
MARRIED AS A REPLACEMENT BRIDE
susanugwu72 · Completed · 228.6k Words
Introduction
Silvio raised his hands slightly, his eyes narrowing as he watched me. "You've got some fight in you," he said, a hint of admiration in his voice. "I didn't expect that."
"Don't push your luck," I snapped, tightening my grip on the knife. "I'm not afraid to use this."
"I love this," he whispered into my ear, his lips grazing the shell of it, sending shivers down my spine. "Your body, Martina. And I would love to have you on my bed tonight."
**
Martina Moretti lived a life that was never supposed to be a high-stakes gamble in the world of crime and power. Taking her sister's place in an arranged marriage to the feared Silvio Argento, Martina stepped into a deadly game where love could be her greatest weapon or her ultimate downfall. As the web of betrayal unfolded and secrets came to the surface, Martina and Silvio would have to brave the treacherous waters of loyalty and ambition. Will they be able to trust each other long enough to make it through, or will their enemies finally succeed in tearing them apart?
⚠️⚠️18+ ONLY
This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic violence, blood, death, and scenes involving gun violence. It also explores themes of forbidden romance and morally complex relationships.
Reader discretion is strongly advised. This story is intended for mature audiences only (18+).
Chapter 1
Martina's POV
The soft rustle of the wind outside was the only sound in the room. The morning sun streamed through the tall windows, casting long shadows across the floor. I stood beside the window, my back straight, my face tilted slightly away. The delicate lace of the veil draped over my head felt suffocating, but I didn't move.
The heavy door yawned open; his footsteps firm, echoed across the marble floor. I didn't turn, didn't flinch.
"There you are, you little brat!" My father's voice boomed, a furious threat. "Get your ass to the altar and marry Silvio Argento. Serafina Moretti, you're getting married today, whether dead or alive!"
I felt his eyes burning into the back of my head, waiting for a response, waiting for me—no, waiting for her—to crumble. But I said nothing. My breathing was even; my gaze was fixed on the horizon beyond the window.
He wouldn’t realize it wasn’t Serafina. He couldn't. As long as I didn’t move or speak, he wouldn’t know that I, Martina, stood in her place. My heart raced, but I forced calm into my body. Serafina had to have more time.
The minutes ticked by, and the seconds dragged on in silence between us. It was only after what felt like an eternity that I heard his frustrated huff. His footsteps receded, the door slamming shut behind him.
It wasn't until then that I exhaled, my hands shaking slightly as I turned away from the window. I glanced around the empty room, feeling the weight of the secret I carried. This wasn't how today was supposed to go.
The grand church loomed ahead, the pointed spires like the shadows that they cast from the busy people out front. I made my way down the aisle as murmur after murmur announced my presence to the growing guests. Lavish decorations, scents of flowers, the flicker of candlelight oppressed me.
Standing at the altar, I could feel hundreds of eyes upon me, waiting, watching. The veil concealed most of my face.
Thick tension filled the church. Every passing second without Silvio's arrival seemed to deepen it. My fingers, hidden by the veil, whitened as I closed my grip on the bouquet. I could feel the weight of the silence, the growing whispers of the guests seated in the pews.
Suddenly, a shrill ring pierced the air. The tension was cut as all heads turned to Mr. Nicolas, Silvio's uncle, as he stepped aside to answer the call. His face darkened as he listened, his brow furrowing deeper with each passing moment. After a brief exchange, he ended the call, his lips pressed into a grim line.
He turned to the altar, approaching the Reverend Father with measured steps. He leaned in slightly, speaking in a low, somber tone, but his words carried through the quiet church. "Apologies, Father, but I'm afraid my nephew, Silvio Argento, was involved in an accident. Can we just pray for his safety?"
The audience unified in their collective gasp, while my heartbeat threatened to launch into orbit even as I strove to compose myself. The Reverend nodded grave faced with concern etched on every feature as his clasped hands prepared to take the church through prayers.
Before he could utter a word, my father stormed up to Mr. Nicolas, his face masked in barely-contained rage, the voice low and dangerous, but audible for those closest to the altar. "This is unacceptable, Nicolas. What about our deal?"
Mr. Nicolas turned to face my father, his face calm, almost smug. "Don't worry," he said in his smooth, unshaken voice. "Our deal is still on."
The exchange was brief, but it was enough to provoke a new wave of whispers amongst the guests. The murmurs grew louder, spreading like wildfire through the pews.
"I heard every woman who spends a night with Silvio ends up dead," a woman whispered to her neighbor, a mix of fear and intrigue in her voice.
"Isn't it strange?" another guest whispered, leaning in closer to the person next to them. "Accidents seem to follow him like a shadow."
"Maybe this is just his karma," a man speculated, shaking his head. "It's said he has more enemies than friends." Speculation hummed in the air.
Mr. Nicolas cleared his throat, demanding the attention of the restive guests. He adjusted his tie, stepping forward with an air of authority. "As a matter of fact," he announced, his voice steady, "I will step in to marry your—"
The heavy doors at the back of the church creaked open, and every head turned. Silvio Argento stood in the doorway, his presence immediately commanding the room. The church was filled with gasps as all who were in attendance took in his disheveled appearance: torn suit in places, his face and hands smeared with blood. He didn't seem to care one whit. One hand reached up to wipe at the blood on his face, smearing it further, while the other remained clenched at his side.
"Sorry I was late," Silvio said, his voice smooth but icy. "I had a few, uh. loose ends to tie up."
I just stood frozen at the altar, my breath catching in my throat. The pounding of my heart was one of fear. Oh, God, I thought, my mind racing. Did he just kill someone?
Mr. Nicolas composed himself in an instant, his face a mask of forced calm. "Silvio," he started, attempting to step forward, but Silvio had cut him off before he could say anything more.
"Disappointed to see me, Uncle Nicolas?" Silvio's voice was cold, while his gaze pierced through the older man.
"Nonsense," Nicolas replied, his voice faltering slightly as he forced a smile. "We were waiting for you to arrive since."
Silvio's lips curled into a smirk, his eyes never leaving Nicolas. "Great. Now, what are we waiting for?" He turned his attention to the Reverend Father. "Father, let's start the wedding."
The Reverend, after a brief pause, nodded solemnly, stepping back into position.
Last Chapters
#199 EPILOGUE
Last Updated: 1/21/2026#198 REPLACEMENT BRIDE
Last Updated: 1/21/2026#197 MONSTER
Last Updated: 1/21/2026#196 PROBLEM CHILD
Last Updated: 1/21/2026#195 RISE
Last Updated: 1/21/2026#194 DIE LIKE A HERO
Last Updated: 1/21/2026#193 WAR AHEAD
Last Updated: 1/21/2026#192 LOST EVERYTHING
Last Updated: 1/21/2026#191 OBSESSED
Last Updated: 1/21/2026#190 HAND IN HAND
Last Updated: 1/21/2026
You Might Like 😍
From Sacrificed Slave to the Dragon King's Obsession
His fangs glinted as he gripped my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. Dragon scales shimmered along his neck, breath scorching my skin.
"Your Majesty... I beg—" He shoved me onto the bed. Silk tore with a sharp rip, cold air rushing over my exposed body.
"Scared?" He smirked, palm sliding down my waist, fingers tracing slow, burning circles. "Yet you shiver... not from cold."
I lunged for the candlestick, but he caught my wrist, pinning it overhead. His knee forced my legs apart.
"When your father gave you to me," his lips brushed my ear, voice a dark rumble, "you were already mine."
On the eve of freedom after ten years of servitude, Lina Valeria stood one night away from reuniting with her betrothed. But Dragon King Augustus condemned her to the Abyss Mines on false charges—a trap forged from obsessive desire.
Augustus Ashenwing, Supreme Sovereign of Skyhold Citadel, is ruthless and feared by all races. His obsession stems from ancient grudges and dragonkind's most dangerous instinct: possessive desire. He demands her submission, binding her to his throne as his consort.
From prisoner to queen, Lina battles him through court intrigue and twisted passion—fighting for her mother, her freedom, her dignity.
Yet this cold-blooded tyrant reserves all tenderness for her alone. He indulges her temper, bends his pride, compromises without limit—anything to see her smile. Gradually, her heart wavers. But loving him means betraying Kain, who waited eleven years. Torn between duty and desire, she drowns in agonizing guilt.
Love and hatred intertwined—a forbidden dragon romance in a realm of oppression.
The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
I didn't tell him to stop.
Instead, my fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though it was my only anchor. Something in him snapped—something he had been holding back for too long. His mouth found mine in a kiss that wasn't tender, but hungry, desperate.
I gasped into him, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me as if afraid I might vanish.
"You drive me insane," he breathed against my mouth, his lips trailing to my throat. "I can't lose you, Ella. Not you."
My head fell back, a soft sound escaping me as his fingers memorized my waist. My anger melted beneath his desperation.
"James..." I whispered, more plea than protest.
His hand caught mine, fingers threading together tightly. "I'll bring him back. I swear it. Just... don't turn away from me. Please."
The word please—low, ragged, almost broken—undid me more than anything else could have.
Ella never imagined she would marry the man she had secretly loved for years in such a way.
When her brother Theo faced twenty-five years in prison for massive embezzlement, the ruthless business tycoon James Lancaster offered her a deal: marry him in exchange for her brother's freedom.
This wasn't a fairy tale proposal, but a carefully orchestrated revenge. Because in James's heart, Ella was the culprit who had killed his sister Cecilia. He wanted her to pay the price—to atone with a lifetime of suffering.
Alpha VS Omega' Twin VS Twin (A Dark Werewolf Romance)
Stripped of everything, Callum is thrown into the Rookeries, where packless wolves go to die. But he survives. He builds a pack from the broken and the damned. He falls in love with Valentina, a dhampir hunted by the same vampire Parliament that destroyed his life.
In a city ruled by immortal aristocrats and controlled by ancient dragons, Callum learns the hardest truth: individual virtue cannot defeat systemic evil. But small victories matter. And some fights are worth losing everything
The Vampire Prince's Hybrid Bride
Tempted By The Enemy
She escapes to Preston Island to attend the wedding without informing him only to collide with Lucas’s hot, fiery and arrogant brother, the twenty-three-year-old, Nicholas Donnelly. Sparks immediately fly between them but Alyssa refuses to acknowledge them fearing her brother's wrath.
The wedding is over and Alyssa tries hard to forget the mysterious Nicholas Donnelly but can he forget her? Can he ignore the attraction he feels for her, feelings that have resurfaced after ten years?
What will Allyssa do when she is stalked by the man who has been invading her dreams since the day she met him? What will she do when she is whisked away to a deserted island by the unpredictable Nicholas Donnelly? Can she tame her heart or surrender to sinful temptations? Read to find out!
Part of the Temptation Series. Can be read as a standalone.
The Deadly Mafia Princess
Her gang take the matter in their own hands, to try to save their leader from the horror of her home. What none of them know, they wasn’t her real parents, and now Ro will be sent away to live with her real family. That makes her closest members in her gang pack up and move as well. They don’t want to be far away from their leader.
The CEO's Unspoken Love
Before I could answer, he moved closer, suddenly looming over me, his face inches from mine. I felt my breath caught, my lips parting in surprise.
"Then this is the price for speaking ill of me to others," he murmured, nipping my lower lip before claiming my mouth in a real kiss. It began as punishment but quickly transformed into something else entirely as I responded, my initial rigidity melting into compliance, then active participation.
My breathing accelerated, small sounds escaping my throat as he explored my body. His touches were both punishment and pleasure, drawing shudders from me that I thought he felt reverberating through his own body.
My nightgown had ridden up, his hands discovering more of mine with each caress. We were both lost in sensation, rational thought receding with each passing second...
Three years ago, to fulfill the wish of his grandmother, I was forced to marry Derek Wells, the second son of the family that had adopted me for ten years. He didn't love me, but I had secretly loved him all along.
Now, the three-year contractual marriage is about to end, but I feel that some kind of sentiment has developed between Derek and me that neither of us is willing to admit. I'm not sure if my feelings are right, but I know that we can't resist each other physically...
Avery and the Cursed Alpha
Then a mysterious billionaire offers her a deal that sounds too good to be true.
Alexander Ravenswood is powerful, wealthy, and feared throughout Tenebrous City. Behind his perfect public image lies a deadly secret. He is the Alpha of the Nocturne Pack, cursed by an ancient bloodline that is slowly driving him toward madness and death. His only hope lies in finding the legendary Aethon Orb—or the prophesied mate destined to save him.
When Alex discovers that Avery can draw symbols connected to the long-lost artifact, he offers her a contract she cannot refuse: become his fake fiancée for six months in exchange for enough money to erase her debts and save her home.
What begins as a business arrangement quickly becomes something far more dangerous.
As they search for the missing Orb, Avery is drawn into a hidden world of werewolves, ancient prophecies, and deadly pack rivalries. Powerful enemies want Alex's throne. A jealous Alpha heiress wants Avery gone. And a ruthless rival Alpha will stop at nothing to claim the Orb for himself.
But the greatest secret of all may be Avery herself.
Because the closer she gets to Alex, the more impossible truths begin to surface about her past, her strange abilities, and the destiny that has been waiting for her all along.
With a curse threatening Alex's life, enemies closing in from every side, and a forbidden bond growing stronger by the day, Avery must decide whether to walk away from the dangerous Alpha who needs her—or risk everything for a love written by fate itself.
In a city where secrets kill and destiny cannot be escaped, can a fake engagement become a love powerful enough to change the future?
HER ALPHA, HER SAVIOUR
Kane Hellboud, charm and wealth personified, wanted only me in exchange for her treatment. No cameras, isolation, or noose-like rules were part of the deal. Behind his smile? Cold, violent possessiveness that destroyed our fake marriage.
Most of all, I didn’t know the supernatural walked among us, hiding in the cracks of ordinary life. Not until Abel Stone stepped into mine—dark-eyed, sharp-tongued, and oozing dangerous promises. He’s my new boss. He shouldn’t make my skin tingle or my pulse race. I shouldn’t feel this primal pull, this illogical recognition that tugs at something deep in my bones.
Around him, lights burst, electronics fry, and something ancient in me awakens.
Kane feels it. His grip tightens, punishments turn brutal, and he hides the truth of what I am.
Trapped between two powerful men, I’m no prey, no pawn—no helpless victim.
Prisons burn. Monsters bleed. As for me? I'm the storm in skin—deadly beyond suspicion.
Mates: Regrets and Redemption
With my heart in pieces, I sought solace in the last place I expected—my Alpha's arms. One night turned into a dangerous entanglement, and now my Alpha refuses to let me go. As the Alpha’s obsession grows, I'm caught in a web of desire and fear.
Curtis, the boy I once loved, still holds a promise I made, but the Alpha’s powerful presence pulls me deeper into his world. Should I forgive Curtis and keep my word, or should I risk everything for a chance at something wild and unpredictable with the Alpha who won’t take no for an answer?
“There are no limits between us,” he chuckled, the mirth sparkling in his gorgeous eyes. “And all of this stems from the night you gave me both pain and pleasure. I’m simply returning the favor.”
He took two steps forward, and I stepped back. “But…” The memory of what I had done filled me with fear, and I knew I had to get out of there. “I…”
“No, Firecat.” He placed an index finger on my lips. “This will take your mind off that son of a bitch.” His strong hands pulled me by the waist until I felt his hard manhood.
Lightborn: The Demon’s Bond
The Family Books 1-3 (A Mafia romance)
The saint to my sinner. with her innocent eyes and devilish curves.
A Madonna that was meant to be admired but never touched.
Until someone took that innocence from her.
She left.
The darkness in my heart was finally complete.
I avenged her, I killed for her, but she never came back.
Until I saw her again. An angel dancing around a pole for money.
She didn’t know I owned that club. She didn’t know I was watching.
This time I won’t let her escape.
I will make her back into the girl I knew.
Whether she likes it or not.
2/ Judge and Jury- I can’t stop watching her.
I’m not even sure I want to.
Taylor Lawson, blonde, beautiful, and totally oblivious to how much dangers she’s in.
She’s also the one juror in my upcoming murder trial that hasn’t been bought.
The one who can put me behind bars for a very long time.
I know I should execute her.
After all that’s what I do.
I am the Judge.
I eliminate threats to The Family.
And Taylor is a threat.
But I don’t want to kill her.
Possessing her, making her love me seems like a much better plan for this particular Juror.
3/ Rags and Ritches-












