The Cursed Regent's Fearless Substitute Bride

“I woke up in a strange body, only to find myself being violently laced into a blood-red wedding dress. The Ashford family had finally remembered their abandoned daughter, but only to use me as a disposable substitute. They were forcing me to marry the terrifying Prince Regent in place of their precious darling, Seraphina. The Prince was rumored to be a cursed, crippled monster who had already outlived three dead brides. Everyone knew this wasn't a wedding; it was a brutal death sentence. When I confronted my "father," he coldly told me it was my duty to sacrifice my life so his real daughter could marry the Crown Prince. They thought I was just a weak, useless pawn they could ship off like cattle. They expected me to cry, beg, and accept my tragic fate. But I wasn't that timid girl anymore. I smiled at my so-called father and held out two fingers. "Alright, I'll marry him." I watched their faces pale as my smile widened. "But not for free. Two hundred thousand gold lions." After extorting my own family, I took the carriage to the Prince's castle, where they tried to humiliate me by making me enter through a tiny servant's door. Instead of submitting, I walked over to a thousand-pound marble gargoyle statue by the main entrance. I ripped off my veil, lifted the massive stone beast with my bare hands, and smashed the heavy iron gates to splinters. "Go tell your master his bride has arrived." I let the words sink into the dead silence. "And if he doesn't open this gate, I will tear it down myself."”