Banned From Mom's Wedding for Being Ugly

I turned my head and glanced at the array of jars on the table.

I had intended to conceal the burn scar on my face tomorrow. I thought that if I just tried hard enough to appear normal, my mom, Josie Swift, would be willing to acknowledge my existence in front of my stepfather, Gavin Dunn.

But now, the sight of the concealer became a source of my embarrassment.

I waved my hand, signalling the makeup artist to leave, and replied, "Okay."

Mom visibly relaxed at my calm response. "I'm glad you understand where I'm coming from. Chris is handsome and well-mannered. With him there tomorrow, he'll make me look good. You're my son. Once I gain my footing in the Dunn family, I won't let you go hungry."

Gavin patted his son, Chris Dunn, on the shoulder, looking all proud.

"Okay. Don't just stand there. Get some rest," Mom added.

I silently put the things on the table away and folded the outfit I had prepared for tomorrow. Honestly, I should have gotten used to being seen as a burden long ago.

When I was 12, an accidental fire broke out at home, leaving a burn scar the size of a coin on the left side of my face.

At first, my dad, Ian Jackman, was frantic with worry. He worked himself to the bone at construction sites, wanting to take me in for a skin-grafting surgery. But in just half a year, he met with an accident at work and died on the spot.

The contractor paid us 800 thousand dollars in compensation.

The atmosphere at home suddenly turned somber.

The doctor said the treatment would be long and expensive, and there was no guarantee my scar would fully heal.

One late night, I woke up for some water and overheard Mom talking to Grandma on the phone.

Grandma said, "Use the money to treat Colin's scar. He's still young and has his whole life ahead of him."

Mom lowered her voice, her tone cold. "The scar has been there for so long. Even with a skin graft, a full recovery isn't guaranteed. Anyway, Gavin is willing to marry me. It's not his duty to take on a burden like Colin. I have to bring something worthwhile into the marriage.

"Colin is my son. He should understand that if I don't land on my feet, he'll have no future either."

"What about his face?"

Impatience filled Mom's voice. "That's just the way it is. I'll use Ian's compensation money to buy Chris an imported piano. I need to get on Gavin and his son's good side first."

The glass in my hand fell to the floor and shattered into pieces. Without saying anything, I picked up the shards, returned to my room, and sat quietly against the wall in the darkness the whole night.

From that day on, I became the sensible son Mom wished for.

After Gavin and Chris moved in with us, every resource in the family belonged solely to Chris.

As for me, all I got was the same old excuse from Mom. "It's not easy for me to scrape a living for us. You need to think about my future."

Without proper treatment, the burn scar stretched and looked increasingly gruesome as I grew up.

I snapped back to reality as I put the last item away. "Mom, I'm going to bed."

She turned to look at me with a frown. "Come over earlier tomorrow to help out. Even though you're no longer my ring bearer, there's a ton of other things to do."

I nodded.