The Bride's Substitute Novels & Stories

My heart was in pain for him but there was nothing I could do other than keep him safe. "Is he treating you appropriately?" "Father, thank you for talking to my supervisor. A bit about my husband, all of you were wrong. He is an extremely reasonable person and adores me." "Not cruel? No way! He is as cold as ice!" "Rumors! I *ssure you that he is not at least cruel to me." "I'm glad you re*ssured me this but how come you say that? What about his reputation?" "Father, he knows that I'm the substitute bride. He has promised not to make things difficult for you."

Dylan said, his eyebrows furrowed at Aaron. "I have found a substitute bride till l find Lisa!" Aaron declared, his face devoid of any emotion. "Whattt? Are you being serious right now? Who is she?" Dylan asked, a glint of confusion could be seen on his face. "The gardener's granddaughter l guess. That was what she said. I don't really know her and l don't care to know. I caught her snooping and eavesdropping on l and my mom yesterday, so her punishment was to become my substitute bride"

Natasha asked curiously. "You ask Mr. Mercer, I don't know. I haven't seen him yet." Funny enough, Dawson was blind in both eyes back then, so the wedding organized by the Mercer family was very low-key, just a few tables. Although Ryan went to the wedding banquet at that time, he did not see the bride. After the bride hastily served tea to the elders, she returned to the room and did not appear again. Since Dawson got married until now, there have been only a few people, like the Mercer family and the Gregory family.

I know it's not in my position to cling to this marriage because it was never mine in the first place but…it was hard to let go. I was a substitute bride, my step-sister's replacement when she ran away on the night of her wedding.Since I loved Lucas so much, I didn't complain when my father asked me to marry him. I accepted without any obligations because I thought the heavens had finally answered my silent prayers. Lucas turned around and stared at me, his face hard to read. Those blue eyes which used to look at me gently now send shivers down my spine. He looked at me as if we were strangers and this was the first time that we were seeing each other.

He held me by my hand and took me to where we would be registered as husband and wife. So many thoughts ran through my head as I signed the papers that would make me his wife. What will he do to me if he finds out that I am a substitute bride? I was so uncomfortable with his presence. “We are finally married”. His voice jolted me back to reality. I didn't say a word to him because I didn't know how to respond to him. “My lord, it's an honor to be your father in law. I am handing my precious daughter to you. Do with her whatever you wish and if she gives you any headache, then go ahead and punish her the way you deem fit”.

“Is it because you’re married to that mute girl? The one who can’t even give you a child?” My mouth opened. Nothing came out. “I mean, seriously, Louis. You’ve been married for years, and that one, Evelyn, hasn’t even given you a baby. What’s the use of a woman who can’t bear fruit? And now, the one you were originally betrothed to, my Erica, is pregnant for you.” I clenched my fists. She wasn’t finished. “Just marry her already. It’s fate. Evelyn was always just a substitute bride. A stand-in. But now the real bride is back.”

"Your sister is gone. If Alessandro Moretti arrives at that altar and finds no bride, he will burn this house down with us inside it." I looked at the white silk dress spread across my bed. It was beautiful, expensive, and felt like a shroud. It belonged to Bianca. Everything always belonged to Bianca. She was the golden daughter, the one promised to the Devil of the Moretti family. I was just the shadow that cleaned up her messes. And now, she had run away with a rival, leaving me to face the monster in her place. "He’ll know," I whispered, my voice trembling. "I am not her. He met her at the gala. He’ll see my face and realize you lied to him."

"Like you manipulated hundreds of students at the Academy? Like you've been manipulating traditional packs through embedded brides for decades?" "That's conspiracy theory." He tries to dismiss it. "Is it?" I gesture at the replacement bride still standing at the altar. "This woman isn't Celeste Whitmore, she is a backup. Another Academy graduate sent to replace the real Celeste when she defected. How many backup brides do you have ready? How many marriages here are Council plants?" Several alphas turn to look at their wives with new suspicion. Some of those wives have the same empty eyes, the same mechanical precision that Celeste demonstrated.

There would only be a groom who ditched his bride for his niece, and a crying bride. Come what may.

"Mm." "About the word substitute." She looked at the window. The light. The way the city looked from here, at this hour, the specific quality of a Sunday morning seen from this height. "I spent a long time thinking of myself that way. Not just here. Before all of this. The substitute daughter. The one who was there when the one who mattered wasn't." He was quiet. The listening kind of quiet.