Stand-in Bride

"The Powell family is not your grandmother's home. When you go in later, you better put away your bad habits and don’t embarrassing me and let others laugh at us." At the entrance of the Powell Mansion, a luxurious black car was parked, and Zoe Powell instructed the girl next to her to ring the doorbell. Instead, as she rubbed her temples, visibly impatient.

Harper, carrying a black shoulder bag, wore a black hoodie. The brim of her duckbill cap covered half of her face, and her eyes beneath it squinted. With both hands in her pockets, she nodded nonchalantly.

"You better keep my words in mind. If you mess things up, don't blame me for not being polite to you."

Zoe had married into the Powell family for over ten years, living a privileged life. Her every move exuded the mannerisms of a noblewoman. Seeing Harper’s Street ruffian appearance, she got angry. "This alliance with the Brooks family will be good for you. With your grades, you won't be able to get into an Ivy League school. You'll just be working for others. Marrying Mr. Brooks will save you the struggle for decades."

Upon hearing this, Harper raised her head and looked at the person who was lecturing her. Suddenly, she smiled, a cold smile that didn't reach her eyes. "If it's such a great thing, why don't you let your daughter do it?"

"Piper can't compare to you. She was carefully cultivated by me and will undoubtedly have a better life in the future. How could she marry into the Brooks family?"

Zoe realized that her tone was becoming agitated and toned it down a bit. "Harper, don't blame me for being heartless. I relied on your sister's intelligence and obedience to put a footing in the Powell family all these years. Now that Liam Powell has passed away, the Powell family is declining day by day. We must rely on this marriage alliance to save the Powell family's business. It's good for both you and I if you marry into that family."

Several years ago, her ex-husband suddenly went missing and didn't return for two years. She didn't want to spend her whole life working hard in the countryside, so, she heartlessly left baby Harper with her grandmother. Later, Zoe remarried into the Powell family.

Zoe married the second son of the Powell family, Elijah Powell, they had a daughter. Despite Piper Powell being intelligent and well-behaved, she didn't have an easy life.

Elijah had a son named Liam with his late wife, who was outstanding and the pride of the Powell family. In recent years, the Powell family's business had been thriving because of Liam. When they first found out that Piper had given birth to a daughter, the Powell family was not pleased.

Over the years, they put in a lot of effort in grooming Piper, into a talented young lady, which made her life in the Powell family somewhat better. However, with Liam's death, the Powell family's business took a nose dive.

In order to salvage their business, they wanted Piper to marry Mr. Brooks. Everyone knew that Mr. Brooks had a serious illness six months ago, and not only was his temperament cruel, but also his face was disfigured.

Rumor had it that Mr. Brooks might not live for another two years. Zoe couldn't possibly let Piper become a young widow and live a solitary life. Therefore, she had to sacrifice Harper. Harper's cold gaze locked onto Zoe's face, curling her lips in a mockery smile.

This was her own mother, speaking of her own selfishness and interests in such a deliberate manner. "Did you hear what I said?" Zoe asked angrily when Harper remained silent. Harper averted her gaze and gave a faint nod.

Zoe was furious and helpless. She rang the doorbell, and soon a nanny came to open the door. "Madam," it was Sophia, who had worked for the Powell family for forty years and was the one Madame Powell trusted the most. Sophia glanced at Harper behind Zoe and calmly said, "Madam Powell is waiting for you." Although her tone was polite, it lacked reverence.

Over the years, Zoe had grown accustomed to being looked down upon by the Powell family's staff. She responded with a nod and led Harper inside. The Powell Mansion was large, and it took them a few minutes to reach the main hall. When they opened the door, the long table was filled with people, as if they were preparing for a family meeting. Madame Powell sat in the middle, with her eldest son Caleb Powell on her left and Elijah on her right.

“Madam Powell, this is Harper.” Zoe said, fearing her. She spoke carefully, without the confidence she had previously exuded in front of Harper.

Madam Powell nodded, her cloudy eyes scanning Harper. Harper hung her head, hands still in her pockets, quietly standing in place.

A hint of disdain flashed in Madam Powell's eyes, "Harper, even if you aren’t well educated, you should at least have some basic manners, and address people properly."

"A country bumpkin who was raised by a barely surviving grandmother since childhood, what kind of manners can she have?" spoke Caleb's daughter, Lucy Powell, her words brimming with sarcasm.

Harper raised an eyebrow, a glimmer of coldness reflecting in her pupils. With her hands still in her pockets, she had a frail figure that would be easily toppled over by a gust of wind, yet she still emitted a strong aura. The girl was frightened by this gaze and subconsciously lowered her eyes.

"I apologize, I'm a wild child and don't know what manners are," Harper withdrew her gaze, her expression cold, and her tone indifferent.

The Powell family members were angered by her attitude. Someone couldn't help but curse, "Hmph, such a poor appearance."

"Don't say that, after all, she's going to marry Mr. Brooks in the future. What if she causes us trouble?" someone mocked.

"Hah, trouble from her? Let's hope she doesn't scare Mr. Brooks to death."

Laughter surrounded them one after another. At this moment, Harper's phone pinged, indicating a notification. She took out her phone and slowly replied to the message, completely ignoring the mockery from the Powell family.

Madam Powell was annoyed to see Harper ignore her while playing with her phone in front of her. But she suppressed her anger.

She raised her hand to stop others from speaking and looked at Harper, "Has your mother mentioned the arranged marriage to you?" To her, the most important thing was the marriage alliance with the Brooks family.

"She did," Harper finished replying to her message and looked up, her icy gaze sweeping over the crowd as she spoke nonchalantly.

Madam Powell nodded, "Although it's an arranged marriage, the daughter-in-law of the Brooks family must have at least a high school diploma. I've heard that your academic performance is poor, so I won't arrange for you to attend Toledo High School. You will go to Granada High School."

"You're still young, so you'll be engaged in a few days, then start attending school. Once you graduate, you can get married. As for your grandmother, don't worry, we will arrange the best hospital for her treatment. As long as you go as you go along with the plan, we will take good care of her." Zoe had repeated these words to Harper many times before coming here. But Madam Powell just wanted to personally remind her to put her mind at ease.

"Okay," Harper answered decisively.