should have enjoyed the night with my friends. Alcohol would have definitely helped me to survive the events of that night.

"Bar!" Rendall, the one who was closest to me yelled and slammed an empty glass on the table, his eyes unfocused.

"I mean...drink..."

"Don't get too drunk, Rendall. You're the one driving us home." Cheryl slurred and poured another drink down her throat, then giggled almost maniacally.

Analisse, my other best friend, was the only other sober person among us. She was sitting on the other end of Rendall and Cheryl, the bluish light of her phone illuminating her face as she stared into it.

Besides Adam, Analisse was the only other person I trusted with my life. Probably the only person whom I could talk to about what had been bothering me for years now.

"Don't fall off the bar stools," I muttered to Rendall and Cheryl, then stood from my own stool and walked towards Analisse.

"Hey," I said. "We need to talk."

"What-" she started, but I had grabbed her hand and was dragging her through the dimly lit party floor full of swaying people.

Analisse followed me in silence until we reached the foot of the staircase. Once there, she folded her arms and glared at me.

"Rude, much?" She said with a hint of sarcasm.

"What did you want to talk about?"

I closed my eyes and tried to figure out my words and she shook my shoulder worriedly.

"Val, are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am. The whole party is just getting to me." I muttered, then opened my eyes.

"There's this thing I've been carrying around for a long while now."

"What's that?" She prompted.

"I like Adam. Heck, I think I love him. I've loved him since we were thirteen and I still do. I want to tell him tonight, but I don't know how to. Can you help me?" I blurted out in one long breath.

A shadow passed across Analisse's face, or perhaps it was the dim party lights around us. "You love him?"

"Yes, Ana." I nodded.

"What should I do?"

She thought for a moment, then said.

"Val, this is his coronation party. He just got crowned as the alpha. I think this would be the wrong time to break that kind of news to him. Besides, you're his best friend. Friends don't feel that way for each other."

I pondered on her words: Analisse was one of the most level headed, pragmatic people I'd ever met. If anyone could tell me the truth, it was her.

Perhaps she was right.

A footfall made the both of us turn to the staircase, and my heart did a tumble as I watched Adam walk downstairs. Oh, Goddess!

"Valerie," he whispered as his eyes fell on me, and I could read the anguish in his eyes, better than anyone else could. For some reason, he wasn't looking at Analisse.

"Adam!" I called. My voice sounded high and pathetic.

"What were you doing upstairs? It's your coronation party, after all."

"I just...needed to have some rest." He murmured, running a hand across his forehead. "I wasn't feeling too well."

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"No, Val." He whispered again. "Can you come stay with me upstairs? I really need someone around."

My heart jumped again as I heard those words. I turned to Analisse, but she had mysteriously disappeared into the partying crowd.

I turned back to Adam, my mouth tasting like ash.

"Alright. I'll come." ~~~

Adam reached for my hand almost immediately and pulled me upstairs without another word.

We walked through the vast corridors of the pack house in silence until he reached the door of his room.

Read Now