Substitute Bride

Eloise's POV:

"So, you're the one who hurt her and stood here to marry me in her place. Am I right?" Atticus sneered at me. From my spot, he looked like he wanted to tear me into pieces.

"Lisa was injured in an accident." I was so flustered that I almost stepped on my wedding dress.

"She can't be here today."

The priest who presided over the wedding stood in front and read the oath. We should be holding hands as we walk down the red carpet. However, Atticus only took one step forward.

"Don't expect me to hold your hand. If you want to complete the ceremony, walk the aisle yourself." His voice was filled with anger.

Everyone was talking about it, and I became the target of criticism. All those dirty words flowed into my ears.

Why did it have to be like this? I covered my ears in pain.

The scene before me seemed to turn into an abstract oil painting, including him. It turned into a hole in which I kept falling.

I opened my eyes and found myself lying on the bed. No matter how expensive and soft the mattress was, it couldn't relieve my sense of powerlessness. I couldn't stop coughing, which made my joints, already in so much pain, feel like they were broken.

There was no way to make dinner like this.

"Is it worth it?" That unfamiliar female voice rang in my mind again. "You should fight for what you want, not just accept things you don't want."

I swallowed the medicine and lay quietly on the bed, waiting for the medicine to take effect so that the voice in my mind would stop.

My sister, Lisa, was involved in a serious car accident a few hours before the wedding, which rendered her unable to attend the wedding. But this was a marriage between two packs, so no matter what, one of our pack's Alpha's daughters must marry Atticus today.

When my uncle-cum-foster father told me that I would marry him in place of my sister, my rationality told me that I should refuse, but my emotions won.

I was a hybrid werewolf-human living in a pack, so the probability of me being able to transform into a wolf was very low. I know that I couldn't help Atticus much, and he probably didn't like me. So, even though I'd had a crush on him for many years, I'd always kept my feelings to myself.

This incident gave me a chance to marry Atticus. However, a year had passed, and he rarely appeared in the residence I lived in.

It wasn't just him. The other people in this pack too. It wasn't just that no one treated me as their Luna. Even to them, I was like a sandbag they could bully at will. However, considering that I could be with Atticus, I didn't think it was important, so I didn't tell him about it. After all, I didn't want to affect Atticus' work because of this.

Although I successfully married Atticus, I couldn't escape the prenuptial agreement. The only reason I was here was to transfuse my blood to Lisa, who has yet to recover. I was related to her by blood, and I had half-human blood, so it wouldn't hurt her body.

It was a huge burden for me. After all, I didn't have the excellent recovery ability of a pure werewolf.

I looked into the mirror. The girl in the reflection looked as thin as a skeleton. I raised my hand, and the reflection in the mirror did the same.

"Look at what you've done to yourself. Are you sure you still want to make bread today?" I rubbed my face. There was barely any flesh left.

My phone suddenly rang. I took a step back in shock and almost fell. I hoped it was a message from Atticus, so I opened it immediately.

"Lisa, how do you feel now?" Atticus' voice came from the phone. Why was he saying Lisa's name? I didn't understand, and my heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest.

It wasn't until the audio ended that I realized it was Lisa's chat box.

Although it sounded like a wrong recording and couldn't be deleted, it was still his voice. He spoke to Lisa in an unimaginably gentle tone, as if they were a couple.

Of course, they were before. My heart ached at the thought. It was a mistake for me to be here. It should be corrected.

The door was suddenly pushed open. This was unusual because very few people came to my residence. I turned around. Atticus walked toward me with his personal doctor behind him.

I hid in a corner. In the past, his god-like perfect face would make me happy, but now I only felt fear because I knew what they were here for.

"Alpha, she looks... " The doctor looked at me, a rare trace of pity in his eyes.

"Don't bother about her. Just draw her blood." Atticus didn't even look at me.

Why were they still placing their hopes on him? He was just like that and did not have any other motives. I had no choice but to lie on the bed and give my arm to the doctor.

He looked at me blankly and took another step back. I knew that was his expression of disgust. He would only show such a state in times like this.

I didn't think I could avoid it.

However, this kind of life made me extremely tired, and it should end.