After His Eighth Substitute, I Married the Mafia King

I was Julian's first bride, but I wasn't his last. In the eight years we'd been married, every single wedding anniversary, he brought home a young, gorgeous woman. He made her wear the wedding dress that used to be mine, play the role of his bride, and sleep with him in our bed. He even livestreamed their entire wedding night to the world. Tonight was our eighth anniversary, and he had just brought home bride number eight. Listening to their shameless moans from the next room, I walked over and knocked on the door. "Julian, let's get a divorce." Julian stood there in his silk robe, lit a cigarette, and blew smoke straight into my face. "Didn't you crawl into my bed back then and force me to marry you?" "You're my wife. You should be grateful for what you have." The viewers in the livestream chat mocked me relentlessly: "This woman is pathetic! How can she stand watching her husband stage weddings with eight different women?!" "She's definitely a gold digger. It's all about the money." Someone even started a poll in the chat: "Will Mrs. Hayes actually divorce him or not?" I sneered and backed out of Julian's room. What he didn't know was that I was truly leaving this time—and a powerful mafia boss was on his way to pick me up. This was Julian's eighth fake wedding, and my eighth time asking for a divorce. Every time before this, he had refused. And back then, I wasn't firm enough either, because marrying him was part of a promise I made to his grandmother. I had promised her I would give him eight years. If he still hadn't fallen in love with me after eight years, I was free to walk away. I owed his grandmother far too much, so I had to honor my word. But now, I could finally leave for real. Calmly, I looked at Julian and said, "Let's file the divorce papers next week." "Don't worry. I won't take a single cent of your money." Julian didn't take me seriously at all. "You've said that eight times already." Right then, the woman from his bed draped a robe over herself and strolled over. She wrapped her arm around Julian's, looking at me with pure disdain. "You're Julian's real wife? You look so old. No wonder Julian doesn't want you." I looked at Julian's eighth bride. She really did look just like his first love. I sneered, "Julian has had seven brides before you. You're the eighth, but you won't be the last." "Don't worry, though. Even when he gets sick of you, his parting checks are very generous." Julian had bought an entire streaming agency just to humiliate me, forcing me to give up painting and act as an on-call maid for his 'brides.' I had to cater to their every whim, and even pick out lingerie tailored to his tastes for their streamed wedding nights. Julian never got tired of playing his sick 'bridal bedroom livestream' game. But now, I was done. I turned around to leave. Julian violently yanked me back, causing me to accidentally step on the bride's gown. His eyes went bloodshot as he grabbed my throat. "Back then, you drove Bianca away just to marry me! Are you intentionally ruining Chloe's wedding dress now?" "You want to leave? Everything you're wearing was bought with my money! Can you really cut ties with me that cleanly?" "She wants a divorce, but she'd never dare strip!" "Total hypocrite!" "Take it off! Strip!" The chat flooded with gift animations as more and more viewers joined in the jeering. But none of them knew that Julian's precious first love had run away on her wedding day because she eloped with another man.When I first met Julian, his legs were trapped beneath a crushed car. I used my bare hands, digging through the dirt inch by inch, to pull him out. He had amnesia and forgot all about Bianca. I took care of him devotedly for three months, and he fell for me. Then his grandmother tracked him down. She paid off all the crushing medical bills my comatose mother and sick brother had piled up. I was deeply grateful to her. With his grandmother playing matchmaker, we got married. Julian and I actually had six months of pure happiness. Until my birthday, when his 'surprise' was putting the wedding gown I treasured so dearly onto the first woman he brought home. He staged a wedding and livestreamed their intimacy in our bridal suite, letting tens of thousands of people watch my utter humiliation. All because Bianca had messaged him on Snapchat, crying that I was the one who had forced her away. From that day on, Julian brought home girl after girl who looked like Bianca, streaming their wedding nights. He forced me to serve them like a maid and endure listening to their intimate noises all night long. To prevent Julian from having another mental breakdown, his grandmother made me promise on her deathbed to keep Bianca's elopement a secret and stay married to him for eight years. Those eight years were finally up. I couldn't bear this humiliation for another second. "Fine. I'll give it all back to you." I kicked off my shoes and stripped off my jacket, leaving only my camisole. Creeps in the livestream immediately started commenting on my body. Julian had his arm around Chloe's waist, watching me coldly, convinced I wouldn't dare strip off the last piece of fabric. But with a blank expression, I slid the strap down, making the crew behind the cameras gasp. Julian shoved the woman away, lunged forward, and pinned me to the floor, throwing a bath towel over my head. "Scarlett! As long as you're still Mrs. Hayes, don't you dare act like a cheap whore!" "Keep looking and I'll gouge your eyes out!" Julian snarled at the cameramen. "Get the hell out!" They dropped their equipment and scrambled out of the room. I picked up my jacket and pulled it back on, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face. "Divorce me." "Since you love acting so much, let's give the audience a good look!" Julian aimed a camera right at my face. The harder I cried, the more hyped the viewers became. I turned to Julian. "I mean it this time. I really want a divorce." His gaze darkened, his fingers clamping onto my chin. "Think carefully! Think about your comatose mother and your sick brother." "I can cut off their medical bills at any second." He demanded harshly, "Didn't you drive Bianca away just to become Mrs. Hayes, to wallow in luxury and keep your family alive with my money?" Julian always believed that his grandmother and I teamed up to chase Bianca away, and that pulling him from the crash was just a scheme to force him into marriage. He despised everything about me, convinced that even the genuine care I gave him after the accident was all an act. I was too exhausted to explain anymore. "It hurts so bad! She stepped on my foot earlier!" Chloe whined. Julian forced me down onto my knees in front of Chloe. "You messed up. Apologize to her!" He tossed a first-aid kit at me. "Treat her foot!" Her pale toes didn't have the slightest mark or swelling on them. Over the years, each of the Bianca lookalikes had been more spoiled and entitled than the last. If I showed the slightest hesitation or if they complained about my service, Julian would force me to kneel and apologize. He claimed this was the price I paid for driving Bianca away, a debt I owed her. Just because I accidentally ruined the previous substitute's dress in the wash, Julian had his men leave my brother at the top of the stairs. My brother rolled all the way down, convulsing and foaming at the mouth. After that, I never dared say no to Julian again. "I'm sorry, Miss Chloe." I smeared ointment over Chloe's foot. My obedience made the viewers lose interest. "Newbies probably don't know, but Mrs. Hayes serving the new girl is a regular segment here." "Man, she really can swallow anything!" But the more compliant I was, the more irritated Julian became. With a stormy face, he tied me to a chair, placing a large canvas in front of me. He pointed the camera at our king-sized bed. The woman crawled onto it, striking seductive poses. The most ironic part was that our giant wedding portrait was still hanging right above the headboard. Tens of thousands of people flooded into the stream. "Damn, Julian is really going all in tonight!" "The real show is about to start!" He shoved a paintbrush into my hand and smirked. "Go on, great artist. Make sure you paint us well!" He stripped Chloe of her bridal gown without hesitation. Before he dove into bed with her, I threw a red cloth over the camera lens. The chat went wild— "Crazy!" "That's brutal though... having your own husband do that right in front of you..." Ignoring the comments, I listened to the vulgar noises beside me and calmly painted the explicit scene. This was the last time. During every stream, Julian forced me to paint an oil painting of them at their most passionate moments. The subjects were Julian and the women, except he always ordered me to paint Bianca's face on them. If it wasn't realistic enough, he would make me repaint it until he was satisfied. The previous seven paintings hung all over the villa. Whenever I looked up, I saw them. He loved seeing the agony on my face. The moment they finished, I finished my painting. Julian draped white gauze over the intimate parts and ordered me to hold it up for the livestream. I obeyed without a word. Seeing my total lack of emotion, Julian suddenly snapped, snatching the canvas from my hands and slamming it to the floor. He ordered me to move on to the next routine, and I obediently handed over the lingerie I had picked out earlier. Growing thoroughly irritated, Julian shoved me out onto the balcony and locked the door. Only a floor-to-ceiling glass wall separated the balcony from the bedroom, and the lights inside blazed all night. Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was the hospital caregiver. "Your mother suffered cardiac arrest! She needs emergency surgery right now—get here and sign the consent form!"Panic seized me. I pounded furiously on the glass. "Let me out!" Julian rolled over, glanced at me, and as those delicate arms wrapped around his neck, he went right back at it. Knowing I was watching, he went on longer and harder than ever. Finally, Chloe climbed off the bed with trembling legs and unlocked the balcony door. "Look at her, Julian! She made all that noise on purpose just to ruin our mood!" I dropped to my knees before Julian. "Please let me go to the hospital! Something happened to my mom!" Chloe sneered, "You're just jealous! You had to bring up your mom right when we were having fun!" "She's just a vegetable anyway. It'd be better if she died! What bad luck!" Julian listened without batting an eye. He walked back into the room and came out, hurling the filthy, stained bedsheet right into my face. "Wash it clean!" They locked me out of the suite. In desperation, I tied the sheet to the window frame and slid down, crashing heavily onto the ground below. Rain poured over my legs as blood spread across the pavement. The mansion was halfway up the mountain, where no taxis ever came. I had no choice but to sprint down the hill in the dark. The moment I reached the base of the mountain, I collapsed in front of a black Bentley. A man stepped out of the car, opening an umbrella above my head. He drove me straight to the hospital. At the entrance, he said, "If you can't take it anymore, come to me." I thanked him frantically and rushed toward the operating room. But I was too late. "Why are you only arriving now?! She's already gone. Coming now won't do anything!" the nurse said furiously. A sharp pain tore through my chest, and my vision went black. When I woke up, the nurse chewed me out. "What kind of ungrateful daughter are you? Cutting off your mother's most crucial imported medication! No wonder her heart gave out..." That was when I found out Julian's assistant had visited the hospital and discontinued her medication to 'cut expenses.' I buried my face in my hands and sobbed. I had killed her.Clutching the urn of my mother's ashes, I returned to the villa, only to see Julian helping Chloe deliver her dog's puppies. "Gone for days without a word? Who gave you permission?!" Julian snapped. "Go order a custom gold dog bed for the puppies, and arrange a shipment of fresh imported milk flown in from abroad." He cut off my mother's life-saving medicine, yet spared no expense for a dog. Glancing at the urn in my arms, Chloe sneered maliciously, "I wonder whose soul reincarnated into these puppies today!" "Being my dog must be pure heaven!" Clutching the urn tighter, I slammed the divorce agreement onto the table. "Sign it! Let's get divorced!" Julian ripped the papers in half. "What kind of fit are you throwing?! Did you really think I'd ever let you off the hook?" My heart was completely dead. I didn't want to waste another breath arguing with him. There was nothing in this house I wanted to take, except the portrait I had painted of my mother when she was still conscious. As I stepped past Chloe to reach for the painting, she dramatically threw herself onto the floor. "Ow! It hurts so bad! She pushed me on purpose!" In a blind rage, Julian kicked me hard in the stomach. The urn slipped from my hands and shattered on the marble floor. Gray ashes scattered everywhere. Chloe snapped her fingers, and her dog trotted over. With a cruel grin, she whispered, "Pee." The dog lifted its leg and urinated all over the ashes, soaking my mother's remains. A deafening roar exploded in my head. I launched myself at Chloe like a madwoman, grabbed her hair, and shoved her face straight into the dog urine. We brawled on the floor until Chloe was pinned down, gagging violently with filthy wetness smeared across her mouth. Julian swept Chloe into his arms and rushed her to the hospital. "If anything happens to her, your entire family will pay with their lives!" he roared. His bodyguards dragged me to the hospital too. To soothe Chloe into getting her stomach pumped, Julian ordered them to pump mine as well. I was pinned down to a bed while a thick tube was shoved brutally through my nose and down into my stomach. I vomited until I almost passed out. For three straight days, I couldn't keep a single bite of food down. Surprisingly, Julian stayed by my bedside, barking at the doctors to fix me quickly. In the middle of the night, my phone rang with an international number. "Scarlett, it's Bianca. Losing your mother must feel agonizing, doesn't it?" "Julian treats you like dirt, yet you're still clinging to him like a shameless parasite!" "Every single woman he's ever brought home looks like me. In his heart, there has only ever been me." I rasped, "Julian adores Chloe." "You really are an idiot. Without my instructions, how could Chloe have gotten plastic surgery to look identical to me?" "Your mom is already dead. You'd better get out of Julian's life, or your brother will be next..." My heart stopped. Chloe was planted by Bianca all along. I ran wildly toward my brother's ward. Inside, Chloe was sobbing dramatically, "He touched me inappropriately—!" My brother had suffered severe brain damage years ago saving me from drowning. Falsely accused, he could do nothing but shake his head in terror. Julian shot me a lethal glare, gently comforting Chloe in his arms. "Don't cry. I'll make sure you get justice." He turned and slapped me across the face. "Are you using your brother now to hurt the people around me?!" Chloe feigned a thoughtful pout. "Well, brain damage means poor circulation, right? Why not hang him upside down to get the blood flowing so he clears his head?" Julian hesitated for a fraction of a second, then signaled his bodyguards to do as she said. They strung my brother up by his ankles against the wall. I fought like crazy to save him, but they tied me up and threw me outside the door. Inside the room, my brother's muffled whimpers grew fainter and fainter. A long time passed before Chloe stepped out, smoothing her skirt with flushed, radiant cheeks. Julian ordered them to untie me. "What are you crying for? That was just punishment for what your brother did." "I'll hire the top specialists in the world to treat him." I crawled to my brother and checked his breathing. It had stopped. Something shattered completely inside my chest. I collapsed against the floor, clutching my head in raw agony. Julian had already left, his arm draped around Chloe. Curled into a ball next to his cold body, I apologized to my brother over and over again. Pulling out my phone with shaking fingers, I dialed the number. "Mr. King... I've made up my mind."