Substitute marriage

Phoenix Rising: The Scarred Heiress's Revenge

Xiao Hong Mao

I lived as the "scarred ghost" of the Stephens penthouse, a wife kept in the shadows because my facial burns offended my billionaire husband's aesthetic. For years, I endured Kason's coldness and my family's abuse, a submissive puppet who believed she had nowhere else to go. The end came with a blue folder tossed onto my silk sheets. Kason's mistress was back, and he wanted me out by sunset, offering a five-million-dollar "silence fee" to go hide my face in the countryside. The betrayal cut deep when I discovered my father had already traded my divorce for a corporate bailout. My step-sister mocked my "trashy" appearance at a high-end boutique, while the sales staff treated me like a common thief. At home, my father threatened to cut off my mother's life-saving medicine unless I crawled back to Kason to beg for a better deal. I was the girl who took the blame for a fire she didn't start, the wife who worshipped a man who never looked her in the eye, and the daughter used as a human bargaining chip. I was supposed to be broken, penniless, and desperate. But the woman who stood up wasn't the weak Elease Finch anymore; she was Phoenix, a tactical predator with a $500 million secret. I signed the divorce papers without a single tear, walked past my stunned husband, and wiped the Finch family's bank accounts clean with a few taps on my phone. "Your money is dirty," I told Kason with a cold smile. "I prefer clean hands." The cage is open, the hunt has begun, and I'm starting with the people who thought a scar made me weak.

Modern Revenge

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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."

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