At the Altar, I Refused to Be Her Stand-In

Tags: Awakened Male Lead, Cutting Losses in Time, White Moonlight Stand-in, Cheating and Betrayal, Face-Slapping the Scum At our wedding, Mandy brought in a special effects makeup artist, insisting on turning my face into that of her long-lost first love. Only by doing this could she suppress her resentment and go through with the ceremony with me. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, a wave of nausea washed over me. Yet that only infuriated Mandy. "You look nothing like him! How am I supposed to marry you like this?!" Disgust filled my eyes. Right then and there, I called off the wedding and walked away from this woman. She didn't care at all. Turning on her heel, she hooked up with his younger brother, who bore a striking resemblance to her obsession. She was utterly convinced I would come crawling back. Until the day my relationship with the renowned cellist, Chloe Quinn, was splashed across the headlines. Furious, she barged right to my door, demanding to know why I was messing around with another woman. I didn't even bother looking at her. Chloe simply flashed her massive diamond wedding ring in Mandy's face. "Excuse me, but we're legally married." The special effects makeup artist pressed her fingers across my face, gradually morphing my features into Sean's likeness. Looking at the altered reflection staring back at me, I felt nothing but revulsion. Beside me, however, Mandy looked as if she had struck gold, her eyes practically shining. In all the years we had been together, this was the first time she had ever looked at me with such genuine infatuation. Excitedly, she asked the artist, "How long can this makeup last?" The artist replied, "If he's careful, keeping it for two to three days shouldn't be a problem." Mandy rubbed her hands together. "Can I hire you to do this for him all the time? As long as you keep his face looking like this, I'll pay you triple!" The makeup artist hesitated, looking uncomfortable. "The materials used for prosthetic makeup are very harsh on the skin. Long-term use is harmful to his health. It could cause skin ulcerations or serious infections. I really wouldn't recommend putting your husband through this." Within just an hour, even an outsider could tell that the man Mandy loved wasn't me. Forcing your husband to become another man on your own wedding day... Anyone witnessing it would feel sick to their stomach. Mandy scoffed dismissively. "Let it rot, then! Since he's marrying me, what isn't he supposed to sacrifice for me? If he doesn't want to, we can just get divorced!" The artist's hands froze. I clamped a hand over my mouth, fighting down the violent urge to vomit. Watching her twisted, demanding face as she barked orders at me, my insides felt as though they were being wrung out by a fist. It took me a long moment to lift my pale face, but that only provoked Mandy further. "You look nothing like him! How am I supposed to marry you like this?! "If you don't want to wear makeup, go get plastic surgery! Spend whatever it takes to get his face once and for all! That way I won't have to look at your nauseating face every single day and lose my appetite!" The makeup artist sighed, trying to smooth things over on what was supposed to be a joyous day. "Mr. Campbell has such great features, he could easily make it big in Hollywood." Hearing someone speak up for me only gave Mandy a new target for her rage. "I just don't like it! Chase, I'm giving you two options today: either we don't get married, or you go under the knife!" Looking at her smug, entitled expression, a bitter smile spread across my face. "Fine. Then the wedding is off." With that, I tore the prosthetics off my face with my own hands, turned around, and walked out without looking back. The artist whispered, "Ms. Miller, shouldn't you go talk to him?" Mandy shouted at the top of her lungs, "Talk to him my ass! He doesn't have the backbone you think he does! Give him a few days, and he'll come crawling back on his own! He's just a pathetic lapdog who loves being treated like dirt!" Sometimes I really marveled at my own endurance. How could any man endure this? Being pointed at, stripped of all pride and dignity, and cursed out in front of strangers for over three long years. I pulled off the wedding ring and tossed it into the nearest trash can. I had finally had enough of this woman. From this moment on, I wanted nothing to do with her ever again. When I got home, I hired people to pack up every single thing belonging to Mandy. From our dating phase to our wedding day, she had insisted on taking the master bedroom all to herself, banishing me to the guest room. Living in my house, spending my money, and tormenting me daily. I had truly been too lenient with her, spoiling her into this lawless, entitled monster. The living room was cluttered with luxury designer items she had bought with my credit card. Back then, whatever she asked for, no matter how hard it was to find, I moved heaven and earth to get it for her just to see her smile. I slumped on the sofa, feeling like the biggest failure in the world over the past three years. When Mandy came back, she could take all these things with her. Consider it her breakup settlement. No, we weren't even having a proper breakup. Consider it my severance fee to cut all ties. What I didn't expect was that when the front door finally opened late into the night, Mandy didn't return alone. Beside her stood Nathan, the younger brother of her obsession.The second our eyes met, the smile on Mandy's face vanished, instantly replaced by pure disgust. She shoved my shoulder aside. "I get annoyed just looking at you. Get out of my way!" I blocked her path. "You forgot. We're done." Mandy scowled. "Enough! Saying it once is drama enough, but saying it twice just makes you sound like a nagging b*tch!" I said coldly, "The housekeeper has packed all your things. Please take them and leave." Mandy glared at me, her eyes widening. "I think you've lost your damn mind! Open your blind eyes and look at who I am!" When she tilted her head back, I caught sight of several dark red hickeys scattered across her neck. Out all day and half the night. We were all adults; what had happened between her and Nathan didn't need explaining. It made me sick. The nausea rose in my throat again. "I see very clearly. You are not welcome here." Over the past few years, Mandy's temper had grown worse by the day. The slightest inconvenience would set her off screaming at me. This time was no different. "I am your fiancee!" Behind her, Nathan chuckled softly, stepping forward to play the peacemaker. "Chase, don't get so worked up. After all, you were in the wrong today too. "Ditching your bride at the altar with so many guests watching... that was way out of line. "Anyone else would have never looked back. Mandy has a good heart; she still bothered to come home to you even past midnight." His words neatly painted me as the villain. Having finally snapped out of my delusion, I knew the real reason Mandy came back. She had nowhere else to go, and she couldn't survive without my money and resources. And perhaps, she also wanted to flaunt the marks on her neck right in my face. I let out a cold laugh. "Then I truly hope she never steps foot in here again." Nathan kept that smug, drama-loving smirk on his face. "Mandy didn't do anything wrong to you. She and my brother are just friends." I turned on him. "And what about you? "She's in love with Sean, but Sean is happily married now. So she settled for second best and went after you instead, didn't she?" The smile on Nathan's face instantly froze. "Chase, don't talk like that. It's uncalled for. "You two never signed the marriage certificate, and you're the one who refused to finish the wedding today. Whoever Mandy chooses to be with has nothing to do with you, does it?" I genuinely wondered how people like them were wired. To twist logic into such disgusting shapes. I looked him dead in the eye. "Calling her your sister-in-law every five seconds... do you get a kick out of sleeping with your brother's stand-in bride? Or does this twisted little setup just get you off?" Nathan's face darkened instantly. "You and I are nothing. I only called you bro out of courtesy. Don't push your luck!" Perhaps remembering that his brother really did have a wife at home, a look of disgust flashed across his face, as if he had swallowed a fly. He just wanted to get out of there. "Mandy, if he doesn't want you here, let's go. He'll regret this sooner or later." I had begged her too many times in the past. That was why she was so brazen, convinced that within a few days I would be crying and begging her to come back. She rolled her eyes, grabbed a suitcase, threw in a few of the most expensive designer bags, and walked out. Coming back tonight probably hadn't even been her idea. She had been furious since the altar; knowing her pride, she never would have crawled back on her own so soon. Nathan had likely orchestrated this, deliberately bringing her here to rub my face in the dirt. I just couldn't understand what he stood to gain by doing this. He clearly didn't love Mandy. With his family's wealth, he could have had any woman he wanted. Yet he insisted on hooking up with Mandy just to disgust me and tear us apart. It was hard not to suspect that he had an ulterior motive all along.News of our canceled wedding spread fast. My mother grieved for less than a single day before she was walking on air. She immediately started arranging blind dates for me everywhere she could. She had loathed Mandy from the start. Now that the woman was gone, my mom looked ready to hire a brass band to celebrate. She told me, "When you insisted you wouldn't marry anyone but her, I honestly thought you'd been cursed! How on earth did you fall for that spoiled, entitled brat?!" I gently patted her back to comfort her. Back then, I had indeed done plenty of reckless, foolish things for Mandy. I had even acted like an immature child, threatening to cut ties with my family to force my aging parents into accepting her. They had compromised, and so had I. Yet that had only made Mandy push my boundaries further. I sighed softly. Fortunately, it wasn't too late. My parents didn't hold it against me, and I still had a chance to make amends. Taking advantage of my softened mood, my mother shoved several photos into my hands. "These are girls Mrs. Jenkins and I handpicked for you. You have to meet every single one of them this week!" I forced a helpless smile. "Mom, with my current baggage, going out with these women is just wasting their time." She waved it off. "It's just a casual coffee or dinner to make friends! What century are you living in? You think meeting once means you have to walk down the aisle? Don't be so old-fashioned! "Besides, these girls all come from great families. Even if nothing romantic happens, making connections through this might help you in business down the line." She made it sound so reasonable that I couldn't find a single excuse to say no. Consider it paying for my past stupidity; I decided to follow her wishes. Letting her have some peace of mind after three years of anger was the least I could do. However, I soon realized the downside of this approach. After walking away from such a toxic relationship, it was nearly impossible for me to open my heart and get to know someone new. Even just as friends. Between the fallout with Mandy and the non-stop blind dates, I was completely drained, both mentally and physically. I knew that trying to get over an ex by finding someone new right away wasn't the right path for me. So I decided to have an honest talk with my mom over the weekend. At the very least, she needed to stop packing my schedule so full. Who would have thought that my very last date would offer me an unexpected way out? She was refreshingly straightforward. The moment we sat down, she said, "I'm in a similar boat. I recently got hurt in a relationship, but I didn't want my family to worry, so I agreed to these setups. I'm guessing you're doing the exact same thing." I truly didn't want my mother to worry about me anymore. Yet continuing like this wasn't sustainable either. A headache throbbed behind my temples, and I gave her a wry smile of mutual misery. Chloe Quinn leaned forward and said plainly, "In that case, do you want to partner up?" I looked at her, confused. How did a blind date suddenly turn into a business partnership? "If it's a mutually beneficial corporate deal, you can visit my office tomorrow, and we can discuss the details." Chloe burst into laughter. "I'm not talking about business. I'm talking about romance. "What do you say? Want to give it a shot with me?" Her directness caught me completely off guard. "Give what a shot?" I had crossed paths with Chloe a few times before, but we were barely acquaintances. Including today, we hadn't exchanged more than ten sentences in our entire lives. How did we suddenly jump to... dating?That turned out to be the most relaxing date I had been on in weeks. It felt as though a massive boulder had finally been lifted off my chest. Because I couldn't bear returning to that house filled with painful memories, I temporarily moved back in with my parents. Lately, the moment I walked through the door, my mother would pester me, asking if I had met anyone interesting. If I said no, she would look disappointed for a brief moment. Then she would immediately get back on the phone with her friends to see if anyone else was willing to meet me. This time, however, was different. "Chloe is wonderful. Please hold off on introducing anyone else for now. I'd like to get to know her better." Chloe was a celebrated, internationally acclaimed cellist. My mother hadn't harbored any real hopes about our match; when she asked today, she hadn't even sounded expectant. Hearing my answer, her eyes went wide. "A woman like that actually looked twice at a man who was almost on his second marriage?!" I rubbed my temples. "Is it really that shocking?" Chloe's brilliance was obvious to everyone. Countless prominent families were practically lining up to marry her. Who could have guessed that behind her glamorous exterior, she was also carrying scars from a broken heart? Call it mutual empathy; that shared pain had created an opening for us. A chance to be together for a little while. Faking a relationship to appease our families had been her idea. It would take the pressure off both sets of parents and spare us the endless parade of blind dates. It would buy us both some peace and quiet. Chloe and I quickly came to an agreement. It was a win-win for both of us. What I didn't expect was that before my mother could even fully digest the news, my phone rang. It was Chloe. She got straight to the point: "Chase, are we doing a dinner date tomorrow, or are we going ring shopping?" Before I could answer, my mother, who was shamelessly eavesdropping, frantically signaled at me: *Don't let the girl do all the pursuing!* I cleared my throat. "We can do both. I'll pick you up after work." To make the act convincing, Chloe and I talked on the phone for quite a while. I quickly discovered she was witty, sharp, and effortless to talk to. There was never an awkward silence. Time flew by when I was with her. In all this time, she was the first woman who effortlessly checked every single box. Having been burned, I was naturally more cautious about choosing a future partner, but I sensed Chloe wouldn't mind. And so, Chloe and I began dating. Every single day, she showed me a new side of herself, making me look forward to what she would surprise me with next. My world was slowly being filled with her presence, and thoughts of Mandy crossed my mind less and less. Until two months later, when Chloe called and asked me to pick her up. When I arrived at the venue, the first person I saw by the entrance was Nathan. A lit cigarette dangled between his fingers. When his eyes caught mine, a mocking smirk spread across his lips. "Don't you have a girlfriend now? What are you doing partying here?" Lately, Chloe and I had developed an unspoken mutual feeling that our fake romance was turning very real. Our relationship was hardly a secret anymore. I had zero respect for him, so I didn't bother offering a response. He called out after me, "Don't tell me you found out Mandy was here and came running to find her? After everything she did, you're still hung up on her?" Nathan seemed to have conveniently forgotten that he was the one stirring the pot. He was the one who had been hanging out and sleeping with Mandy these past two months! I had no desire to engage in pointless banter with him. "I'm here to pick up Chloe." Nathan instantly snapped upright. "What is she doing here?" Seeing his sudden tension, an uneasy feeling crept into my chest. It felt like there was a hidden meaning behind his words, like there was something he was keeping from me. And whatever it was, it most likely had to do with Chloe! I had already been fooled once; I couldn't survive being played a second time. A sudden panic seized me: What if Chloe's warmth toward me was all an act? What if the past two months of happiness were just an illusion? Every step down the corridor felt agonizingly heavy. By the time I reached the room number Chloe had texted me, cold sweat had soaked through my shirt. Nathan had followed me without my realizing it. Evidently, he spotted the scene inside the room as well. He blew a sharp whistle, gesturing toward the interior. The door was left ajar. In the dim, moody lighting, a woman with disheveled clothes was locked in an intimate, tangled embrace with the person beside her. It was a scene I had never witnessed so brazenly! I felt like my eyes had been violated, and I instinctively turned to get the hell out of there! Nathan, seizing the moment, shoved me hard from behind right through the door. "Since you're already here, you can't leave without saying hello!"