Here Comes the Bride's Corpse

I wheel myself into the birthday celebration that Wales Price has thrown for me. The atmosphere is originally lively, but a brief silence descends when everyone sees me.

The guests are there for different purposes, but celebrating my birthday is not one of them.

"Is that Mr. Price's crippled fiancée, Joey Hertza?"

"Yeah, but the one he really loves is Anna Giovanni. I saw them kissing in a corner earlier."

They use their wine glasses to block their mouths as they speak loudly. They think I'm still the crippled deaf I used to be.

They don't know that I regained my hearing last week. I can hear every mocking comment they make.

Meanwhile, Wales stands there and allows it to happen. He doesn't stop the guests from talking about me. He seems to have forgotten that I only ended up like this while protecting him. I shoved him away when the accident happened and got trapped underneath the car myself.

When I was rescued, Wales swore to stay with me and care for me for life. It's only been three short years since then, but he's already changed.

I receive a message on my phone. "Ms. Hertza, the lifelike corpse that you've ordered is now complete. Reply to this message with your confirmation, and your death-faking service will be immediately effective. We will send the corpse to your and Mr. Price's wedding in five days."

I don't even hesitate as I reply with my confirmation.

Enjoy your wedding, Wales.

One week ago, I was still Wales Price's paralyzed fiancée. I had been convinced that Wales' love for me was true until I regained my hearing.

I refused to marry a liar, so I looked up a service to fake my death. I would use a fake corpse of myself to participate in our wedding.

Before I left, I behaved as I usually did and acquiesced with Wales' plans to throw me a birthday party. Wales wheeled me to the table and played the role of a caring lover, serving me food and peeling the shells off the prawns for me.

His good friends shoved him in the shoulder playfully and teased, "What a good husband you are! There's only five days left till you'll be a married man. What are you going to do about your other lover, Anna? Why don't you give her to me?"

I clenched the fork in my hand tighter after hearing his words and waited for Wales' answer.

Wales didn't say a word until he was done peeling the last prawn. He placed the prawn on my plate and cleaned his hands with a napkin elegantly. He did not react to how his friends were humiliating me—his fiancée.

"Oh, please. It's already a great honor for Joey to be married to me. Does she still wish for me to be wholeheartedly loyal to her? A wife and a lover are two very different people, after all. A wife is meant to be cared for at home," Wales explained calmly.

"A lover is a precious treasure who can please me in any and every way. Of course, I'll continue to see Anna even after I'm married."

Wales had emphasized the word "please" as he spoke, leading to the men around us erupting in jeers and hoots.

I forced myself to keep my expression passive. I couldn't afford to let Wales notice that I was shaking. He was no longer the gentleman that I once knew.

Wales threw his fork onto the table, causing the raucous laughter around us to cease immediately. His eyes were narrowed as he swept his gaze at the people surrounding us. "So, all of you had better watch your mouths. I won't show any mercy if Joey finds out about Anna."

Wales was the CEO of Price Corporation, which dominated the business market of Anaxia. With one word, he could destroy an entire family. Nobody dared to go against his orders.

"You're really such a good husband! You hid Anna away just so Joey wouldn't find out and leave you."

The crowd began to shower praises on Wales, complimenting his deep affection.

I lowered my head so no one would see the disgust that was swirling in my eyes. Was this what love was meant to be? If it were, I would rather not have it.

"Isn't it easy to hide the truth from Joey since she's deaf? Have you and Anna ever… in the house…"

The man let his fragmented sentence trail off into silence, leaving the blanks to be filled in by the audience's own imagination.

Wales smirked as he swirled the wine in his glass. "Of course. The bedroom, the living room, the kitchen, and even outside of Joey's door. We've done it everywhere. It was thrilling, to say the least.

"The thrill is why I didn't allow the doctor to cure Joey's deafness and heal her crippled legs. Did you really think I wouldn't be able to find the best doctors in the world for her with my status and power?"

Everyone was so busy giving Wales a thumbs-up that they didn't notice how my knuckles had turned white from how hard I was gripping my knife and fork.

I had initially planned to reveal to Wales that my deafness and crippled legs had been cured during the wedding, wanting to surprise him. Who knew that this surprise would end up backfiring on me? With my hearing restored, I had found out the painful truth.

In order to maintain the thrill he had with Anna Giovanni, Wales had sentenced me to a life of being deaf. It was why I decided to leave and give up on marrying him. On the day of the wedding, the only thing he would be left with was an artificial corpse that looked exactly like me.