Dad took in my real face with mixed emotions in his eyes. Sighing, he said, "You foolish child. Why did you even bother to pretend to be ugly if you were going to end up doing this anyway?"

I studied my reflection in the mirror. With these dark eyes and fair skin, I bore a striking resemblance to my mother in her youth.

Mom's marriage into Dad's family, the Scotts, had been an arranged one as well. And after spending over a decade in a loveless marriage with a husband who never shared her bed, she became heavily depressed, dying from the emotional neglect.

On her deathbed, she clasped my hand and said, "Ellie, don't ever put your life in someone else's hands."

That was why, upon learning I was to be engaged to Austin Hammond, the heir to the Hammond family—and a man with exacting standards when it came to a person's looks—I used that to my advantage and destroyed all photographs of me.

I didn't want to go through with the marriage alliance. I didn't want to end up living the life Mom lived.

But Joshua used three years of tenderness to trick me into handing over my heart to him. And in the end, he was just like everyone else.

Since true love and a sincere heart meant nothing, why shouldn't I just choose a life of endless wealth for myself instead?

I turned to Dad, who was still stunned by my face, and said, "Dad, tell the Hammonds that I've agreed to the marriage."

The news of my agreement had barely reached the Hammonds when Austin's grandmother, Mrs. Hammond Senior, insisted on meeting me in person.

That evening, when I showed up at Hammond Manor, Mrs. Hammond Senior couldn't hide the awe in her eyes when she looked at me.

In the past, I would've felt uncomfortable being stared at like that. I would've instinctively lowered my head. But now, I kept my back straight and met her gaze head-on with a polite smile on my face.

Mrs. Hammond Senior nodded approvingly as she lavished praises on me. "Austin is such a lucky man. Those eyes of yours, Eliza, and that bearing! You look even more beautiful than the celebrities we see in the magazines!"

With an affectionate expression, she placed an emerald bracelet around my wrist, saying, "This is a family heirloom. From now on, you're the Hammond family's granddaughter-in-law!"

After the engagement was settled, I was about to leave when Mrs. Hammond Senior said to me in a lowered voice, "Ellie, your face draws far too much attention. It's best if you mask your appearance a little before the wedding.

"My grandson is the jealous type. If he sees how beautiful you are, he won't be able to stand letting anyone else see you before the wedding."

Running my fingers against the emerald bracelet, I thought about Austin, who was rumored to be borderline obsessed with a person's looks.

He was the sole heir to the Hammond family's business empire—and the person I avoided marrying by making myself appear unattractive, which led me to meeting Justin instead.

Even though Austin and I had never met before, to avoid any unnecessary trouble, I did as Mrs. Hammond Senior advised.

The next morning, while I was packing my things to leave the house I'd spent three years decorating to use as my future marital home, the front door abruptly unlocked.

Joshua walked in holding a box of crab cakes, his smile appeasing as he asked, "Are you still upset, Ellie? Look at what I bought you!"

Staring at the crab cakes, I couldn't help but snort mockingly. On the very first day we started dating, I told Joshua that I was allergic to crabs.

Without any hesitation, I stoically picked up the box of crab cakes on the table and tossed it into the trash.

Joshua was stunned. "Ellie! I had to line up for two hours just to get those. How can you—"

But after seeing the way I stared fixedly at him, he slapped himself on the forehead and exclaimed, "I'm so sorry, Ellie! I forgot about your crab allergy."

"Don't bother apologizing. Our relationship's over anyway."

I tossed over all of his belongings, which I'd spent the entire night packing, along with the pair of wedding rings we never got to exchange. Then, I watched as his face slowly drained of color.

He bent down to pick up the wedding rings, his fingers shaking. "Don't do this, Ellie… I know I made a mistake. We can just plan another wedding ceremony—"

But I cut him off before he could say anything else, snapping impatiently, "Save it! Take your things and get out of my house right this minute. From this day onward, our relationship is over!"

Joshua kept his eyes fixed on me as they slowly turned red. "But why, Ellie?"

I noticed his reddened eyes, but it only made me want to laugh. "Why? Because I'm about to marry someone else, of course, and my fiance doesn't want to see me involved with any other man."

"You're marrying someone else?" Joshua's eyes went wide with shock and panic. "Who's your fiance? Ellie, are you just throwing a tantrum because of what my friend said yesterday?"

As a sarcastic smile spread across my face, I calmly looked at him and asked, "Why would I throw a tantrum? You think too highly of yourself, Joshua."

The seconds trickled by. After ten long seconds, he took a long look at my expression and snapped through gritted teeth, "Fine! If you're seriously marrying someone else, then tell me who you're marrying! There's no way that any man apart from me would want to…"

But he didn't finish his sentence. He simply stared at me.

I was about to say Austin's name when a weak cough rang out from the doorway. A pale-faced Isabel showed up on my doorstep, looking all pitiful.

After coming in, her greedy eyes scanned the entire lavish penthouse duplex.

Finally, her gaze locked onto the wedding gown hung up on the wall, the one I had spent a full year hand-sewing stitch by stitch.

"This is such a pretty house, Joshua! And I adore that wedding gown. It's such a shame I'll never get the chance to wear something that gorgeous…"

Once I saw the undisguised smugness and provocation in Isabel's eyes, my smile only deepened.

As expected, Joshua immediately pulled her into a hug, his eyes filled with tender pity. Then, he turned to me with a pleading look.

"Ellie…"

I couldn't resist laughing when I saw his expression. "Joshua, don't tell me you're seriously going to ask me to let her stay in this house and even give her that wedding gown."

Joshua's lips parted, but before he could speak, his eyes widened—because I'd grabbed the scissors off the table and slashed the wedding gown right in half.

As the scraps of fabric drifted to the floor, I announced clearly, "I would rather ruin my things than let a filthy piece of trash touch any of it."

Isabel screamed in fear before burrowing even deeper into Joshua's arms. "She's gone mad! Joshie! She's lost her mind!"

Joshua stared at the shredded wedding gown on the floor before turning to me with a look of sheer disbelief.

"Ellie! It was just a wedding gown! Even if you didn't want to give it away, you didn't need to destroy it. What are you going to wear for the wedding now?"

Smirking, I replied, "You don't need to worry about that. The Hammonds will prepare a new gown for me."

Joshua stiffened. "The Hammonds? Are you talking about Austin Hammond, the most distinguished scion in all of Jarlesbury?"

His eyes flashed with shock, but he soon let out a scornful sneer. "Ellie, everyone knows that what Austin hates the most is…"

Giving me a pointed look, he didn't complete his sentence, but I knew what he was referring to.

In the past, I'd masked my true features in order to find true love that wasn't motivated by anything worldly or superficial. And right now, I couldn't be bothered to continue arguing with Joshua about this.

I took out a makeup removal wipe. I wanted to wipe off my disguise, shut up the man who still didn't believe a word I said, and leave.

But since I hadn't said anything, Joshua reached out toward me. "Oh, stop. Why are you even taking that out? No matter how hard you rub your face, it's not like you can change it—"

Before he could finish, my phone started ringing. When I took the call, the respectful voice of Boaz Lowe, the Hammond family's butler, rang out loud and clear, "Ms. Scott, Mrs. Hammond Senior has settled on a wedding day. It'll be three days from now."

The call ended, and the house was completely silent.

Joshua turned ghostly pale.

"That's impossible! Why would the Hammonds…" Joshua's instinctive reaction was to refute me, his eyes awash with panic.

"She's definitely lying, Joshie! The Hammonds would never… She's just angry that you ran off from the wedding, so she hired a few people to put on this act and scare you!"

Isabel insisted I was lying, and Joshua's gaze lingered briefly on my face. The uncertainty in his eyes vanished almost instantly.

"That's enough, Ellie. I know you're upset that I left you for Izzy's sake, but you shouldn't joke around like that when it comes to marriage. Austin…"

He paused to take another look at my disguised face before clenching his teeth, saying, "Austin cares a great deal about looks. Why would he ever marry you? As long as you admit that you're just lying and apologize to me, I can still—"

"Still what?" I cut him off evenly. "Still continue treating me like your backup plan? Keeping me on the hook until you get tired of your first love before you finally come back to me?

"Do you really think I'm so pathetic, Joshua? That I can't live without you?"

My questions rendered him speechless, and his expression shifted between varying shades of anger.

Seeing this, Isabel immediately leaned into his arms like a frail woman and said in a tearful voice, "Let's go, Joshie. We shouldn't stick around any longer. It'll only make Ellie even angrier.

"I'm sure she's just too angry to think straight right now. Once she comes back to her senses, she'll see who truly cares about her."

After saying that, she didn't forget to shoot me a taunting look.

Meanwhile, Isabel's words had given Joshua the out he needed. He exhaled heavily and looked at me. "I'll give you some time to calm down, Ellie. Once you've thought things through, you can call me anytime."

Then, with his arms supporting Isabel, he walked right through the door without looking back.

Ironically, just moments after he left, the doorbell rang. Boaz showed up with two assistants to deliver a massive box to me.

Upon opening the lid, I saw a custom-made wedding gown crafted by a renowned international designer. The diamonds sewn into the fabric sparkled in the light.

Over the next two days, Isabel kept sending me relatively cozy and intimate photos of her with Joshua. The background ranged from hospital rooms to high-end restaurants and even the front passenger seat of Joshua's sports car.

In every single one of the photos, Joshua stared adoringly at Isabel.

I didn't bother responding to her at all.

…

The night before the wedding, I received a message from Joshua's best friend, Derek Thompson.

"Ellie, Joshua is just being stubborn. You're still the one he loves the most. Come over to Celestine Hotel tomorrow. He'll propose to you then and plan another wedding ceremony for you!"

I snorted at the screen before typing out a reply. "Sure. I'll be there."

Why wouldn't I be there? Austin and I were about to have our wedding ceremony at Celestine Hotel, too.

Meanwhile, Isabel seemed discontented with all of her previous attempts to get a rise out of me. She quickly sent me another video.

In the video, Joshua's friends were cackling and jeering teasingly.

"That fiancee of yours is such an ingrate, Joshua! How dare a woman as ugly as her kick up a fuss with you?"

"That's right. She's nowhere near as thoughtful and pretty as Isabel!"

The camera turned and pointed straight at Joshua's face. He had a wine glass in hand and looked a little drunk. With a derisive smile, he declared, "I only put up with her in the past because she seemed pretty docile. Now that she's acting out, I'm going to teach her a lesson."

"You got that right! You sure know how to put your woman in her place, Joshua!"

Everyone chortled gleefully before urging Joshua and Isabel to feed each other bites of cake.

Without bothering to watch the rest, I calmly blocked Isabel's number.

…

The next day, in the VIP dressing room on the top floor of Celestine Hotel, I sat by the floor-to-ceiling window.

The makeup artist slowly wiped away the spots and sallow makeup on my face with some makeup remover. Once the final layer of disguise was removed, the mirror reflected a face so striking it seemed almost inhuman. It was beauty that took one's breath away.

I changed into the wedding gown Boaz had brought over, a custom-made gown studded with 999 crushed diamonds.

At the same time, on the second floor of Celestine Hotel, Joshua had set up the place for a proposal, turning it into a dreamy fantasyland. Red roses covered almost every inch of the floor.

Although it was supposed to have been prepared for his proposal to Isabel, his eyes kept flickering toward the entrance with unconcealable restlessness.

Isabel held onto his arm and said sweetly, "Don't worry, Joshie. She'll come for sure!"

But after a full hour, there was still no sign of me.

The anticipation in Joshua's eyes was slowly replaced with frustration. Just as he was about to lose his temper, the hotel manager rushed in, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Mr. Farrell! Please wrap things up here as soon as possible! The Hammond family has reserved the top floor for Mr. Austin Hammond's wedding.

"It's the event of the century, and all of the most prominent people in Jarlesbury have come! We'll all be screwed if any of these distinguished guests are inconvenienced in any way."

Isabel froze for a moment before tugging on Joshua's arm, whispering, "Why don't we head up there to take a look, Joshie? What if Ellie told us the truth the other day? We should at least congratulate her."

Joshua scoffed. "That's impossible! Fine. Let's go and take a look ourselves!"

He led Isabel and his friends up to the ballroom on the top floor. Along the way, he took out his phone and sent me a voice message.

"Stop throwing a tantrum, Ellie. Mr. Hammond is about to get married today, so I already know you were lying to me before. If you show up in front of me in ten minutes, I can forget about all the foolish things you've done so far."

The moment his voice message was sent, the expensive mahogany doors in front of him slowly opened. Beneath the cascade of spotlights, I stepped forward, holding the edge of my shimmering gown as I slowly walked down the aisle.

My breathtaking face was now fully displayed before everyone.

Meanwhile, outside the ballroom, Joshua looked as if he'd been struck by lightning. His eyes were fixed on my unmistakably familiar figure.

His mind went blank. Completely incredulous, he stammered, "E-Ellie… No… That can't be… That's impossible!"

As if he'd lost his mind, he tried to storm down the aisle toward me. However, he didn't even get within ten feet of me before a few bodyguards in black pinned him to the floor.

A cold, intimidating voice rang out behind me, "Who's this piece of trash who has the nerve to stop my wife from walking down the aisle?"