The Substitute Bride of the Scarred Billionaire Heir

hing Alaina Romero registered. The second was the

eiling above was a dizzying curve of polished teak and brass fittings, nothing like the plain whi

er lips, raw and sharp in the silent room. Dark, purplish marks bloomed acr

ver a chair. Her own dress lay in a heap by the bed, a long tear running up the side of the delicate fabric. Th

the Seraphina, her stepmother Sheila pressing a drink into her hand with a smile that had looked almost kind, a

rned in her stomach.

st. Her knees buckled the moment her feet touched the plush carpet. She clu

and angry, from outside the cabin door.

BAM

brated throu

t, her voice a hoarse whis

hirp, followed by the metallic snap of

fury. Behind him, her boyfriend, Eugene Miles, stared at her, hi

y weren

bin of the Seraphina, their cameras held high. The world explo

an I thought possible!" Dennis's roar w

, something filthy. The love and warmth she'd seen in his ey

marks on her skin, the single sheet she clutched to her che

king the room spin. "It's not what it looks like! I

e up, and the slap echoed in the room, a sharp, brutal sound that s

is voice low and venomo

nfusion, cold and final. "Alaina, we're done. I ca

and walked away, disappearing into the cr

ke it was being ripped from her chest, torn into a thousand pieces. She looked at he

us indignation. "I have no such daughter. From this day forw

cking shutters. They

ng but a borrowed, oversized crew bathrobe. Her feet were ba

ssantly in her hand. A stream of notifications. Texts filled

here. The comments section was a cesspool of slut-shaming and vitriol. In the space of

phina was still cutting through the dark Atlantic, miles from shore, its lights bl

ay expanse. It looked like an escape. A f

r face. One step. Then another. The rail at the edge of t

mb over the rail, a hand clamped d

around, her heart lea

ace was a perfect picture of concern, but her eye

voice was smooth as silk. "Did you really think dying wou

o Alaina's heart. Her mother. The one person she had

old water below and the colder