Chapter 5
The guests started talking.
“The West family’s heir is truly foolish. Not only has he offended the Andersons, but now he’s made an enemy of the Black family as well. Life in New York won’t be so easy for him anymore.’
“Back when Via liked him, he kept stringing her along, shamelessly exploiting the Anderson family’s resources for his own gain. Now, it looks like the Wests can barely protect themselves.”
“Mrs. Black, rest assured. From this day forward, we will never do business with the West family again.”
As the murmurs of the guests grew louder, I smiled slightly.
“The West family’s moral values are appalling-letting a mistress lord over the legitimate fiancée. Any debutante foolish enough to marry Mark West won’t just suffer endless humiliation. Even worse, her own children could lose their rightful inheritance to some illegitimate child.”
My words sent a fresh wave of gasps rippling through the crowd.
With sharp instincts, Kate quickly dragged a trembling Sofia out from where she’d been hiding in the corner.
“Everyone, this is Mr. West’s mistress.”
Sofia had never faced public shame like this before. Panicking, she dove straight into Mark’s arms. The slight swell of her belly confirmed everything I had just said.
“What a disgrace to high society!”
“Absolutely revolting. Who would dare marry their daughter into the West family now?”
“I heard his mother was a mistress too-forced the wife to her death to secure her position. Like mother, like son.”
Mark’s face alternated between livid red and deathly pale. Furious, he lunged at one of the gossiping guests, only to be tackled by security and dragged out.
As fingers pointed and whispers filled the air, Sofia covered her face and fled, not even sparing Mark a glance.
I adjusted my bouquet, slid my arm through Robert’s, and gave the priest a subtle nod.
“Please,” I said, “let’s continue.”
“May the couple now exchange rings,” the priest announced.
The very next day, I officially moved into the Black estate.
When my mother handed me over to Robert, her eyes shimmered with tears. “She’s my only daughter. I hope you cherish her… protect her.”
Robert held her gaze and solemnly vowed, “If I ever fail Via, I’m willing to lose everything.”
Married life turned out to be far more wonderful than I ever imagined. Robert’s mother, Elena, treated me like her own.
“Robert is perfect in every way,” Elena said one evening, her voice tightening with emotion. “It’s just… the scars on his face…”
Her eyes glistened. “He was injured by a bomb while serving in Afghanistan. You… you’re the Anderson heiress, yet you chose him without hesitation. It’s the greatest blessing our family could ask for,”
I squeezed her hand gently. “He’s my husband. No matter what he looks like, I will never see him as anything less.”
1/3
Chapter 5
+15 Bonus
After escorting Elena back to her room, I found Robert standing by the floor-to-ceiling window. Dressed in a sleek black robe, his tall frame exuded an effortless elegance. Even with half his face concealed behind that familiar mask, his aristocratic presence was undeniable.
As I approached, he reached out and took my hand. “I heard what you told my mother just now,” he murmured. “Do you truly not care about… my face?”
I nodded without hesitation. He never judged me for the scandal surrounding my name-how could I possibly care about a few scars?
“You’re my husband. I love you, no matter what.”
Robert held my gaze for a long moment. Then, without warning, he reached up and removed his mask.
My eyes widened in disbelief. Beneath the mask was… an impossibly handsome face-perfectly sculpted, unmarred by even a trace of scarring.
I slapped a hand over my mouth. “Your face-!”
A faint flush crept up Robert’s cheeks. “I… I just didn’t want anyone setting me up on blind dates… so I let people think I was disfigured and temperamental.”
“You started those rumors?” I asked, half-laughing, half-stunned.
Robert nodded, looking half guilty, half mischievous.
Unable to hold back a grin, I hooked my finger under his chin. “Well… we’re married now. You won’t be needing this mask anymore.”
Curiosity sparkled in my eyes. “When did you start liking me? Why me, of all people?”
Robert’s gaze softened, filled with endless tenderness. “Ten years ago… when I had just returned from the battlefield. I was suffering from severe PTSD. Everyone called me a lunatic.”
“Everyone… except you. You walked straight up to me at a charity gala and asked me to dance. You even introduced me to the best therapist in the city. After I recovered… I heard you were hospitalized from exhaustion while preparing for that same charity project.”
His words pulled long-forgotten memories back to the surface. I gave a bitter laugh. “I was in that hospital bed for a full month.”
ཇ་ཝ་༤
Robert wrapped me in his arms. “Never again,” he vowed softly. “I’ll never let you suffer like that again.”
Leaning against his chest, I gazed out the window at the glittering night sky.
While my life bloomed with love and happiness, Mark’s world collapsed into ruin.
After being dragged out of the wedding like a mangy dog, he returned home humiliated and broken.
When Mark’s grandfather found out what Mark and Gloria had done to me, he suffered a heart attack on the spot. The fallout was swift and brutal-he stripped Gloria of all financial control, froze Mark’s trust fund, and ordered him to start over from the bottom at a branch company.
As for Sofia? She was thrown out of the West family entirely. Desperate, she sold herself to a mafia boss as a mistress. That very night… she miscarried.
A few days later, Mark’s grandfather personally dragged Mark to the Anderson building to apologize. I couldn’t even be bothered to see them.
So Mark… was forced to kneel outside the Anderson building for three days and three nights.
It didn’t take long before the story hit the front page of The New York Times.
