Ugly Bride, Ruthless Groom: The Ultimate Power Couple

Caitlin married Shawn, a man rumored to be both violent and terminally ill, just to reclaim her late mother's belongings. Their union was the talk of the town-everyone mocked the "ugly woman" and the "dying madman," convinced the marriage was doomed from the start. But after their wedding, Caitlin shocked the elite: she was a brilliant architect, legendary healer, and even secretly ruled the underworld. As the world watched, Shawn's brutal image softened. During a global live-streamed wedding, he knelt and declared, "Caitlin, you are the light in my life!"

Chapters

Chapter 3

Inside the folder, Caitlin pieced together the Harris family tree. Shawn's grandfather, Harold Harris, had married twice.

His first wife died young, soon after giving birth to two sons. That same year, Harold remarried and later had a third son and a daughter with his second wife.

Tragedy struck fifteen years ago when the eldest son from the first marriage died during a risky business trip abroad. That eldest son was Shawn's father. The spotlight faded from Shawn after that. Sickly and disabled, people whispered that he wouldn't make it past twenty-eight. Within the family, he was all but written off.

The battle for inheritance had only grown uglier as each ambitious member tried to claim the top spot. From the reports, Harold's younger grandsons all seemed stronger contenders than Shawn.

Yet, the morning's ambush outside Aleginia proved Shawn was far tougher than anyone believed. He'd held his own—hardly the helpless invalid described in the file.

"Miss White." Aydan's assistant, Liam Davis, broke the silence. "Garrett Harris—Harold's third grandson—has supported White Group for years. We expect you to cooperate with him once you're part of the Harris family."

Caitlin snapped the file shut. "Everyone's already scrambling for alliances? Dad, maybe pick your side a little more carefully, or you'll wind up with nothing."

Aydan snapped, "Watch your mouth. I'm warning you—cross Garrett and you're finished."

Caitlin's smirk told him exactly how much that threat mattered.

He started to say more, but something in her steady look made him pause.

For just a moment, the daughter from nowhere had a presence that rattled even him.

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the Harris family residence...

"Mr. Harris, everyone who spotted you in the parking lot earlier has been dealt with. No one's going to blow your cover," Maverick Price said.

Shawn reclined in his wheelchair, dressed in black, looking far removed from the violence of the day. He toyed with a necklace—a hexagram ruby, flawlessly cut—that had belonged to the woman who saved him.

The ruby pendant had been shaped into a six-pointed star, the stone clear and bright, the work on it unlike anything he had seen.

Besides, after he took the pill she gave him, his health actually improved. The necklace and the pill—these two items made Shawn realize the woman was not ordinary.

"There are still witnesses in Aleginia," Shawn said quietly.

Maverick blinked, and then nodded. "I'll track down every last one, sir. Nothing will lead back to you."

Without a word, Shawn placed the necklace in Maverick's hand. "Find out who owned this."

"Yes, sir." Maverick hesitated. "If we track her down, do you want her gone? She's a loose end."

Shawn rolled the ring on his finger, replaying the image of the woman's teasing stare. His voice didn't waver. "Find her and bring her here. I'll handle the rest."

"Understood." Maverick then continued, "The White family should be arriving with your new bride any minute. What's the plan?"

Shawn shrugged. "Give her a once-over. Just make sure she survives her first day under my roof."

"Got it." Maverick nodded and left.

Meanwhile, outside the Harris family residence, the White family's car pulled up.

Aydan stepped out to a warm greeting from the butler. "Welcome, Mr. White. Ma'am, this way please."

Inside, Betsy Harris appeared, extending a hand in welcome. "Mr. White, it's nice to see you."

Aydan beamed, spotting Betsy. "Miss Harris, you didn't have to meet us at the door."

Betsy's eyes flicked over to Caitlin. So this was the White family's offering? Not what they'd expected. Clearly, the White family had sent a stand-in, but in Betsy's mind, someone like this unattractive woman was a perfect fit for her cousin Shawn.

Betsy's smile never faltered. "So this is Emma? She looks nothing like the photographs. Quite a surprise, isn't it?"

Aydan nudged Caitlin forward, voice booming. "This is my eldest, my pride and joy! As long as it's a White daughter, that's good enough for the marriage, right?"

How shameless. Betsy almost rolled her eyes at him. Even so, she had no intention of calling him out. "Of course, Mr. White. We'll look after her from here."

Aydan grinned in relief, and then shot Caitlin a sharp glance, murmuring through clenched teeth, "Do not screw this up. One mistake and you're finished."

Unbothered, Caitlin met his glare with a look of pure boredom before facing Betsy. "Which room is mine?"

"Show her to her quarters," Betsy instructed the butler.

As Caitlin and the butler made their way upstairs, Nikolas Harris stepped out, watching her leave. "Seriously? That's who the Whites sent over? I thought Shawn was getting someone stunning."

Betsy's lips curled in amusement. "Oh, Nik, don't be rude. She's just new here."

Nikolas sneered, "I can't wait to watch her make a fool of herself in front of everyone at the dinner tomorrow."

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Clara's husband of three years walked into their penthouse with two lawyers. He threw a divorce agreement on the table, demanding she sign away all her assets. If she refused, he would bankrupt her family and send her mother to federal prison. He did it all for his new girlfriend, Corinne. After stripping Clara of everything, Kane stood by while Corinne publicly humiliated her, stepping on her fingers and mocking her misery. When Kane suspected Clara might be pregnant, he dragged her to a private clinic. He forced her onto an examination table and ordered a deeply invasive medical check-up, treating her like absolute garbage just to ensure she wasn't carrying his heir. Lying on the cold medical bed in a thin paper gown, Clara's heart completely shattered. She didn't understand how the man who once promised her forever could turn into such a ruthless monster. She was indeed pregnant, but she knew if he found out, he would steal her baby and destroy her completely. With the help of a tech-genius friend, Clara faked a negative test result and escaped his clutches. The next day, she walked into their company, threw a bold "I QUIT" note right in the mistress's face, and walked away. Touching her belly, Clara swore she would return to make them pay for every single thing they had done.

Action Modern Romance

8.0

Escaping His Cage: The Phoenix Wife Returns

8.0

Two minutes before midnight on the eve of my wedding, my phone buzzed. I expected a sweet text from my groom, Liam. Instead, I received a photo of him with his lips inches from another woman's neck. The caption read: "He's celebrating his last night of freedom. Are you sure you want to be the jailer?" I didn't scream. I didn't cancel the wedding. I walked down the aisle the next morning and looked at his handsome face. I saw the scratch on his wrist—a souvenir from his mistress, Ava. Later, I overheard him tell his best man that I was just the "safe bet," a boring broodmare to provide an heir while he had fun with her. He thought I was a naive girl who believed in fairy tales. He thought he had secured his perfect life when I said, "I do." But he was wrong. When I discovered I was pregnant a few days later, I didn't celebrate. I realized this baby wasn't a blessing; it was a lock on my cage. Liam wanted a dynasty? He wanted a legacy? I looked at the positive test in my hand and made a cold, hard choice. I wasn't going to just leave him. I was going to destroy him. I wiped my tears, packed my documents, and prepared to burn his entire world to ash. The war had just begun.

Action Modern Romance

8.4

Flash Marriage To My Ruthless Professor

8.4

I signed a prenuptial agreement with a cold-blooded Wall Street predator just to unlock my trust fund and fight my greedy stepmother. We were nothing more than legal roommates bound by a strict three-year contract. But to survive the corporate war at my family's company, I skipped my mandatory university finance class and paid a guy to answer the roll call for me. The stand-in was immediately caught and kicked out by the notoriously ruthless new professor. That night at dinner, I complained to my contract husband about the professor. "He's an unreasonable, arrogant dictator who gets off on torturing his students," I complained bitterly. My husband just calmly cut my steak and listened as I bragged about how I was going to fake-cry and manipulate the professor the next morning. I even rushed to the faculty office the next day and performed a desperate, tearful apology to an elderly man I assumed was the tyrant. I thought I had perfectly balanced my corporate war and my academic life. I thought I had fooled everyone. But when I confidently sat in the front row of the massive lecture hall, the heavy wooden doors pushed open. The terrifying new professor walked onto the podium and aggressively wrote his name on the chalkboard: Elliot Dillard. It was my contract husband. He looked down at me with cold, merciless authority, knowing every single lie I had told, and slowly called my name.

Action Modern Romance

8.7

From Discarded Mate To Enemy's Gamma

8.7

For seven years, I was Alpha Zane’s Chosen Mate, suppressing my warrior instincts to be the docile, supportive partner he demanded. On our seventh anniversary, while I waited by a candlelit table, I accidentally overheard his mind-link with another woman. "Seven years is a habit, my dear, not love. She's docile, she'll understand." He told Seraphina, his new political ally, laughing as he dismissed my entire existence. I didn't scream or cry. I scraped the anniversary cake into the trash, drafted a formal rejection letter, and walked out of the packhouse. But Zane didn't even notice my departure. He was so consumed by his new lover that my rejection letter was treated as garbage and tossed into the incinerator. He paraded Seraphina around the pack, even handing my hard-earned strategic command over to her—a woman who knew absolutely nothing about war. When my loyal subordinates protested, he violently suppressed them, declaring my absence a "childish tantrum" and framing me as the bitter obstacle to his destined romance. He honestly thought I was just hiding in my room, waiting to beg for his charity and accept a humiliating demotion. He had no idea that I had already crossed the border into enemy territory. Tonight, I am attending his grand celebration. Not as the heartbroken mate he discarded, but as the newly appointed Gamma of his deadliest rival, the Sterling Pack.

Action Romance Werewolf

9.2

He Saved His Mistress, Not His Wife

9.2

I was trapped under a massive oak bookcase, my leg shattered, dust filling my lungs. My husband, Dante, the Underboss of the Chicago Outfit, finally found me. But just as he lifted the heavy beam to free me, his earpiece crackled. It was news about Sofia, his childhood friend and the woman he truly loved. "She scratched her arm on the car door, Boss. She's hyperventilating. She won't board the jet without you." Dante froze. He looked at me, bleeding on the floor, secretly ten weeks pregnant with his child. Then he looked at the door. "It's just a broken leg, Elena," he said coldly, slowly lowering the crushing weight back onto me. "You are a doctor. You know it's not fatal. Sofia needs me." He ran to comfort a woman with a papercut, leaving his wife and unborn child to be buried alive in the rubble. I miscarried alone in the dark, tracing the number of a divorce lawyer on the floorboards in my own blood. Three days later, while he was peeling grapes for Sofia in a VIP hospital suite, I packed my medical degree and a single gym bag. I didn't go to a hotel. I boarded a military cargo plane to a war zone in South Sudan. By the time the Ice Prince realized his castle was empty, I was already thousands of miles away, and I wasn't coming back.

Action Modern Romance

8.1

Redeeming The Hearts Of My Beasts

8.1

I died on an apocalyptic battlefield, only to wake up pinned down by a lead-lined blanket of my own fat. A violent download of memories hit me. I had transmigrated into the body of an exiled, sadistic noblewoman who was three million coins in debt. The original owner was an absolute monster. She had purchased beastman guards just to torture them for fun. In the corner of the filthy room, a golden retriever boy cowered, his back shredded by her barbed whip. In the basement, a snake guard was frozen and scarred from constant electro-shocks. When the white tiger guard returned from hard labor, he looked at me with pure, murderous hatred, ready to tear me apart to protect the others. Even the local elites kicked down my door to mock my pathetic life and try to steal my men. I was a decorated commander who bled for humanity. Why was I trapped in this ruined vessel, bearing the sins of a degenerate abuser? It was all a setup by her sweet-faced cousin, Debera, who stole her royal life and sent her to this outer-rim hellhole to rot. I gritted my teeth and plunged a military-grade gene repair serum into my arm, letting the agony burn away the black filth and weakness. "The crazy woman you knew before is dead." I tossed a medical kit to the trembling guards, loaded my old electromagnetic pistol, and headed for the deadly Demon Hunting Zone to start my revenge.

Action Fantasy Sci-Fi

Ugly Bride, Ruthless Groom: The Ultimate Power Couple

Chapter 3

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