2. a deformed and lying man

chapter.2

Marco Marone

"Quick, Matilda, my future wife will arrive soon," I urged the woman who continued to smooth my hair. Ugh, my skin feels so disgusting now; this makeup is getting scary.

Well… my name is Marco. I lived a life of extravagance, fun, and a lot of debauchery. I loved the damn life that led me to destruction. But at this exact moment, I'm waiting for Matilda, my professional makeup artist, to finish covering my burns to scare off another of my wives arranged by my brother.

It all started a few years ago when I was in a meeting. There was a terrible fire, and when I thought I was going to die when the rubble fell on me, a woman was the only one who came to help me. When she managed to save me, we ran through the fire and falling debris around us. She was seriously injured to the point of not surviving, but I still remember it well. She handed me a chain she had around her neck.

"Find this girl and take care of her for me, please. She only had me; she's my daughter. She has the same necklace as this one. You'll know who she is. No one else has this jewel," she tried to explain with a faltering voice as she showed me the bloody jewelry, a pendant of a flower with some roots around it, quite a peculiar and rare piece.

But even traveling all over the USA, I couldn't find this girl. She has the same golden choker, but I don't know her age, what she looks like, no photos, nothing, no clue, just this damn necklace that doesn't help me at all.

And yes, I want to fulfill that promise. I want to know how that girl is and take care of her, no matter what, because I know how to honor my word, especially for someone like that woman who risked her life.

Back to the point, today I will receive another wife. I wonder if she'll be like the others, interested women who show disgust and repulsion. It will be very difficult for Maciel to convince me to marry one of them. After all, I leave them at home and test their fidelity, and they all cheat on me with my true appearance, just proving they're another gold digger. I admit I have fun, but I'm getting tired of him trying to trap me in a forced and senseless marriage, especially since I have a mission to fulfill.

"Done, it's finished," she announced. When I turned to the mirror, I almost had a heart attack from laughing so much. Simply perfect, deformed, and hideous.

"Excellent work," I sighed, seeing the hideous masterpiece she had created. I put on my best suit and put on my best face. Today is the day to scare off another wife. If all goes well, it will be another canceled marriage contract. But… it will be more time without any suitable woman.

My brother and I are the last of our kind. Besides, whoever this partnership is with will play an important role in our family. It would be recommended for a pure woman, but he's not very demanding. Even if the wife is for me, he puts his desires above mine and believes that any woman would fit what we need.

I left the room and headed to the stairs leading to the center of the grand hall. I had only descended one step, and the front door was already opening, and there she was—the strangest being I had ever seen. I hope she doesn't sign like the others who also backed out. I won't marry her.

Where did they find this being? In some swamp? Not because she's a little chubby, which is bad enough, but because her clothes are disproportionate, and those old shoes, I can see them from fifty meters away. She's even pretty, but… she wasn't the girl I was expecting. The Skill family fooled me; I was investigating the girl they would send, and she is very pretty and well put-together. Dhany simply wanted that gem in my hands for a few days.

The girl wears a suffocating dress; it's evident she's struggling to breathe in it. I won't even bother with that; let her suffocate to death, and the way her breasts are squashed, I'm sure all her organs will come out through there.

As soon as she saw me, her hands went to her mouth, staring at me in astonishment. I'm sure she'll run; she won't even pretend. I descended, posing arrogantly, pretending to be the most beautiful being descending the stairs while… what? Is she approaching?

"So, you're the powerful man they talk so much about?" she asked, insecure yet a bit cocky, but her gaze faltered, showing a hint of remorse.

"I am Marco, the youngest son of the Marones. Who are you? I don't recognize you as a Skill."

"I am an illegitimate, it wasn't supposed to be me; however, my guardian threw me in instead of my foster sister."

"Dhanyela?"

"Yes."

"Go away, if you're not a Skill…"

"Sir," the butler called, bringing the contract on a tray. "She is legally a Skill; she has been part of that family for some years. Her mother married Luiz Skill."

His interference irritated me even more.

"Ah… but she's scared enough not to get married," I commented, and I saw panic growing through her eyes, mixed with curiosity. "Just say what you want to know already?"

"Does it hurt?" she asked, reaching out her finger to touch my face, but I moved away; she seemed not to have heard what I said.

"Can you leave now?" I asked, and she stepped back, smiling awkwardly.

Doesn't she understand that she'll have a disabled and disfigured man in her life? Figuratively speaking, but looking at her somewhat relaxed appearance, the chubby one isn't ugly, but… she's not my type. I prefer more slender women, with a more acceptable standard. But considering that like the others, she won't live for long, her hair isn't that bad, uneven and dehydrated, oh, just a bit unkempt. In short, disapproved. She's the first wife I want far away from me. I can't even imagine touching that sloppy fat mess.

"Sir, you have an agreement with your brother; the bride who accepts you will be your wife and will have all the rights."

"Arthur, are you colluding with my brother? Just tell him that she ran away."

"But I didn't run away," she protested, trying not to meet my gaze out of fear of my reprimand.

"You have to get married as you promised."

"Do I have to join her?"

"Well…" Arthur murmured, analyzing her professionally. "She's a bit neglected, tight shoes, suffocating dress, she's suffering. Let's sign the contract, and Yolanda will take her to the room and help her get dressed."

"I don't want to sign the contract," I muttered, intending for him to tell my brother that she backed out.

"But it's your word, sir!" insisted the damned Arthur.

"Bring the paper; are you sure you want to marry me?" he asked sternly.

"I'm not… here willingly."

"What do you mean?"

"I am a gold-digging wife, sir," she said abruptly after thinking and hesitating in her gaze; I could swear she would lie.

"Who isn't? I'm a billionaire; my inheritance keeps growing," I said proudly. She seems a bit mocking, but doesn't show it.

"Even so, no amount of money in the world made any woman stay by my side with this face," I thought victoriously. I know she won't endure it.

I was annoyed by this macabre being; still, I have to keep my promise to my brother. So… marriage concluded. I signed the papers on the tray and turned away. Yolanda will go through the house rules, but it's a bit complicated if she'll last; things happen if people don't follow the rules.

There's only Yolanda and Arthur here, two gentlemen; they are the only ones who know the rules, but also… I've known them for so many years.

I went down the corridor and turned left into a dark wing. That ragged one can't enter here. Getting married to her was the same as not getting married; I have no interest in touching her.

I continue down the dim corridor to the last partially open door, letting out a discreet light.

My older brother rarely leaves, always isolated, as he has to constantly take care of his partner, who has been in a coma for some years. Meanwhile, I'll go on with my life as if I weren't married.

I'll just announce that I fulfilled my deal and now I'm a married man, but nothing will change. It's just a mere contract for me.

Like everyone else, she'll also think I'm the twin brother of my true self without all that makeup, so I can live my life and even mock her when I bring some woman and betray her right under her nose.

Soon, they'll know who the unfortunate one married to me is. It will be so funny when she sees me walking around the house and doesn't know I'm her husband. Supposedly, she'd easily cheat on her husband with my fake twin brother, just like they all did, but she doesn't even interest me for that.

"Congratulations, a deal is a deal," he announces seriously, sitting beside the bed, holding his partner's hand. He's bound to her life forever; I wouldn't complain, I swear I'd bind myself to her too without any issues, but strangely enough, she is his legitimate partner, recognized and approved. It's regrettable that she'll be stuck in a coma bed with no forecast to wake up.

"Can I leave now?" I ask without even entering.

"Yes, but… try to get closer to your wife. I know you don't like her, but it's for your safety and our family's. Our lineage has been threatened for so long, and there are so few of us."

"How will we reproduce if all partners have been destroyed? Now we are forced to bond with inferiors, but it's useless; a marriage won't save her from the curse."

"Stop complaining near my partner," he growls, annoyed.

"Sorry, well… I'll go to my room now; I just came to let you know that the marriage was legalized. Now, I'll remove all this makeup and dress decently."

"Did she accept you in this clownish state?"

"Of course, even like this, I'm someone they want," I joke, smiling frivolously.

"If that were the case, you wouldn't have scared away almost 20 wives," he scoffs seriously.

My brother is one who never smiles; bitterness dominates his heart. I feel bad for him; after all, he saw our entire family killed in our homeland, but we fled after they started hunting us and killing each one when they discovered our existence after being revealed by some traitors.

I returned to my room, removed all that makeup and mass under the shower; soon that aberration made way for the man I am, clean without marks, except for a large scar on my back. Strangely, that scar created a magical seal, it reminds me and torments me because of the promise I made to that woman who saved me.

But the more time passes, the more hopeless I feel about finding that girl. Until today, no sign, nothing. But if during this time, I get a sign that she's close, I'll get rid of this Alessa; since that day, I've chosen only the owner of the necklace to be my future and only partner.