Married To The Monster Groom

Clara stayed seated in front of the vanity mirror while the makeup artist prepared to do her makeup. Without warning, the door flew open, and Karen hurried inside. The moment Karen noticed Clara's messy hair and the long gray coat that made her face look even more drained, her face turned stiff.

She looked livid.

"The Ferraris are already here. Why are you still not dressed?"

Clara adjusted her black-rimmed glasses and stared at her mother in confusion.

"Mom, you really want me to marry my sister's fiancé?"

An anxious look crossed Karen's face at once, as if she had just realized how serious the situation was. The Ferraris were already waiting downstairs, and if anything went wrong, their family would be finished. Karen quickly dropped to her knees in front of Clara, and desperation covered her face.

"Clara, I'm begging you. Your sister can't marry him. Can't you help this family just this one time?"

The hopelessness in Clara's eyes deepened even more. Karen was her real mother, yet she had always treated the children from Clara's father's first marriage better than her.

Even after knowing that her sister's fiancé was unattractive and incapable, Karen still pushed Clara to take her sister's place and marry him instead.

Outside the room, the servants spoke in hushed voices.

"Madam, the Ferrari family has come upstairs."

Clara made no move to help Karen stand. Instead, she answered in a distant tone.

"Stand up. I'll go."

This time, Clara had given up everything for the sake of that family. The moment she pulled the door open, several unfamiliar bodyguards were already standing outside, waiting for her.

They had been sent by the Ferrari family to bring her over.

Today was the day she would get married. There would be no wedding ceremony, and she wouldn't even wear a wedding dress.

"Let's leave."

Without another word, Clara stepped past them and headed downstairs first.

The Ferrari family held the most power and wealth in Beerworth. More than ten years ago, their only son, Leonardo, had been kidnapped. After that incident, his face was left disfigured, and he also lost his ability to have children. From that day on, he never showed himself in public again.

Rumors about him spread everywhere. People said he was vicious and terrifying, and there were even stories claiming that no woman who entered his villa had ever made it back out alive.

Nothing hurt more than being abandoned by your own family. Clara no longer cared whether Leonardo was human or a monster. Her mother had personally pushed her toward that man, and now she had no one left to rely on.

After arriving at Leonardo's villa, the bodyguards brought Clara into a room before quietly leaving her there alone. Hours passed, and the sky outside slowly darkened. Only then did the door open once more.

Clara turned toward the entrance and saw a tall man with broad shoulders walking into the room. He shut the door behind him before turning on the light.

The sudden light forced Clara to raise her hand and cover her eyes for a moment. When she finally looked at him clearly, her entire body went still.

It wasn't because he looked frightening or hideous.

Instead... the man standing before her was unbelievably handsome.

The dark suit rested neatly against his tall and well-built figure. Step by step, he moved closer to Clara with calm confidence. His long legs carried him forward with a natural sense of authority and grace.

Every part of his face looked flawless, as though someone had carefully crafted him by hand.

Leonardo kept his eyes on Clara for several quiet seconds before his brows drew together faintly.

"You're too ugly."

He spoke in an even tone without showing the slightest emotion.

Clara looked back at him in shock. It wasn't his insult that bothered her. Instead, she lifted her chin and asked him directly, "Who are you?"

A sharp glint flashed through his dark eyes, and his low voice filled the room.

"You don't even know the man you're marrying?"

As he drew closer, the warmth of his breath brushed against her and sent a chill through her body.

The pressure from his presence nearly made Clara lose her footing for a moment, but she forced herself to stay composed.

"Of course I know. The person I'm marrying is Leonardo."

Something shifted in Leonardo's eyes after hearing her answer. Another woman who had believed every rumor people spread about him being disfigured and cruel. She was about to marry a man the world called "ugly and impotent," yet she still looked unusually calm.

For the first time, she caught his interest.

A faint smirk appeared on his face, and he spoke with complete confidence.

"So you're my future sister-in-law? I'm Douglas, Leonardo's cousin. I guess no woman would want to spend her wedding night with a useless man like him. Even you feel the same way, don't you?"

He stressed the word "useless" on purpose, and mockery lingered in his voice. Then, he deliberately moved nearer to Clara. The closer he got, the heavier and colder his presence became.

Clara immediately felt uneasy. After staring at him for a short moment, she slowly started believing what he said. Leonardo's villa wasn't a place outsiders could casually enter. Only family members and selected guests like her were allowed inside.

"He's still your cousin. You shouldn't talk about him that way. Maybe Leonardo has suffered enough because of his own family already."

A trace of sympathy rose inside Clara. Even though the Ferrari family stood above everyone else in society, she still felt sorry for Leonardo. He had probably gone through years of suffering that no one else knew about.

A brief look of surprise crossed Leonardo's brown eyes. He never expected this "ugly" woman to defend him like that.

Without realizing it, he studied her again.

Her hair was messy. The black-framed glasses on her face looked old-fashioned, while the loose cotton dress hanging on her body appeared plain and untidy. Thick bangs covered most of her eyes, and faint marks could still be seen on her thin face. Nothing about her appearance was attractive.

There was only one thing he was certain about. This distant and ordinary-looking woman couldn't be the fiancée originally chosen for him.

Still, the Ferrari family had never cared whether the woman beside him was beautiful or unattractive. As long as she could give birth to an heir, that was enough for them. If she failed, they could always replace her with another woman.

A dark look appeared in his eyes. Leonardo suddenly reached out and shoved Clara onto the bed. When he spoke again, disgust and cruelty filled his voice.

"Nobody else is here right now. You can stop pretending. Just by looking at you, it's obvious you've never been with a man before. I might as well help you out and give you what you want. Think of it as me doing you a favor."

Right after saying that, he leaned closer to her. His touch felt strangely gentle, and there was something dangerously hard to resist about it.

"Stay away from me!"

Clara gathered all her strength and slapped him hard across the face.

"Don't assume everyone is as disgusting as you are. You're lucky your cousin hasn't arrived yet to see this. Leave now, and I'll act like nothing happened."

Even though Clara forced herself to stay calm, her shaking hands exposed the fear and uneasiness inside her. She had already prepared herself to meet a terrible man, but she never expected things would turn out like this.

Leonardo's face immediately darkened, and a freezing coldness surrounded him. "No woman has ever dared to hit me before."

During the struggle, Clara's glasses slipped off her face. The clear and sharp eyes hidden behind them were finally exposed. Her body still trembled slightly, and the fear in her eyes was impossible to hide.

The moment Leonardo saw that, he suddenly went silent. For a brief second, something softer passed through his eyes.

He calmly fixed his shirt before throwing her another cold look.

"Then stay here and keep waiting for that 'useless man.'"

Bang! The instant the door closed behind him, the tension Clara had been holding onto finally loosened a little.

Several bodyguards standing outside immediately noticed the red handprint on Leonardo's face. They exchanged hesitant looks before one of them carefully spoke up. "Sir... your face..."

Leonardo casually touched his cheek and answered without much thought.

"I accidentally hit the door."

Since when did doors leave finger marks on people's faces?

Even though the excuse sounded unbelievable, the bodyguard didn't dare question him any further. Instead, he respectfully passed a file over to Leonardo.

"This contains the young lady's information."

Leonardo opened the file and immediately saw the name written on the first page. Clara Jarrett.

That cold and plain-looking woman had unexpectedly caught his attention.

What interested him even more was Clara's mother. She treated the children from her husband's previous marriage like precious treasures, yet she treated her own daughter with cruelty.

As Leonardo continued reading the contents inside the file, his brows slowly tightened together.

"Is she really as stupid as the report says?" he asked the bodyguard.

The bodyguard gave a quick nod.

Leonardo's eyes instantly turned distant.

"Look into it again."

Earlier, Clara had spoken clearly and logically without any sign of confusion. Besides, Leonardo had never seen a fool who could fight back that fiercely under pressure.

The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became. He threw the file back toward the bodyguard and spoke in a cold voice. "If the information you give me isn't accurate, then don't show your face in front of me again."