Chapter 1 The substitute Bride

Elder Mira slowly inserted the ring into my finger. Just then we all started hearing noises from outside, it wasn’t close yet but it was getting close.

People started whispering. “Has evil befallen the land?”

“I knew it! She’s bad luck.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. I was tired of watching and just standing while others made fun of me. The human world had changed me, the old me would have lowered my head and endured it.

I would have gone home later and cried where nobody could see, but I wasn’t that girl anymore.

I had spent years building a life without them. A life where my name meant something.

A life where people looked at me with respect instead of pity.

I slowly turned around. “Silence!” I ordered. And immediately the entire hall went quiet.

“I am your Luna! Is this a way of honoring me? By saying trash about me to my face!”

Victor and Ria stared in shock. In a thousand years they could never have imagined me standing up for myself. Elder Mira actually looked impressed.

Before anyone could react, the noise outside increased. Shouts of people could be heard.

“The king is back!” someone shouted from outside.

I froze on the spot. The king? NO! Impossible!

My stomach dropped. For three days everyone had repeated the same thing; that Kylde was dead, he was gone and wasn’t coming back.

That was the only reason I had agreed to this!

The thought hit me so hard I could barely breathe.

Everyone immediately rose on their feet, all facing the hall entrance.

I stared at my family. “You lied to me!”

#### 3 Days Ago

“OMG!! Are my eyes deceiving me?”

I smiled at my client. That reaction was always the same. Shock first, then disbelief… then that slow, emotional breakdown when they finally saw themselves in the mirror.

I never got tired of it, not because I needed validation. But because I remembered what it felt like to be unseen.

“My goodness, Penola. You’re a magician!”

“Oh, Miss Diane. You’re just being nice.”

“Nice?” Diane grabbed my hands tightly, like she was afraid the moment might disappear. “You’ve just made me an extremely happy bride.”

I let out a soft laugh, gently patting her hand.

“Go on. Try it properly.”

Diane squeaked and rushed toward the dressing I watched her go, and for a brief second, my smile softened.

Brides like her always reminded me why I built this place in the first place.

It wasn’t the money, or the fame. But the feeling of creating something beautiful without being told I was useless for doing it.

People used to say I would amount to nothing. Now they waited months just to wear something I designed.

The bell above the entrance chimed as more customers stepped inside. My assistants immediately moved to attend to them.

“Miss Penola, the Johnson wedding just confirmed their appointment!” one of my assistants called excitedly.

I blinked. “Next month?”

The young woman shook her head. “Five months from now.” the assistant replied excitedly.

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

Five months? People were really planning their lives around my designs that far ahead.

A year ago, none of this existed. Back then I had arrived in the human world with little more than a suitcase, a fake identity and enough money to survive long enough to figure out what I was going to do with my life.

I still remembered that first night… sitting alone in a cheap rented room, staring at a cracked mirror and thinking — so this is what being unwanted feels like when no one is watching.

Back then, no one knew my name, or cared if I existed. Now they booked me months in advance like I was something rare.

Something worth waiting for.

For the first time in my life, I had built something that belonged to me.

A thought I barely finished before it happened. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

I stumbled back, grabbing the counter for support.

My necklace…. It was glowing.

My fingers went still immediately, I hadn’t felt that pulse in years.

“No...”

The familiar pull spread through my body — not just magic, but memory with it. Cold halls, doors closing in my face. Being called useless without even being looked at properly.

I swallowed hard, looking outside, my heart nearly stopped.

The street had frozen. Cars stood motionless and pedestrians remained frozen mid-step, even my customers and my assistants had stopped moving.

Like the world had been paused just to remind me I never really escaped anything.

Only one person possessed enough power to do this.

Victor Vareth— My father.

“Damn it.” I whispered, not out of fear but annoyance. Because no matter how far I went, they always found a way to pull me back like I never left.

A purple tear opened in space like reality itself was being ripped apart. And then— I was gone.

………………

“I told you she’d come.”

I stood still; staring at the people I once called family. Well… unfortunately, they were my blood.

And blood was the only thing that still tied me to this place.

“Mother, father.” I greeted, bowing my head slightly.

A habit I didn’t even realize I still had.

“You’ve finally decided to show your face… little brat.” Marie spat, looking at me with pure disgust.

Brat? Some things never changed. Before it used to sting, but now? It just felt familiar.

Victor rose slowly from his seat, for a moment, he just looked at me; not with warmth or love but with calculation.

Like he was assessing whether I was still useful.

His eyes moved over my clothes, my hair and finally my face.

“You look well.”

I almost laughed. That was rich coming from him. He didn’t even ask where I had been.

I remembered nights where “looking well” was never something they cared about.

“Come on, Marie,” Victor said. “Let’s not start fighting the moment she arrives.” He said, then he smiled.

“Welcome home… Penola.”

Home? The word felt foreign in my chest.

He pulled me into a hug but I didn’t hug him, neither did I push him away. I simply endured it.

Because resisting him always used to cost me more than silence. When Victor stepped back, I studied him carefully.

My father was acting strange. And my mother? Well, Marie was never a good actress.

“It’s been a long time,” Victor said as he returned to his seat.

“What would you like to eat?” Victor asked casually, returning to his seat. “Even if you ran away like a homeless stray, you’re still my eldest daughter.”

Stray? So that’s what I was to him. And did he just refer to me as his eldest daughter?

My fingers tightened slightly, that title had once meant something. Until I learned it only applied when they needed something from me.

I scoffed quietly. ‘Eldest daughter my foot.’

Were these people serious? After abandoning me for years and treating me like a lowly servant, they were suddenly warming up to me.

My father never did “gentle” without reason, and I could feel it in my bones.

“You summoned me father, why?” I asked, my gaze darting from my father to my mother.

“At least be polite about it.” Marie scoffed, leaning back in her seat.

Victor lovingly patted Marie’s arm. “She’s just curious, pardon her manners.”

I watched that small gesture carefully, Even now, even after everything Marie still got comfort first.

Victor cleared his throat. “My daughter, as you know… your sister’s wedding is in three days.” He said and continued, “But… there’s a problem.”

Of course there is! Why else would you summon me?