Kaylee had high hopes for her future. After spending many years with her adopted family-the Hadleys, she was about to get married to the infamous son of the Stephen family instead of her sister. Elijah-the bridegroom was known to be a treacherous playboy. He was handsome and loaded, but he was far from being husband material. Elijah was the only heir of the Stephens, but he wasn't serious like the heirs from other families. He played around and whiled away time doing everything except contributing to the family's business. His relatives disliked him very much. Forced by his grandfather, Elijah had no choice but to marry Kaylee. The impression Elijah had of his bride was bad from the onset. However, he soon found out that Kaylee wasn't as unpleasant as people claimed. She was such a sweetheart. She had a gorgeous face despite the horrible scar on it. His joy knew no bounds after he found out that she was actually the girl he loved as a teenager. Could this be fate? Or a start of something beautiful? Maybe both! As time went by, Kaylee began to learn about Elijah's secrets. He was much more impressive than people gave him credit for. Why then was he pretending to be a useless heir? What else was he hiding?
In a luxury car, heading back to Atheton.
Kaylee Hadley was sitting quietly in the back seat, wearing a plain white dress. A nasty scar covered nearly half of her petite face.
Sitting next to Kaylee was her younger sister, Gemma Hadley. The latter looked at Kaylee's ugly face with secret relish.
Kaylee had always been very beautiful, which had always made Gemma very jealous. Unexpectedly, Kaylee ended up getting a huge scar on her face.
"Mom, Kaylee looks like one of those beggars who rummage for food in the trash. Won't the Stephens family be revolted when they see her?" Gemma glanced at the bag beside Kaylee in disgust. It was filled with ancient medical books and an old laptop.
Their mother, Josie Hadley, waved her hand and said dismissively, "An ugly woman like her is a perfect match for that illegitimate bastard son of the Stephens family."
Speaking of the man that Kaylee was about to marry, Gemma wrinkled her nose in disgust. How dare they pair her up with a notorious love child?
Gemma was Josie's biological daughter, while Kaylee was just adopted. Nine years ago, the family had even driven Kaylee out of the house.
The Hadley family and the Stephens family had made an agreement to marry their children a long time ago. Thus, Gemma was supposed to marry the second son of the Stephens family, Elijah Stephens.
But Elijah was a promiscuous playboy. He had a bad reputation for jumping from woman to woman, showing up with a different girlfriend almost every week.
Naturally, Gemma didn't want to marry him.
The Hadley family didn't dare to cancel the engagement with the Stephens family, so they had no choice but to track down their adopted daughter, Kaylee, and force her to marry Elijah.
Kaylee didn't want to waste her breath arguing with Gemma and Josie, so she kept looking out the window, as though she couldn't hear them.
Seeing this, Gemma felt determined to pester Kaylee even more, so she continued to make sarcastic remarks.
After all, Gemma wanted to feel superior to her sister, and insulting her was one simple way to do that. "Mom, look at Kaylee's laptop. It's so old and banged up. I've just bought a new laptop, so what if I give my old laptop to her? If she goes to the Stephens family with that, she'll disgrace our family!"
Hearing Gemma brag, Kaylee lowered her head and chuckled, but still said nothing.
Unbeknownst to her stupid sister, Kaylee's shabby laptop was full of programs she designed on her own, and the hardware had been modified by her as well. On the black market, someone even offered Kaylee half a million dollars for her laptop.
Gemma was still chattering away when they finally arrived at the Stephens family's house.
Clutching her bag close, Kaylee got out of the car and strode straight inside the house.
However, as soon as she stepped foot past the gate, she was stopped by a servant. "Excuse me, but who are you? Beggars are strictly not allowed to enter this grand villa!"
Kaylee didn't feel embarrassed at all. She explained flatly, "I'm the daughter of the Hadley family. I'm here to fulfill the agreement between the two families."
Hearing this, the servant's eyes widened in disbelief, which quickly turned to disgust. She looked Kaylee up and down and wrinkled her nose in disdain.
Kaylee looked both ugly and shabby. She looked nothing like a lady from a rich family. How could she be Elijah's future wife?
Just as Kaylee was about to walk past the servant, the latter stopped her again. "Stop right there! Your shoes will dirty the floor!"
At this point, Kaylee had had enough of this arrogant servant's provocations.
Her eyes turned cold as she turned to look at the servant. "You are just a servant. I'm about to marry the son of the Stephens family. I am above you, understand?"
The servant was frightened by Kaylee's oppressive aura. Before she knew what she was doing, the servant was already fetching a pair of indoor slippers for Kaylee.
When Kaylee entered the living room, she saw a woman rushing in from the backyard.
It was Elijah's elder sister, Haisley Stephens.
Haisley practically shouted, "Is the daughter from the Hadley family here yet?! The wedding's about to begin!"
The Stephens family didn't hold a big wedding precisely because they knew that Kaylee was very ugly. They just held a simple ceremony in the backyard of their house. They didn't invite many guests, since they didn't want the public to know that such an ugly woman would marry into their elite family.
The servant pointed at Kaylee and said cautiously, "She's right here."
Haisley's eyes followed the direction the servant pointed at. As soon as she saw the massive scar on Kaylee's face, her jaw went slack.
She had long heard that her brother would marry an ugly woman, but she didn't expect his bride would be that ugly!
How embarrassing! How could they let this woman marry into their family?!
Kaylee returned Haisley's dumbfounded gaze calmly.
Unbeknownst to all, the scar on Kaylee's face was actually fake. She wasn't disfigured at all. She only pretended to be ugly, because her beauty had caused her a lot of trouble before.
Haisley gritted her teeth angrily and hissed, "Why haven't you gotten her changed yet?"
Ignoring Haisley's rudeness, Kaylee followed the servant to the dressing room and quickly put on her wedding dress.
Soon, Kaylee walked out of the dressing room in a white lace dress. She had a slender waist and a graceful figure, and thanks to the dress' low back design, the rose-shaped birthmark on her back between her beautiful shoulder blades was exposed. From behind, she actually looked quite stunning.
Haisley urged the servant, "Quick! Put the veil on her! The wedding will begin in ten minutes."
After getting dressed, Kaylee was led to the wedding venue in the backyard.
She looked around, but there was no sign of Elijah, her groom-to-be.
She asked one of the servants beside her in a low voice, "Where's the groom?"
Hearing this, the servant blushed and glanced at the second floor of the villa hesitantly. She hemmed and hawed, as if she felt too embarrassed to explain the situation.
"You're mine, little puppy," Kylan growled against my neck. A soft gasp escaped my lips as his lips brushed my skin. My mind screamed at me to push him away-the Lycan Prince who had humiliated me again and again, but my body betrayed me, leaning into him before I could stop myself. He pressed his lips against mine, and his kiss grew more aggressive, more possessive as I felt my legs weaken. What was I doing? In a split-second, I pulled away and slapped him hard across the face. Kylan's eyes darkened, but the smirk on his lips exposed his amusement. "You and I both know we can't fight this, Violet," he said, gripping my wrist. "You're my mate." "And yet you don't want me," I replied. "You told me you were ashamed of me, that l'd never be your queen, that you'd never love me. So please, accept my rejection and let me go." "Never," he whispered, his grip tightening as he pulled me closer. "Soon enough, you'll be begging for me. and when you do-I'll use you as I see fit and then I'll reject you."
Iris grew from an orphaned child to the adopted daughter of the Stewart family at age ten, finding warmth in her nominal uncle Vincent's kindness. Seven years later, she became his secret lover. When Vincent's engagement was announced, gossip spread about the notorious playboy CEO finally settling down. But only Iris knew the extent of his cold, two-faced nature. Iris fell for Vincent and, through tears, begged, "Marry me," only to be met with his frosty refusal. Defeated, she accepted a lawyer's proposal, sparking public excitement. Then, on her wedding day, Vincent pleaded desperately, "Don't marry him…"
Sawyer, the world's top arms dealer, stunned everyone by falling for Maren—the worthless girl no one respected. People scoffed. Why chase a useless pretty face? But when powerful elites began gathering around her, jaws dropped. "She's not even married to him yet—already cashing in on his power?" they assumed. Curious eyes dug into Maren's past... only to find she was a scientific genius, a world-renowned medical expert, and heiress to a mafia empire. Later, Sawyer posted online. "My wife treats me like the enemy. Any advice?"
Melanie married Ashton out of gratitude, but she quickly found herself entangled in a web of relentless challenges. Despite these struggles, she stayed true to her commitment to the marriage. In the hospital room, Ashton indifferently attempted to draw her blood, disregarding her discomfort. This callous act was a harsh revelation for Melanie, awakening her to the grim reality of their relationship. Resolved to prioritize her own welfare, she decided to sever ties. With newfound resolve, Melanie filed for divorce. In the process, she unveiled her concealed identities, leaving everyone in shock. Throughout these turbulent times, Melanie realized that Derek, Ashton’s uncle, had been discreetly protecting her all along.
"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Desperate to handle her grandmother's towering medical bills, Gianna agreed to a contract marriage with Tristan, the enigmatic man she'd once shared a one-night stand with. She assumed they'd fulfill each other's needs and dissolve the arrangement once the terms expired. Unbeknownst to Gianna, this marriage was a dream Tristan had clung to for ten relentless years. Certain she was just filling someone else's role, Gianna prepared to leave when that other woman returned. But Tristan, his eyes burning with unspoken emotion, seized her trembling hand and declared, "You’re mine. Now and always."