CHAPTER 1

No one would have thought that the King family, the most powerful clan in Preagend, would be fooled like this.

In a large and lavish bedroom, a tall, well-dressed man seized the woman in the magnificent bridal gown by the neck in an outburst of rage.

“You're not Avery! How dare you and your family trick me into marrying you? You must be tired of living already,” he growled. The woman was forced to tilt her head back, but her slender and attractive neck failed to elicit any sympathy from the man. “Let... let go...”

Half of her features were obscured by a white mask, revealing only her strikingly beautiful eyes, which were starting to water now.

“Let... let go...”

Her cheeks flushed, and she sputtered in distress.

The man tossed Luna Miller to the floor with a vicious swing of his arm and stared down at her condescendingly.

Luna felt a brief flutter of anxiety when she realized her mask had come loose on one side. She immediately moved to adjust it. The man then slammed the door open and walked out of the room.

The shocked servant, who had seen the whole affair unfold, rushed to help the woman up from the floor.

“Madam, are you alright? Let me help you up,” she said.

“Thank you,” Luna replied.

When Luna finally stood up, she rubbed her reddened neck, where she had been gripped so tightly, and blinked her red, confused eyes at the open door.

“Is that man Preston?”

The servant, who was now straightening Luna's bridal gown, answered, “Yes. He is the master of the house and your husband.”

Luna frowned. She thought that Preston King was disabled, like the rumors said. Her half-sister, Avery Miller had cried about it, and in order to avoid marrying a disabled man, she practically forced Luna to wed Preston instead.

As it turned out, Preston's legs were fully functional, and he could walk with no issues at all.

The corners of Luna’s mouth quirked up into a smirk. Avery would undoubtedly come to regret her decision if she found out that Preston was not the supposed disabled person but, rather, an attractive man with a model-like physique.

Luna dragged her bridal gown to the bed where she and Preston were supposed to consummate their marriage and sat on it. She cleared her throat and asked, “Well, isn’t it time for dinner now?”

She had gone the entire day without eating, and now, she was starving.

The servant was puzzled. The tears that were flowing down Luna's cheeks earlier as Preston nearly suffocated her were now gone, and she was acting as if nothing had happened.

When she noticed that Luna was staring at her, she quickly snapped out of her thoughts. Her head dipped as she stuttered, “Actually, madam, you're the only one who hasn’t eaten dinner yet; everyone else has already done so.”

For a brief second, Luna was speechless.

She guessed that it was probably because she was never really accepted by anyone in the King household. Celeste King, Preston's mother had a reputation for being a stickler for the rules, but Luna was already being denied food, even though she had just joined the family. This was obviously an effort to assert authority and scare her, the new daughter-in-law.

“Just bring my food here, then,” Luna instructed. The servant’s expression became troubled.

“If they ask you why you got me food, just tell them that | haven't eaten in three days and that if | don’t eat, I'll starve to death in their house. Also, tell them that | already passed out from hunger earlier,” Luna suggested.

“Is that... really going to work?” the servant timidly asked. Luna gave her a reassuring wink and said, “It will. Trust me.”

In the living room, Preston sat on the extravagant leather sofa. He was holding a glass, and his grip on it was so tight that it looked like he wanted to break it.

His assistant walked up to him, carrying a stack of documents. “Mr. King, after a thorough investigation, we can confirm that the woman you married wasn’t Avery but Luna, who's known for her disfigured face. The Miller family had deceived us.”

Preston wrinkled his brow and released his grip on the glass, letting it fall to the floor. His assistant pulled out two photos and set them down in front of him.

There was a striking difference between the two photos. Avery had fine features, and she looked ethereal. Luna, on the other hand, was scarred horribly on the right side of her face. It looked like a centipede had crawled across her face.

Preston let out an ominous chuckle. “How dare they trick me into marrying that woman? Do they really think they can get away with it?”

Celeste, dressed to the nines and standing next to Preston, grabbed the photos. The more she looked at them, the more unsettled she felt. “Damn these Millers! They thought my son was a disabled man, so they had this hideous woman marry him!” she exclaimed.

Five years ago, Preston got involved in a car accident, and since then, rumors had been circulating that it left him with paralyzed legs. When Celeste attempted to disprove the claims, Preston stopped her.

Rhea Evans, who was sitting next to Celeste, felt a tremendous relief wash over her.

In her heart, she was the one should be Preston's wife, and it seemed that was still the case until now. After all, there was no way Preston would fall for that ugly woman.

“Mrs. Miller, please calm down. Here, let me give you a massage,” Rhea said.

The union between the two families was not announced to the public and was instead conducted discreetly.