FLUX

Married To My Ex-Fiancé's Silent Uncle

Ming Yue

Twenty minutes before the "Wedding of the Century" at The Plaza, I stood outside the Presidential Suite in a fifty-thousand-dollar Vera Wang gown. I was the girl from a West Virginia trailer park about to marry Hugh Maxwell, the golden heir to a billion-dollar defense empire. I pushed the door open only to find Hugh pinned against the bed with my own stepsister, Floy. She was wearing my bridal diamond necklace, and the sounds of their laughter scraped against my eardrums like sandpaper. I didn't scream; I listened as Hugh grunted that once the wedding was over and the trust fund unlocked, he'd dump "that hillbilly trash" on a bus back to the mountains. They weren't just cheating; they were planning to steal my family's land deeds and leave me with nothing. When I set off the sprinklers and exposed their naked bodies to the paparazzi, the Maxwell family didn't apologize. They called me a "greedy peasant" and threatened to ruin my life unless I signed a new deal to save their crashing stock. I realized then that I was never a bride to them. I was a transaction, a rounding error in a ledger to be used and discarded. They thought my poverty made me weak and my silence made me a victim. "If we don't have a marriage certificate by midnight, the bank freezes thirty percent of our liquidity," their lawyer warned. So, I gave them exactly what they wanted. I used a loophole in their hundred-year-old family covenant and married the only other direct heir available. I didn't marry Hugh. I walked into the ICU and married his uncle, Fleet Maxwell-the legendary war hero who had been in a vegetative state for months. Now, I am the matriarch of the Maxwell dynasty. I've suspended Hugh's executive powers, exiled my mother-in-law to the Swiss Alps, and taken control of the family vault. They think I'm just a gold-digger waiting for a "corpse" to die so I can collect a fifty-million-dollar widow's payout. But last night, as I lay beside my comatose husband, the man they called a vegetable gripped my hand back.

Modern Scheming Contract marriage Billionaires

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In the evening, heavy rain poured over Owathe as Belinda Wright made her way to Dream Club, soaked through but somehow keeping the cake she held untouched by the downpour.

Upon reaching the private room's entrance, Belinda nudged the door open.

"Verena, throughout the three years you vanished, not once did Lucas cease his search for you. And now, you are finally back!"

Hearing that from inside the room, Belinda froze mid-step.

Verena?

The same Verena Reed who used to be Lucas Clark's girlfriend?

"But hasn't Lucas already gotten married?" queried a soft female voice.

"Ah, Verena, there's no need to concern yourself with that woman Lucas married. Lucas was coerced into that marriage by his father, who threatened to kill you if Lucas didn't get married. Lucas married that woman only to protect you."

"Really?" Verena's doubt was evident.

"Absolutely! Why else would Lucas choose someone like Belinda? She is so unappealing and overweight. Besides, she is an illegitimate daughter. Marrying her was Lucas's attempt to annoy his father, to get back at him!"

Outside the private room, Belinda felt cold; her complexion drained of color.

Recalling the night when Lucas had proposed, she remembered her heart had soared. She had been blissfully unaware of the harsh truth. She had believed herself incredibly fortunate, not realizing she was merely a pawn in a revenge plot. It turned out Lucas had only married her because she was ugly and fat.

Belinda couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, her body wavering slightly.

She clenched the door handle to steady herself.

"Speaking of Belinda, it has been five hours since she left; it's doubtful she will ever show up. Delight Desserts is way out in the eastern suburbs, and just getting there and back takes more than three hours. Besides, that place is notorious for its long queues. Surely, Belinda isn't foolish enough to go there."

"If Lucas requested it, Belinda would go there even if Delight Desserts were in another city. Everyone knows how deeply she loves Lucas. She is so pathetic."

Upon absorbing these scornful remarks, Belinda inhaled deeply, put on a stoic expression, and thrust the door to the private room open, making her entrance.

Her gaze quickly settled on the figure of confidence and charm at the center of the room.

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