Jilted Bride: Marrying The Dead War Hero

“I was supposed to marry Lord Tristan Beaumont. The wedding was perfectly planned, and my ancestral engagement ring was already on my finger. But days before the ceremony, he walked into the rose garden with my cousin, Seraphina, clinging to his arm. He looked at me with chilling indifference and announced he was marrying her instead. "You will still join the Beaumont family. Just not as my wife. You can be my mistress." Seraphina squeezed out fake tears, claiming they couldn't control their love, while the Beaumont matriarchs cornered me in the drawing room. They demanded I accept this humiliation quietly to protect their reputation, offering a dowry as the price for my dignity. Tristan even threatened me, reminding me that without their protection, I was an orphan with nothing left. They thought I was a helpless girl who would obediently step into their gilded cage, knowing I needed their family's resources to uncover the truth behind my parents' deaths. The humiliation burned, but my shock quickly turned into cold, hard fury. I looked at the man who had sworn his love and the cousin I had trusted like a sister. Why should I sacrifice my dignity to be a stepping stone for their perfect romance? I, Jolie Vinson, would never be anyone's pathetic mistress. So, in front of the entire smug family, I made a counter-proposal. "I request permission to marry the late Lord Gabriel by proxy." I chose to marry Tristan's dead older brother, becoming the untouchable senior widow to seize his vast, hidden fortune. But what I didn't know was that my "dead" husband was actually very much alive, hiding in the secret passages of my new bedroom, watching my every move.”