It was the afternoon when Evangeline Edwards was awakened by the cold.

Looking at the empty room, she felt a wave of disappointment pouring into her heart.

At this moment, she did not look like the newly wedded bride to the Sutton family.

As for her husband, he was nowhere to be seen since the night of their wedding...

Everything seemed like it was over before it began.

With a turn of her body, she glanced at the clock on the wall.

It was nearly evening! Would it be too late for her to prepare dinner now?

Right then, she recalled his words when he found out that the bride he was marrying was not the woman he loved.

"Since you're the substitute bride, know your place. Don't assume you're worthy of becoming Mrs. Sutton."

Pulling herself back to reality, she let out a light chuckle. Since she was his wife, she would prepare meals for him every day.

With that, she hurriedly made her way to the kitchen.

"Mrs. Sutton."

The maid, Kiera Hayes, appeared from a corner. She comforted Evangeline, "You don't have to worry. I've already prepared the ingredients."

Upon hearing this, Evangeline flashed a smile out of gratitude. "Thank you, Kiera."

"What are you thanking me for?"

A bright smile appeared on Kiera's face. In truth, she was fond of Evangeline. "As long as you and Mr. Sutton stay in love with each other, I'll be satisfied."

Hearing her reply, Evangeline did not say anything.

It was only when Kiera busied herself in the kitchen that a wry smile spread across Evangeline's face.

Was she and Marcus Sutton ever going to achieve happiness together?

After all, the one whom Marcus loved was her sister, Alexandra Edwards, not her.

If it weren't for the fact that her veil had accidentally fallen off during the wedding, revealing her identity, she would not have become Mrs. Sutton. After all, she was just a stand-in for her sister. Never in this lifetime would Marcus marry her.

Even though she had been secretly in love with him for many years...

However, in Marcus's eyes, she had always been the evil sister to Alexandra.

.....

As Evangeline excelled at cooking, it took her a while to prepare a table of dishes.

After the dishes were served to the table, she sat at the dining table, anticipating Marcus's return.

Soon, her anticipation turned into disappointment. The dishes had grown cold, but Marcus was not yet home.

By the time he came home, it was already an hour since she started waiting.

Vaguely, she heard the sound of the engine of a car. Her eyes lit up, and she rushed out of the house.

Just as she stepped foot into the garden, she heard voices sounding on and off...

"Marc, stop..."

Right then, Evangeline's body went rigid.

Following the voices, she saw Marcus's personal car parked nearby.

The car was rocking gently, and the windows were down. From where she was, she could see two figures going on and on in the back seat.

Were they doing it in the car?

Although she was in shock, she was surprised that her first reaction was not to run. Instead, she stood there as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her.

Even her gaze was cold and indifferent. However, she knew that her heart had been torn into pieces, and it hurt too much for her to speak...

Ever since Alexandra disappeared, Marcus had been venting his anger and physiological needs on other women. Despite that, he had never gotten intimate with her since their marriage.

Even a look from him was too much to ask for.

After a long time, the two in the car finally stopped.

Just as soon they were done with business, Marcus shoved the woman away. Disgusted, he was in no mood to take another look at her.

Then, he sat up and lit a cigarette for himself. While he was puffing out smoke rings, he noticed Evangeline from the window. There was a lack of emotion on his face as he shot her an indifferent glance.

"Marc..."

Just then, the woman beside him called his name as she got up. Her movements were neither slow nor fast as she got dressed.

This woman was the daughter of a famous group. It was not the first time that she and Marcus had hooked up. There was never once she had deliberately stirred up trouble for Marcus after each session.

But this time...

Following Marcus's line of sight, she noticed Evangeline, and a feeling of discontent rose within her. Right then, she threw Evangeline a disapproving look.

Meeting her gaze, Evangeline felt her heart skip a beat. Quickly, she turned around and left the scene.

Her bedroom was her only retreat. Closing the door behind her, she collapsed to the floor, feeling her senses coming back to her.

However, she could not remove the memory of the scene just now from her brain.

After all, she knew Marcus had refused her because he had no feelings for her, but he...

Why couldn't he at least try to hide it while at this villa?

"Marcus, why do you hate me so much?" she murmured to herself.