The Substitute Bride He Was Waiting For
Lily · Completed · 6.0k Words
Introduction
I figured he'd throw me in the harbor out of pure rage. Instead, the man wouldn't even touch me.
A month in, still sleeping in the guest room.
I wasn't my sister's level of charming, but I wasn't hard to look at either. And this man couldn't spare me a single glance?
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I grabbed the divorce papers I'd already drawn up and stormed toward his study.
Right as I raised my hand to knock, I caught his childhood friend's voice through the door.
"You moved heaven and earth to get the woman you've been hung up on, and now you're icing her out? Didn't think I'd live to see the day."
My hand froze.
The woman he'd been hung up on? Me?
Chapter 1
My sister ran away the night before her wedding, so I had to take her place and marry Damian Kovac, the city's most feared don.
I figured he'd throw me in the harbor out of pure rage. Instead, the man wouldn't even touch me.
A month in, still sleeping in the guest room.
I wasn't my sister's level of charming, but I wasn't hard to look at either. And this man couldn't spare me a single glance?
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I grabbed the divorce papers I'd already drawn up and stormed toward his study.
Right as I raised my hand to knock, I caught his childhood friend's voice through the door.
"You moved heaven and earth to get the woman you've been hung up on, and now you're icing her out? Didn't think I'd live to see the day."
My hand froze.
The woman he'd been hung up on?
——
Lyra’s POV
By all logic, as the current wife of the Kovac don, I should have been living some extravagant, money-no-object kind of life.
Instead, my marriage was a joke. A cruel one.
My name's Lyra. I left home early and made a living as an independent mechanic, customizing motorcycles.
Growing up, all the attention in my family went to my older sister, Chloe. She was the firstborn—beautiful, charming, naturally likable. I was always just "the other daughter"—background noise, replaceable.
The day I turned eighteen, I walked out with nothing, rented a garage with money I'd saved from fixing bikes, and I'd been grinding away on my own ever since.
A month ago, my sister vanished the night before her wedding to the newly appointed don of the Kovac family.
Terrified that breaking the alliance would spark a war between the two families, my father showed up at my door in the middle of the night, asking me to take her place.
It was the first time he'd sought me out since I'd left home.
Damian Kovac. The tyrant of this city's underworld.
Rumor had it he was ruthless, merciless—anyone who crossed him ended up at the bottom of the harbor.
On our wedding day, he showed up in a tailored black suit, and I had to admit—the man was, without question, gorgeous.
Those grey-blue eyes were cold, sure, but flawless. On any other day, I probably would've looked twice.
But throughout the entire ceremony, he didn't say a single word to me. He spent the whole time drinking with his men.
He didn't even come to our room that night. It felt deliberate, like he was avoiding me on purpose.
I figured he was sulking. After all, the woman who was supposed to be standing beside him was my sister, not me.
I never expected this marriage to last, so not long after the wedding, I'd already had a lawyer draw up divorce papers.
I was just the substitute bride anyway. Once things settled down, I'd go through the divorce process, and it wouldn't technically violate the original alliance agreement.
Still, I figured—since I'd married a man this good-looking, it'd be a waste not to get a taste of him before calling it quits.
Turns out, I was wrong.
For an entire month after the wedding, Damian left early and came home late. The second he walked through the door, he'd disappear straight into his study, and at night, he slept in the guest room.
I tried a few times myself—subtle hints, not-so-subtle hints—none of it worked. The man was like a brick wall. Immovable. He wouldn't touch me, and he never once mentioned divorce either.
"Is something actually wrong with this man?" I muttered, polishing my motorcycle in the garage, unable to stop complaining to myself.
Sure, I wasn't as delicate and adorable as Chloe, but I had a decent body—curves in the right places, long legs, a slim waist. And he couldn't even spare me a second glance?
I tossed the polishing cloth onto the workbench. "That's it. I've decided. I'm getting a divorce."
I marched back to my room, dug the finished divorce papers out of a drawer—just missing his signature—and headed straight for the study, papers in hand.
The angrier I got with every step, the more it burned. A month married, and he hadn't touched me once, hadn't given me a single explanation. Like I was some burden he was forcing himself to tolerate.
Why should I put up with that? I never asked to marry him in the first place.
The study door was left slightly open, not fully shut.
I raised my hand to knock, but froze the second I heard voices inside.
"You dragged me over here in the middle of the night just to watch you chain-smoke?" It was Alex—Damian's personal therapist, and also his childhood friend.
"Some people go through all that trouble to get the woman they've been obsessing over, and then spend every day holding back like some kind of monk."
My raised hand froze mid-air.
Wait. What was Alex talking about? The woman he'd been obsessing over?
"Shut up, Alex." Damian's voice came out rough, strained. "I can't touch her… I can't."
"Why the hell not? She's your legal wife!" Alex sounded genuinely baffled.
"Keep freezing her out like this, and you really think she won't file for divorce tomorrow?"
Silence settled over the study.
After a long pause, Damian spoke, voice quiet.
"I can't."
"What exactly are you so afraid of?"
Silence again.
All I could hear was his heavy breathing.
"I'm afraid…"
His voice trailed off.
It took a long time before he finally said, low and barely audible:
"I'm afraid that one day, I won't be able to control myself."
I stood outside the door, my mind completely blank.
What did that mean?
Not able to control himself?
"Is it true, then? What they say—that you're actually in love with her sister?" Alex asked carefully.
My stomach dropped.
I leaned in closer to the crack in the door without even thinking.
More silence stretched on inside.
Finally, Damian said just one thing:
"I don't want to talk about this."
And he offered nothing more.
I looked down at the divorce papers in my hand.
So…
What exactly was he so afraid of?
I took a deep breath and crushed the papers into a ball.
I turned around, walked back to my room, tossed the crumpled papers onto the nightstand, and pulled out my phone.
I ordered a black silk slip dress.
If he wanted to play the saint—
Then I wanted to see exactly how long that so-called restraint of his could hold.
Last Chapters
You Might Like 😍
The Alpha Of The Shadow Pack And His Mute Luna
Vanessa, the mute runt of a cursed litter, has only ever known cruelty and abuse. Her voice stolen by a witch’s spell, her freedom crushed by a brutal father, she’s been promised to a monster she doesn’t want. But fate intervenes when she’s left for dead—bleeding, broken, and bound—only to be rescued by Alpha Alfred of the Shadow Pack.
Alfred, fighting against a generational curse that has doomed his brothers to remain wolves forever, never expected his fated mate to be a fragile girl on the brink of death. But the moment he breathes in her scent, everything changes.
Together, they must confront the past, survive betrayal, and uncover the true key to breaking the curses that bind them. Will their bond be strong enough to save them both?
Dangerous Love with the Mafia
Driven out by her adoptive mother and sexually harassed by her boss, she stumbles into a seedy bar, desperate to drown her sorrows. There she meets Alex: sharp, devastatingly handsome, and impossibly charming.
What starts as a wild one-night stand blossoms into a tender, almost surreal romance—art galleries, riverside walks, and whispered promises that feel too perfect to be real. But when Alex vanishes without a word after a morning of gentle intimacy, Sarah is left with a hollow ache and a creeping doubt.
Their encounter was no accident. Behind Alex's blue eyes and skilled touch lies a darkness far deeper than she ever imagined—and the love that burned so bright may come with a price that could destroy her.
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
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-
Accardi
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.
Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
My Perverse: You're mine, you son of a bitch
Vincenzo Valentini is a man who sees the world as a business counter and human beings as merchandise.
The owner of an empire built upon corpses and submission, he is the reflection of pure perversity.
When fate places Andrew Thompson, the son of his greatest rival, into his hands, the plan was simple: use him, break him, and discard him like a toy that has lost its appeal.
What Vincenzo did not expect was that, beneath the youthful skin and the appearance of innocence, Andrew hid the same abyss as he did.
Vincenzo never wanted redemption. He never wanted someone to save him from his own darkness. He was seeking a mirror. And in Andrew, he found the partner who, upon seeing his blood-stained hands, does not recoil in terror, but trembles with desire.
In this perverse game, the "little toy" proves to be the perfect executioner. The mafia leader found someone who not only accepts his cruel side but cultivates it, feeding the monster Vincenzo has always been.
Where there should have been fear, lust emerged. Where there should have been hatred, a perverse loyalty was born. Andrew Thompson is the dark reflection of Vincenzo, the soldier the underworld did not see coming, and the man who proved that, for some, paradise only makes sense if it is in the middle of chaos.
Vincenzo opened the doors to his empire, but Andrew was the only one capable of invading his heart.
They are not heroes. They are hell on earth.
Taste of Fate: The Vampire King's Human Mate
He reached for the back of my head and pulled me up just enough to reach my neck. When his fangs slid into me, the pain was instant, electric. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. My hands found his shoulders, clawing for something to hold. My legs kicked. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
He moaned against my throat as he drank, and the sound was devastating.
One Weekend with the Billionaire
I open my mouth to respond, but all that comes out is a staggered breath and a small sigh. He chuckles, a low, rough rumble and then leans down and kisses the middle of my back.
I feel the tip of him again at my entryway. He pushes in slightly, and my body comes to life again. My muscles react to his presence, contracting and loosening, as if my body is trying to suck him deep inside.
He's my husband's boss, so this is supposed to be wrong.
So why does it feel so right?
Braxton Merriweather always gets what he wants. Now, he wants her--Julia Thompson, the wife of one of his workers. From the moment he first laid eyes on her, he knew he had to possess her in every way.
When Jeff Thompson takes him up on the bargain he proposes, Braxton is shocked. He's even more surprised when Mrs. Thompson agrees.
But now that he's had a taste of her, he wants more. How can he possess a woman who's already married to someone else?
Julia feels trapped by her marriage to her high school sweetheart. In the two years since they've been married, he's changed, and not for the better. When billionaire Braxton Merriweather shows interest in her, she's flattered. And intrigued. Is it possible that one of the richest men in the world could really want her?
And if so... what does she do about her husband?
One Weekend with the Billionaire is a sexy story for mature readers.
The first of her kind
And if I don’t unite the warring factions by my twenty-fifth birthday, the prophecy will kill me. I have exactly three months left to live.
Love was never option. Survival was the only plan.
Until they showed up.
Nelson: The brutal, dominant Supreme Alpha who demands my absolute submission, waking a wolf inside me that I’ve suppressed for twelve years.
Jay: The ruthless, lethal Vampire Heir who craves my blood, feeding the dark, feral hunger I never wanted to admit.
They are sworn enemies, born to tear each other apart. But fate has a twisted sense of humor—because they are both my fated mates.
If they find out what I truly am, they’ll destroy me. But as the bond tightens and my time runs out, I’m caught between the Alpha who wants to protect my soul, and the Vampire who wants to rule my darkness.
I was born to bring peace. But loving them might just start the bloodiest war history has ever seen.
Invincible Upon Release: The Strongest Mage
Her family looked down on him, and even she herself said coldly: “You’re not worthy of being my husband.”
Everyone thought this newly released good-for-nothing was just a poor fool who’d taken the fall for his brother.
Thorne said nothing.
He merely raised his hand, gently pressing his bride’s forehead.
In an instant, the chaos in her eyes faded. Holy light surged from beneath the church, shooting into the sky.
The world’s only candidate for the Saintess, blessed with holy power, slowly opened her clear eyes before him.
Chosen By The Lycan King
Bound by Vengeance
Then there is Xavier Romano. Cold and calculating, he revels in his dominance, finding satisfaction in the terror he instills and the power he wields. But his iron control shatters when he crosses paths with Eloisa. Her unpredictability, her unapologetic desire for vengeance, and her allure are irresistible—and dangerous. As they collide in a world where betrayal is constant and alliances are fragile, passion ignites between them, each step drawing them deeper into a forbidden obsession that neither can control. In a life defined by violence and survival, will their dangerous game be their undoing, or will it make them unstoppable?
