The Substitute Bride's Revenge

At the wedding, I recognized at a glance that the bride in the wedding dress standing before me wasn't Leahit was someone impersonating her.

But I still went through with the ceremony as planned.

Because in my previous life, when I publicly exposed the fake bride, Leah reluctantly came crawling back to marry me.

Meanwhile, Michael, who had been kicked out by my parents, jumped to his death from our building on our wedding night.

When Leah heard the news of his death, she showed not a trace of sadness.

After our marriage, we grew increasingly affectionate. I continuously funneled money from my family to save her company from bankruptcy.

But on our first anniversary, she personally tied me up in a helicopter.

She dropped her disguise, her eyes filled with madness:

"If you hadn't forced me to come back and marry you that day, Michael wouldn't have died! Wasn't it enough that your family kicked him out? You had to drive him to his death!"

"What right do you have to be so happy? I'm going to make you feel the same pain he felt when he died!"

I was thrown from ten thousand meters in the air and turned into a pile of mangled flesh.

This time, I'm pretending not to know, going through with the wedding ceremony with the fake bride.

I want to see how she'll save the crumbling Leah Group without my family's support.

"Do you, the groom, take this beautiful bride standing beside you, for richer or poorer..."

"I... I do." The woman's voice came through the veil and mask, muffled and carrying a hint of barely perceptible nervousness.

The guests below were all praising how deeply Leah loved meeven with a severe cold and wearing a mask, she insisted on completing this wedding of the century. She was practically the epitome of devoted love among the elite.

"Wait a moment."

The woman before me had evasive eyes, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

I let out a cold laugh and asked, "Leah, you don't look well. Did you forget to take your medicine because you were too busy with the wedding?"

She coughed nervously twice. "Yes, I..."

I signaled the officiant to halt the ceremony and pulled the bride into a private lounge.

The phone on the table happened to vibrateover a dozen unread messages, all from Michael.

[Gonzalez, you've figured out the bride is fake, haven't you? Surprise! Michael and I are watching your wedding livestream from the Maldives.]

There was even an attached photo: Leah intimately leaning against him, both wearing matching beach couple outfits, their faces radiating sweet happiness.

[Oh, I forgot to mentionthis was my idea. You stole my position, so I'm stealing your woman. This wedding is just a game she's playing to amuse me.]

I remained expressionless, quickly typing out a response.

[Is that so? Well, believe it or not, with just one word from me, she'll come crawling back like a dog begging me to take her.]

The "typing..." indicator on the other end flickered for a long time without producing a single word.

Perfect. The fish had taken the bait.

I pocketed my phone and turned to look at the anxious substitute beside me.

She looked at me awkwardly. "Actually, I... I..."

I patted her shoulder. "Presley, don't be nervous."

She instantly relaxed, her pupils dilating in shock. "You already knew?"

After a moment of silence, she seemed to make some kind of decision. Taking a deep breath, she looked at me with intense eyes.

"Gonzalez, Leah doesn't deserve you. Today she's deliberately conspiring with Michael to humiliate you. If you feel degraded, I'll take you away right now!"

After my death in my previous life, I learned that Presley had secretly loved me for years.

When she heard about my death, she was the only one who refused to believe I had committed suicide.

Later, she discovered Leah was the killer. Unable to find evidence, she dragged Leah to her death on the anniversary of my passing, taking them both down together.

Thinking of her tragic end in my previous life, my fists clenched tight, a flash of fierce determination passing through my eyes.

Seeing my cold expression, Presley thought I was forcing myself to stay composed. She reached out worriedly to touch me.

I grasped her wrist instead, looking at her seriously. "Presley, listen carefully. This wedding must happen today, but I only want to marry you."

When we returned to the ceremony hall, the officiant wiped away cold sweat and announced with a smile, "Now, will the bride and groom please exchange rings."

I picked up the women's diamond ring and pushed it onto her finger, but it stuck firmly at the knuckle.

She tried awkwardly to force it on, but I pressed down on her hand.

The guests below began whispering among themselves.

"What's going on? Is the ring the wrong size?"

"How could they get something this important wrong? This is Mr. Wilson's biological sonis the Leah family really this careless?"

Below the stage, Leah's parents' faces instantly turned extremely ugly. They exchanged glances, filled with panic.

It seemed they had known all along about Leah running away from the wedding to be with Michael, but they conspired to hide it from my family.

My mother's brows furrowed tightly, and my father's face turned even colder.

I gave my parents a reassuring look, signaling them to remain calm.

Then, under everyone's shocked gaze, I lifted Presley's veil and removed her mask.

"Oh my God! The bride isn't Leah!"

"Then where's the real bride?"

Leah's mother, Tobias, was the first to react. She rushed onto the stage without regard for appearances:

"What... what is going on! Who are you!"

Leah's father, Anthony, his face ashen, shouted at the chaotic guests and reporters below:

"Everyone quiet down! There's been a small mishap with the wedding. We'll resolve it immediately!"

How spectacular.

In my previous life, I was the one humiliated on stage. Now it was Leah's parents.

My mother also stood up in shock, looking at me with concern. "Gonzalez, what on earth is happening?"

I turned to give my parents a reassuring look.

Under the entire audience's astonished gaze, I took Presley's hand:

"Thank you all for coming to attend the wedding between Miss Presley and myself today. Due to a small oversight, the wedding posters and rings were mixed up."

I paused before continuing. "However, it doesn't matter. The wedding will continue."

Presley beside me gripped my hand back, her gaze firm, as if declaring her claim.

Tobias looked at me, trembling with rage. "Gonzalez, have you lost your mind! Do you know what you're saying?"

Anthony also rushed forward, lowering his voice to say to me:

"Gonzalez, stop this nonsense! Call off the wedding immediately!"

I ignored them and turned to look at Presley. "Presley, tell everyone why you're standing here."

Presley and I exchanged smiles, her voice cool and steady:

"I'm standing here today because Leah gave me twenty dollars to impersonate her at the wedding, while she herself is on vacation abroad with Michael."

As soon as these words left her mouth, the entire room erupted. This was guaranteed to trend.

"Holy shit! Paying someone to substitute at your own wedding? What is this!"

"For Michael, who got kicked out, she's offending Mr. Gonzalez? Is Leah under some kind of spell!"

With their shameful secret exposed publicly, Anthony and Tobias's faces completely lost all color.

My father Wilson's anger was finally ignited. Pointing at Anthony's nose, he cursed:

"What a fine Leah family! You begged for this marriage alliance, and now you're treating my son's lifelong matter as a joke! You think the Wilson family is easy to bully?!"

My mother Kate was even more decisive, directly announcing to the media below:

"This marriage is off! From this day forward, the Wilson family and the Leah family have nothing to do with each other!"

"As for that Michael, he was kicked out of our home for misconduct. Whoever wants him can have him!"

Seeing the marriage alliance collapse, Tobias completely panicked.

"Gonzalez, Leah is just immature, bewitched by that Michael! I'll make her come crawling back to apologize to you right now!"

I shrugged, sneering. "Fine, I'll give her one more chance. As long as you can get through to her on the phone, I'll pretend nothing happened."

Presley's grip on my hand tightened. I whispered to her, "Don't panic. Leah won't answer."

Tobias grabbed onto this like a lifeline, frantically dialing Leah's number.

Once, twice, three times...

What came through the receiver was always that cold voice: "Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently on another call..."

My face turned cold. "It seems Miss Leah doesn't want to come back."

"Security, escort these uninvolved persons out."

Anthony and Tobias were dragged out by security, countless reporters excitedly snapping photos in their faces.

My mother held my hand, asking nothing, only repeatedly saying:

"Gonzalez, whatever decision you make, your father and I support you."

Father patted my shoulder. Warmth filled my heart.

In my previous life, I insisted on marrying Leah and had a terrible falling out with my family. After my death, they turned white-haired overnight.

This life, I would never repeat that mistake.

And I wouldn't easily let Leah, the true culprit, get away with it.

After the ceremony concluded, I immediately called my assistant.

"Terminate all cooperation with the Leah family immediately and withdraw all the capital we've invested. Not a single cent remains."

The news that I had married Presley didn't spread quickly.

To stabilize their stock price, the Leah family paid to suppress the news.

Right after the wedding ended, Presley and I rushed to get our marriage certificate. After registering, Presley said she had urgent company business and needed to go abroad for a few days.

On the other side, the oblivious Leah accompanied Michael on the island for several days before belatedly realizing something was wrong.

Usually by this time, I should have already pressured her to come back.

But now there was no movement at all.

Leah absent-mindedly scrolled through her phone.

Michael handed her a drink, deliberately provoking: "Leah, Gonzalez isn't angry, is he? It's all my fault. If I hadn't suddenly gotten dizzy, you wouldn't have stayed with me..."

Leah scoffed. "What's he got to be angry about? You're someone who lost your protection. He has everything. What's wrong with being considerate of you?"

At this thought, her brow suddenly relaxed. Gonzalez must be playing hard to get.

A smile curved at the corner of Leah's lips. She felt she'd been spoiling me too much.

I never expected to run into them at my father's business gala.

Leah noticed me immediately, but when she saw me conversing with other female business owners, her face instantly darkened like storm clouds.

Michael saw me too and deliberately wrapped his arm around Leah's waist in front of me, saying loudly:

"Leah, you've worked hard networking tonight. Let's go rest over there."

Leah leaned against him naturally, though her gaze seemed to casually drift toward me.

She was probably waiting for me to approach first. Unfortunately, I disappointed her.

From beginning to end, I didn't spare her even a sideways glance.

She finally couldn't hold back. Striding over to our table, she set her wine glass down heavily and spoke:

"Gonzalez, are you angry because I had someone substitute for me at the wedding?"

I didn't even bother looking at her, standing up to leave.

"The last wedding was because Michael was sickit was an emergency, so I couldn't attend."

Michael strode over to block my path, his tone full of righteous indignation.

"Gonzalez, don't blame Leah. Blame me for my failing health that delayed your wedding. As a man, don't be so petty!"

Hearing this, Leah looked at me and laughed in anger.

"Gonzalez, I never realized you were this petty. It's just one wedding!"

As she spoke, she matter-of-factly reached out to grab my arm.

My eyes turned cold as I directly shook off her hand. "Miss Leah, please show some self-respect."

"Regarding the wedding, didn't your parents tell you?"

Leah froze. "Tell me what?"

Seeing this, Michael stepped forward and grabbed my shoulder, warning in a low, vicious voice: "Gonzalez, don't be ungrateful. You should be honored that Leah is willing to humor you!"

His grip was extremely strong, making me uncomfortable.

I jerked my hand away and forcefully shoved him back. "Get lost!"

Michael stumbled backward unsteadily, his waist hitting the table edge hard.

Leah's eyes blazed with fury as she rushed to protect Michael, roaring at me: "You maniac! Apologize to Michael right now!"

I laughed coldly and ordered the security guards rushing over. "Security, throw them out!"

Leah's face turned iron-blue with rage:

"Don't think this will get my attention. If you behave yourself, I'll go register our marriage with you in a few days."

She took it for granted that as long as she was willing to turn back, I would immediately rush over, grateful beyond measure.

I smiled. "But I'm already married."

The smile on Leah's face instantly froze. She stood there dumbfounded, her brow tightly furrowed:

"What nonsense are you talking!"

She stepped forward, her tone arrogant. "You say you're married, so where's your wife? Why isn't she here with you?"

A mocking curve formed at the corner of my lips. "My wife is on a business trip. Unlike certain idle parasites who just cling to others like vampires."

Before she could explode, Michael beside her immediately darkened his face and accused sharply:

"Gonzalez, how can you say that about Leah! You have no idea how hard she works for the company every day!"

He deliberately paused, making Leah look at me with eyes full of disappointment and fury.

"Gonzalez, look at yourself now, so mean-spirited. Who else would want you besides me?"

"Let me tell you, stop playing these hard-to-get tricks. They only make me despise you more!"

I completely lost patience.

"Security! Are you deaf?"

"Throw these two people out!"

Security quickly moved forward, flanking them on both sides.

Leah struggled frantically, her face contorted as she shrieked at me:

"Gonzalez! How dare you treat me like this! You'll regret it!"

That evening, I received a text from an unknown number.

[You think this will steal Leah from me? Surpriseshe doesn't care at all. She's happily taking me ring shopping right now. You think being the Wilson family heir makes you superior? You still can't even hold onto a woman.]

I didn't need to guess who sent it. I immediately blocked the number.

During this time, Anthony and Tobias tried desperately to see me, but I turned them away at the door.

A week later, calculating the time of Presley's flight arrival, I personally drove to the airport to pick her up.

Just as I entered the international arrivals hall, I ran straight into Leah and Michael.

Both had gotten a bit tanned, wearing sunglasses with the leisurely air of returning from vacation.

Seeing me, Leah's eyes lit up, her smile full of triumph. "I knew you were just being stubborn. You even checked my flight schedule to come pick me up? Fine, I'll give you a way to save face."

I looked at her like she was an idiot, not stopping my steps.

Michael spoke in a sarcastic tone. "Mr. Gonzalez, since you personally came to the airport, and Leah is magnanimous enough not to hold it against you, as her fianc, you should hurry and transfer the funds back to Leah Group."

Leah seemed pleased, raising her hand to hook my arm, but I nimbly dodged.

She wasn't annoyed, thinking I was still being proud. "Alright, stop playing around. Once we register our marriage, I'll give you an even more luxurious wedding. Will that work?"

I walked right past both of them and strode toward Presley, who had just emerged.

"Darling, welcome home!"

Presley caught my embrace, her cool eyes instantly softening as she lifted her head and placed a gentle kiss on my chin.

Behind us, the triumphant smile on Leah's face instantly froze.

After a brief deadly silence came Leah's humiliated roar:

"Gonzalez! Haven't you played around enough!"

She rushed forward in a few steps, pointing at Presley and shouting:

"To spite me, you even hired an actress? Not bad acting skillshow much did it cost?"

"Name your price. I'll pay you ten times that to get lost right now!"

Presley moved me protectively to her side, her eyes darkening, the atmospheric pressure around her instantly dropping to freezing.

But I pressed down on her hand, leisurely watching Leah's twisted face.

"Leah, didn't you always want to meet my wife?"

I wrapped my arm around Presley's waist, smiling brilliantly. "Let me formally introduce youthis is my legal wife."

Leah's face turned deathly pale. "How can it be you?!"