/1/126789/coverbig.jpg?v=604cae3ad0d056d3eea36d16acce0a53)
"I've given you my entire body, so when are you finally going to kick Avery to the curb?" Behind the half-open door, my hockey star boyfriend of three years was pinning my vicious stepsister to the bed, his voice rough with lust: "Don't mention that depressing loser. I only want you right now." I kicked the door open, slapped the cheating scumbag as hard as I could, and dumped him on the spot. But the real torture was just beginning. My beloved nanny was dying in the hospital, and my adoptive mother held the $50,000 life-saving surgery money hostage. She viciously threw a contract in my face: "Either take your sister's place and marry that disfigured, crippled psychopath, or go plan a funeral for that old bat right now!" On the day of the wedding, my stepsister crashed City Hall with my ex, live-streaming my humiliation to the world: "Even a deformed monster doesn't want you. You're a complete joke!" But as the clock ticked down to the last second, my fiancé was still nowhere to be seen. My hope of saving my nanny was turning to ash. Just as I closed my eyes in suffocating despair, the heavy doors of City Hall swung open. Stepping out of the light was a breathtakingly handsome man with broad shoulders and an aura so powerful and dangerous it made my knees weak. His piercing, predatory gaze locked onto me, and his deep, magnetic voice dropped into the dead silence: "Sorry I'm late." I froze, my breath catching in my throat. Wait... THIS is the rumored deformed psychopath?!
Contents
Substitute Bride: My Mysterious Loser Husband Chapter 1
AVERY POV:
"I've given myself to you entirely. When are you finally going to dump Avery?"
The woman's sweet voice drifted through the half-open bedroom door, accompanied by a soft giggle and the rustle of tangled sheets.
"Sienna, not now - don't talk about Avery right now," the man groaned, his voice rough.
The woman clearly wasn't satisfied with that answer. "Why not? She's just a charity case our family took in. In our house, even the dogs have a higher status than she does. What's so good about her? She won't even let you touch her lately. Trevor, I'm the one wearing your jersey right now, and I'm the one making you feel good."
Trevor didn't argue. He just grabbed her waist and pulled her closer, drawing a loud, triumphant laugh from Sienna that echoed in the dead-silent apartment.
I stood frozen in the narrow entryway, listening to every single word. The exhaustion in my eyes hardened into a layer of ice as the cruel reality washed over me.
I had just rushed here from West Side Community Hospital. Hannah, the nanny who had raised me and the only real mother I had ever known, had just been diagnosed with end-stage liver failure.
In my hands was a custom Briar University hockey cake. To afford it for our three-year anniversary, I spent my days caring for Hannah at the hospital, taking on grueling shifts in the hospital's facility maintenance department just to help cover her basic meds, and my nights scrubbing greasy plates in a diner kitchen until dawn. My hands were raw and peeling from the dish soap, and I had skipped meals just to save up every penny.
And now, my boyfriend of three years was inside, in that bedroom with my stepsister.
My fingers went completely numb.
The cake box slipped from my grasp.
Thud.
It hit the hardwood floor with a deafening sound. The box burst open, and the carefully crafted blue and white frosting smeared into a pathetic, meaningless puddle.
The heavy breathing in the bedroom stopped dead.
The door was yanked open.
Trevor stood there, chest heaving, his hair a sweaty mess. Behind him, emerging from the rumpled sheets, was Sienna.
My breath hitched, and a physical wave of nausea hit me. She was barely dressed underneath; she was wearing Trevor's blue and white game jersey. The one with his name and number on the back. In the hockey world, this was the ultimate symbol of a player claiming his girl. Yet, in our three years together, he had never let me wear it once. He used to look at me with disguised disgust, claiming I was too "shabby" and that putting his jersey on a girl like me would "cheapen his image" in front of his teammates. But now, this "sacred" jersey was draped loosely over Sienna's barely dressed body.
Trevor's eyes widened in sheer panic when he saw me. "Avery! Wait, it's not what you think-"
"It's exactly what she thinks," Sienna purred, sauntering forward like a lazy cat and cutting him off. She leaned against his bare chest, her eyes raking over my faded jeans and tired face with absolute disdain. "You should have some self-awareness, Avery. Trash like you was never good enough for him."
I didn't scream. I didn't cry. I just stood there, feeling a strange, icy detachment, as if I were watching a poorly written play.
"Avery, let's be reasonable," Trevor stammered, taking a step forward but carefully keeping Sienna behind him. His panic quickly twisted into a sickeningly defensive and accusatory tone. "Look at yourself! You constantly reek of cheap hospital disinfectant and poverty. You walk around looking like a miserable old woman! You dump all your energy into that half-dead nanny of yours. Have you even acted like a girlfriend lately? I'm a normal guy, a star player! I need a woman who makes me look good at parties, not a depressing caretaker! If you want to blame someone, blame that deadweight nanny of yours. She dragged you down, and she ruined us!"
I stared at the man I had loved for three years as if he were a grotesque, unrecognizable monster. Pure, unadulterated rage twisted in my gut like a rusty knife, making my entire body tremble violently. I bit my lip so hard I tasted the metallic tang of blood.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, violently interrupting his pathetic gaslighting.
The screen read: West Side Community Hospital.
My trembling fingers swiped to answer. A nurse's cold, professional voice filled my ear. "Ms. Hayes? Regarding Hannah Miller's treatment plan. We must remind you that the $50,000 surgical fee must be paid within seventy-two hours. Otherwise, we will have to discharge her."
The room spun. I gripped the doorframe tightly to keep from falling.
In the dead silence, Sienna overheard the voice on the other end. She let out a sharp, mocking laugh.
"Oh, still begging for pennies for that dying old bat?" Sienna sneered, trailing a manicured nail down Trevor's chest. "Avery, you can't even feed yourself, how are you supposed to save anyone else? Or better yet, considering how much of his time you've wasted, maybe Trevor can throw you a few hundred bucks out of pity?"
A flicker of guilt crossed Trevor's face. "Sienna, that's enough," he muttered, trying to salvage a shred of his "good guy" image. But he still didn't push her away.
I took a deep breath, the icy air filling my lungs. I ended the call.
In the next second, I stepped forward, raised my raw, peeling hand, and slapped Trevor across his hypocritical face with every ounce of strength I had left.
SMACK!
The sharp, crisp sound exploded in the dead-silent living room. His head snapped to the side, a bright red handprint instantly blooming on his cheek.
I ignored his shocked expression and Sienna's dramatic gasp.
"Keep the trash, Sienna," I said, dropping my hand. I looked at them as if they were rats in a gutter, my voice eerily calm. "You two deserve each other. A vulture and a hyena-two scavengers, a perfect match."
View More Comments on App
Other books by You Xi
More/1/125841/coverbig.jpg?v=32ee775cb4d3b444813ce168e677d3a7)
Sold to a Dead Man, I Became a Billionaire's Heiress
ModernFor ten years, the Shaw family mansion was nothing but a cold prison for their adopted daughter, Ava Mckenzie. The illusion of family shattered completely when her adoptive father slammed a contract on the table, ordering her to marry a dead man just to secure a five-million-dollar investment for his failing company. At that exact moment, Ava looked out the window to see her fiancé passionately kissing her stepsister in a parked car. Megan strutted inside moments later, flaunting Ava's stolen diamond ring and mocking her "dirt-poor" biological roots. Her adoptive mother sneered, threatening to throw Ava out on the streets if she didn't agree to the posthumous marriage to repay her debt for being raised. They surrounded her like vultures, waiting for her to break down, cry, and submit to being sold off to a ghost. Looking at their greedy, expectant faces, Ava's ice-blue eyes held no tears, only a chilling emptiness. She had spent a decade being their obedient, invisible shadow, enduring their endless abuse. Did they really think she would just let them destroy her future for a dead man's money? Instead of begging, Ava stood up and delivered a crisp, echoing slap across Megan's smug face. "I'll sign it. But tomorrow, we officially terminate my adoption." Leaving her stunned abusers behind, she packed her single worn-out suitcase, walked out the door without a backward glance, and pulled out a heavily encrypted phone to track down her real bloodline-completely unaware that seven powerful billionaire brothers in Manhattan were already tearing the city apart to bring her home.
/0/83731/coverbig.jpg?v=483cf6bdaa378b38006e27a5ca3da853)
Nine Years Gone
ModernFor nine years, I poured every ounce of my sweat and soul into building a future. As a carpenter, I paid for Chloe's law school, seeing her as the only family I had since taking her in as a teen. My dream, a new house-our home-was finally within reach. But the moment I burst through the door, beaming after closing on the house, Chloe wasn' t smiling. She held out her hand, the silver ring I'd given her resting in her palm. "I can' t, Leo," she declared, her voice flat, "We need to end this." My heart shattered. Nine years of sacrifice, reduced to a cold business transaction. "We were partners in survival," she stated, eyes cold, "My life is starting now. You' re not compatible." Then I saw it: a luxury Swiss watch for Julian, her wealthy new mentor. She didn't even know my shirt size; she saw my calluses, not me. The bitter truth crashed down. My promise to her, that she would be my only family, had become a cage of my own making. How could the person I' d given everything to betray me so utterly? Nine years felt like a devastating lie. As I sat in the desolate apartment, I remembered a crumpled business card, long ignored. Hollis Investigations. They' d been searching for my biological parents. It was time to find out. I picked up the phone.
/1/119700/coverbig.jpg?v=0a8ce45af482e11474920a3def357baa)
Kicked Out: Marrying The Secret Billionaire
ModernI placed the 12-week ultrasound report on the coffee table, hoping for a shred of support from my family. Instead, my mother snatched my wallet, stole my last hundred dollars, and kicked me out into a freezing thunderstorm. "There's no place for you or your bastard child here. Get out!" With nowhere to go, I tracked down the baby's father—a hotel concierge named Christopher. To my shock, he proposed a cold, seven-month marriage of convenience to get his family off his back. I signed the contract, trading my freedom for a safe roof over my baby's head. But the nightmare didn't end. My mother tracked down my new workplace, extorted my entire life savings, and caused a massive public scene. When Christopher found out, his eyes turned to ice. He didn't offer comfort. Instead, he delivered a devastating ultimatum. "If you cannot demonstrate that you are capable of protecting this child from your family, I will seek sole custody." I was stripped of everything, terrified, and suffocating. Why was my own mother a bloodsucking monster? And how could I fight a cold, calculating stranger who had the power to take my baby away from me in an instant? Looking at my tear-streaked face in the mirror, I wiped my eyes. I was done being a weak, frightened girl. For my baby, I was going to become a fortress.
/1/117771/coverbig.jpg?v=ddec6790295159aa279d91f781f363d9)
Shattered Vows: The Unwanted Wife Returns
RomanceI married into the billionaire Carlisle family, not for love, but because my rare genetic markers were the only cure to their dynasty's hidden curse. But my husband, Julian, despised me. He believed I had blackmailed his family to drive away his true love, and in a drunken rage, he shoved my heavily pregnant body down a flight of marble stairs. "Maybe it's for the best. This child should never have existed." He sneered coldly, walking away as I miscarried one of our twins in a pool of blood. Five years later, I secretly raised our surviving daughter and became his ruthless corporate shield. When a massive cheating scandal involving his new mistress threatened the company, I orchestrated a flawless PR miracle to save his empire. In return, I swallowed my pride and begged him for just one hour to attend our daughter's school play. Instead, he mocked my "imaginary child", hit me with his car, and left me bleeding on the concrete floor. Sitting alone in the dark with my bruised knees, I listened to the dial tone after he cruelly threatened to terminate our marriage. I had given him the cure to his bloodline and shielded his legacy, yet he couldn't spare a single ounce of humanity. The last faint ember of hope I held for my daughter's father was completely extinguished. I wiped away my tears, finally ready to tear down the empire I had protected.
/1/116494/coverbig.jpg?v=068912c481de66814a2a762ab937df60)
Substitute Bride: Healing The Ruthless Heir
RomanceSerena's stepmother forced her to take her cousin's place and marry the Beaumont family heir. Everyone in New York knew Felix Beaumont was a disfigured, crippled madman after a horrific car crash. To ensure her compliance, her ruthless family completely emptied her little brother's medical trust fund. Her brother was lying in the ICU, and the hospital was ordered to stop his life-saving medication the very next day. Her cousin mocked her as a piece of trash, and her uncle laughed in her face when she demanded her rightful inheritance. When she arrived at the Beaumont estate, the old madam treated her like a defective product and ordered a humiliating purity check by armed guards. Even Felix, her new husband, pulled a silver handgun on her on their wedding night, threatening to execute her for being a cheap replacement. They all thought she was just a weak, desperate girl they could easily manipulate and crush to death. They believed she had no choice but to suffer their abuse in silence to keep her brother alive. But nobody knew Serena was actually a highly trained operative hiding a lethal past. When Felix suddenly collapsed from a deadly military-grade neurotoxin, Serena didn't panic or cry. She effortlessly pinned the untouchable billionaire to the floor, pulled out her silver needles, and saved his life. Looking down at the shocked monster of New York, she offered a cold smirk. "I can fix your dead legs, but you work for me now."
/1/116239/coverbig.jpg?v=23c24d92d48f34b62c49abab7fdb5258)
Planning My Cheating Ex-Husband's Wedding
ModernOn the night of our luxurious Las Vegas honeymoon, I thought I was the happiest bride alive. Then his phone lit up with a text from a woman named Jessica. "Last night was incredible, Alex. I'm so proud of you for finally getting rid of her." I dug into his phone and discovered they had been together for months, and his mother had been helping them hide it. Less than 72 hours after our wedding, Alex staged a minor car crash and faked amnesia. Lying in the hospital bed with Jessica holding his hand, he looked right at me. "I'm sorry... who are you? Do I know you?" His family used this pathetic farce to frame me as the villain, driving me out of the hospital. By the time I got back to San Francisco, they had changed the locks and dumped my belongings on the street like garbage. I had poured my heart into building a perfect life with him, only to realize I was just a pawn in their cruel, collective joke. The betrayal and public humiliation were suffocating. But I didn't give them the satisfaction of a hysterical scene. I gathered my evidence and filed for an annulment, legally erasing our marriage as if it never happened. Then, I adopted a pseudonym and became the city's most powerful event planner. When Alex was forced to hire me to plan his new wedding with Jessica, I smiled and took the contract.
