Chapter 2

Dad took in my real face with mixed emotions in his eyes. Sighing, he said, "You foolish child. Why did you even bother to pretend to be ugly if you were going to end up doing this anyway?"

I studied my reflection in the mirror. With these dark eyes and fair skin, I bore a striking resemblance to my mother in her youth.

Mom's marriage into Dad's family, the Scotts, had been an arranged one as well. And after spending over a decade in a loveless marriage with a husband who never shared her bed, she became heavily depressed, dying from the emotional neglect.

On her deathbed, she clasped my hand and said, "Ellie, don't ever put your life in someone else's hands."

That was why, upon learning I was to be engaged to Austin Hammond, the heir to the Hammond family—and a man with exacting standards when it came to a person's looks—I used that to my advantage and destroyed all photographs of me.

I didn't want to go through with the marriage alliance. I didn't want to end up living the life Mom lived.

But Joshua used three years of tenderness to trick me into handing over my heart to him. And in the end, he was just like everyone else.

Since true love and a sincere heart meant nothing, why shouldn't I just choose a life of endless wealth for myself instead?

I turned to Dad, who was still stunned by my face, and said, "Dad, tell the Hammonds that I've agreed to the marriage."

The news of my agreement had barely reached the Hammonds when Austin's grandmother, Mrs. Hammond Senior, insisted on meeting me in person.

That evening, when I showed up at Hammond Manor, Mrs. Hammond Senior couldn't hide the awe in her eyes when she looked at me.

In the past, I would've felt uncomfortable being stared at like that. I would've instinctively lowered my head. But now, I kept my back straight and met her gaze head-on with a polite smile on my face.

Mrs. Hammond Senior nodded approvingly as she lavished praises on me. "Austin is such a lucky man. Those eyes of yours, Eliza, and that bearing! You look even more beautiful than the celebrities we see in the magazines!"

With an affectionate expression, she placed an emerald bracelet around my wrist, saying, "This is a family heirloom. From now on, you're the Hammond family's granddaughter-in-law!"

After the engagement was settled, I was about to leave when Mrs. Hammond Senior said to me in a lowered voice, "Ellie, your face draws far too much attention. It's best if you mask your appearance a little before the wedding.

"My grandson is the jealous type. If he sees how beautiful you are, he won't be able to stand letting anyone else see you before the wedding."

Running my fingers against the emerald bracelet, I thought about Austin, who was rumored to be borderline obsessed with a person's looks.

He was the sole heir to the Hammond family's business empire—and the person I avoided marrying by making myself appear unattractive, which led me to meeting Justin instead.

Even though Austin and I had never met before, to avoid any unnecessary trouble, I did as Mrs. Hammond Senior advised.

The next morning, while I was packing my things to leave the house I'd spent three years decorating to use as my future marital home, the front door abruptly unlocked.

Joshua walked in holding a box of crab cakes, his smile appeasing as he asked, "Are you still upset, Ellie? Look at what I bought you!"

Staring at the crab cakes, I couldn't help but snort mockingly. On the very first day we started dating, I told Joshua that I was allergic to crabs.

Without any hesitation, I stoically picked up the box of crab cakes on the table and tossed it into the trash.

Joshua was stunned. "Ellie! I had to line up for two hours just to get those. How can you—"

But after seeing the way I stared fixedly at him, he slapped himself on the forehead and exclaimed, "I'm so sorry, Ellie! I forgot about your crab allergy."

"Don't bother apologizing. Our relationship's over anyway."

I tossed over all of his belongings, which I'd spent the entire night packing, along with the pair of wedding rings we never got to exchange. Then, I watched as his face slowly drained of color.

He bent down to pick up the wedding rings, his fingers shaking. "Don't do this, Ellie… I know I made a mistake. We can just plan another wedding ceremony—"

But I cut him off before he could say anything else, snapping impatiently, "Save it! Take your things and get out of my house right this minute. From this day onward, our relationship is over!"

Joshua kept his eyes fixed on me as they slowly turned red. "But why, Ellie?"

I noticed his reddened eyes, but it only made me want to laugh. "Why? Because I'm about to marry someone else, of course, and my fiance doesn't want to see me involved with any other man."

"You're marrying someone else?" Joshua's eyes went wide with shock and panic. "Who's your fiance? Ellie, are you just throwing a tantrum because of what my friend said yesterday?"

As a sarcastic smile spread across my face, I calmly looked at him and asked, "Why would I throw a tantrum? You think too highly of yourself, Joshua."

The seconds trickled by. After ten long seconds, he took a long look at my expression and snapped through gritted teeth, "Fine! If you're seriously marrying someone else, then tell me who you're marrying! There's no way that any man apart from me would want to…"

But he didn't finish his sentence. He simply stared at me.

I was about to say Austin's name when a weak cough rang out from the doorway. A pale-faced Isabel showed up on my doorstep, looking all pitiful.

After coming in, her greedy eyes scanned the entire lavish penthouse duplex.

Finally, her gaze locked onto the wedding gown hung up on the wall, the one I had spent a full year hand-sewing stitch by stitch.

"This is such a pretty house, Joshua! And I adore that wedding gown. It's such a shame I'll never get the chance to wear something that gorgeous…"

Once I saw the undisguised smugness and provocation in Isabel's eyes, my smile only deepened.

As expected, Joshua immediately pulled her into a hug, his eyes filled with tender pity. Then, he turned to me with a pleading look.

"Ellie…"

I couldn't resist laughing when I saw his expression. "Joshua, don't tell me you're seriously going to ask me to let her stay in this house and even give her that wedding gown."

Joshua's lips parted, but before he could speak, his eyes widened—because I'd grabbed the scissors off the table and slashed the wedding gown right in half.

As the scraps of fabric drifted to the floor, I announced clearly, "I would rather ruin my things than let a filthy piece of trash touch any of it."

Isabel screamed in fear before burrowing even deeper into Joshua's arms. "She's gone mad! Joshie! She's lost her mind!"

Joshua stared at the shredded wedding gown on the floor before turning to me with a look of sheer disbelief.

"Ellie! It was just a wedding gown! Even if you didn't want to give it away, you didn't need to destroy it. What are you going to wear for the wedding now?"

Smirking, I replied, "You don't need to worry about that. The Hammonds will prepare a new gown for me."

Joshua stiffened. "The Hammonds? Are you talking about Austin Hammond, the most distinguished scion in all of Jarlesbury?"

His eyes flashed with shock, but he soon let out a scornful sneer. "Ellie, everyone knows that what Austin hates the most is…"

Giving me a pointed look, he didn't complete his sentence, but I knew what he was referring to.

In the past, I'd masked my true features in order to find true love that wasn't motivated by anything worldly or superficial. And right now, I couldn't be bothered to continue arguing with Joshua about this.

I took out a makeup removal wipe. I wanted to wipe off my disguise, shut up the man who still didn't believe a word I said, and leave.

But since I hadn't said anything, Joshua reached out toward me. "Oh, stop. Why are you even taking that out? No matter how hard you rub your face, it's not like you can change it—"

Before he could finish, my phone started ringing. When I took the call, the respectful voice of Boaz Lowe, the Hammond family's butler, rang out loud and clear, "Ms. Scott, Mrs. Hammond Senior has settled on a wedding day. It'll be three days from now."

The call ended, and the house was completely silent.

Joshua turned ghostly pale.