Cursed Marionette

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

Lucia's pov

The smell of burnt coffee beans and crisp onions stuck to me like Regret as I scrubbed a sticky table top with the same desperation I used to polish my ballet slippers, only now there was zero music,no cheering or applause - just flickering lights about to die and the irritating voice of my wretched manager spitting out orders as usual.

"Table seven's been patient for long enough Lucia, move your ass!"

I didn't respond.I stopped responding quite a long time ago.words used to flow out of me like a symphony - smooth, unfiltered and captivating. Now they remained stuck somewhere behind clenched teeth and my forced smile.

I managed to balance two plates as I glided towards a table, my posture straight despite my sore joints.

A toddler screamed as she flung food across a table.My fingers twitched on instinct like I was about to perform a pirouette but I stopped myself.

That part of me was lost.

I chuckled bitterly as I mocked myself:

Lucia Moretti, you've fallen so far from a prodigy to a mere waitress in a faded uniform, pouring lukewarm coffee for strangers who can't even look you in the eye.

I brushed aside the thought as I spoke to the man at table seven."Can I get you anything else sir?" my voice devoid of emotion.

Yeah," the man at the table replied,his eyes never leaving his phone.

"get me someone who actually knows how to serve a proper meal because clearly you don't."

I ignored his comment as I took the plate, turned and walked back to the kitchen without saying a word.I also didn't flinch when the ceramic plate shattered in the sink though my coworker was startled.

"My God,Lucy...."

"I'll cover the damages;I murmured and kept my feet moving.

It wasn't the plate.it wasn't even the insult either.it was the unfortunate date. Six months. Six months since that fire. Six months since everything that had meaning in my life was taken from me in the blink of an orange-glowing haze.

"Well not everything. I thankfully still had Sophia,my sister", I corrected myself mentally.

By noon,my feet felt like burning coal and my spine groaned with every step.

My shift finally ended and I dashed out of there without saying goodbye,I didn't really care about anyone but Sophia right now.

I crumpled my tips tightly in my fists - barely enough for the house rent,let alone medicine for Sophia.

Outside, the rain drizzled from the grey sky as I walked on the cracked pavement to the bus stop, hugging my jacket tighter for warmth. A little girl twirled around in circles in the corner nearby,humming off-key and careless in her joy. I froze.

That used to be Me.

Every spin she took was like a punch to my stomach.I smiled bitterly as I watched her pretend the sidewalk was her stage and the rain, her spotlight.

I saw my fifteen year old self again as I remembered being full of dreams and dancing in the snow because practice couldn't wait.

My first costume was a silky tutu that I couldn't wait to wear and my mother used to cry with pride as she saw me, the smell of roses on her fingertips.

My pleasant memories were interrupted by my ex husband's voice as my mind took a wrong turn:"you're losing it Lucy. You can barely take care of yourself,let alone a demanding career like ballet. You're unstable."

My fists tightened.

He had stolen everything - My name, platform,ballet.And when I disappeared from the spotlight,the world believed the headlines:"Ballet's brightest star burns out in public meltdown."

Read Now