The Top Heir's Ugly Wife

Following her mother's dying words, Eliana Jones spent fifteen years hiding her true appearance and talents. On the day her half-sister Paige was supposed to marry Cole Evans, the top heir of Uberton's elite family, the marriage registration revealed Cole was already legally married to Eliana. No one knew how. The Evans family elder declared tradition forbade divorce—remarriage only after a spouse's death—and the long-standing marriage contract never specified which Jones daughter. Eliana had to go through with it.

That night, Cole told her his grandfather had people listening at the door, so they faked noise. Eliana slapped him when he called her beautiful. She proposed a deal: she would fend off other women, and he would stay out of her life until they unraveled the marriage. The next morning, he teased her about climbing into his arms in her sleep and showed her video proof. When the Evans family gathered, Cole defended her against Jeff, who had openly called her worthless. His grandfather, Reuben, gave her one year to pass the college entrance exam. She accepted, saying she had been studying on her own.

In that rundown attic, Eliana recalled the fire that separated her from her mother—a brilliant doctor who discovered her husband's affair before the flames took everything. Everyone believed she was dead, but Eliana knew she was still alive. Paige and her stepmother plotted revenge at a family dinner, drugging Eliana's coffee and hiring men to take compromising photos. Eliana fought them off with skills she claimed were self-taught, though they appeared professional. Cole watched through security feeds without intervening. When she retreated to a window ledge, he pulled her inside and kissed her. Eliana then tipped off the press about her stepmother's infidelity, catching her publicly with other men. The fallout destroyed Paige's reputation. Paige tried to blame Eliana, but her own father refused to believe it. Cole made it clear his loyalty was with his wife. Eliana later found her lost cat, and Cole—despite being allergic—took them to the vet. The Evans elders remarked that Cole marrying Eliana had turned out to be a blessing.