Livia's POV…..
"YOU MUST MARRY HIM ."
The words didn't register at first.
I stared at my father, convinced I had misheard him. His face was as cold and unreadable as ever, his expression tight as he looked down at me, he looked away immediately our eyes met, he couldn't even look me in the eyes.
"What?" My voice came out smaller than I intended as I stared at them
My stepmother Ivory, sat beside my father glaring at me and sighed as if I were the inconvenience here.
"Don't make this difficult, Livia. The Kingsley family doesn't have time to waste, the wedding is tomorrow."
Tomorrow?
I had to get married to a stranger in place of my stepsister tomorrow
My stomach dropped so violently I had to grip the edge of the table to steady myself
"You're joking," I whispered, shaking my head.
"This… this was Clara's marriage, you've been planning this for months."
Clara.
At the mention of her name, my stepsister shifted lazily on the couch, crossing her legs with effortless elegance. She looked flawless as always with her short blonde hair perfectly curled and she rolled her eyes like I was being dramatic.
She didn't even bother to look guilty.
"I changed my mind," she said simply, examining her nails as if we were discussing something trivial and not just my whole life.
"Please you can't do this to me" I begged with tears in my eyes
"I'm not marrying a blind cripple." Clara snapped
I turned back to my father, my chest tightening with anger.
"And so you just decided to throw me in instead?"
"It's not 'throwing you in,'" he said sharply.
"It's an opportunity."
I let out a hollow laugh, I couldn't believe this was happening right now.
"An opportunity? To marry a man Clara doesn't want? A man everyone pities?, he's a cripple!!"
"Watch your tone," ivory snapped.
"No," I shot back, my voice breaking despite my effort to stay composed.
"You watch yours, you don't get to make this up into something good. You're sacrificing me."
My father's eyes darkened. "You will do as you're told."
My hands clenched into fists. "I won't."
For a brief second, I thought I saw something flicker across his face—surprise, maybe. I rarely defied him. I had learned long ago that speaking up only made things worse.
But this?
This was my life and I didn't want to spend it being a caretaker for someone for the rest of my life.
"I won't marry him," I repeated, louder this time. "You can't force me into this."
"Oh, but we can," Ivory said coldly
"You think you have a choice?" she continued, leaning forward slightly.
"Everything you have, this house, your education, the money you spend —it all comes from this family."
My throat tightened as I stared at her in disbelief
"You walk away from this marriage," she added softly, "you walk away from everything."
There it was.
I turned to my father again, searching his face for even a hint of hesitation. "Dad… please."
Just once.
Just this once, I needed him to choose me.
But his expression didn't change.
"The decision has been made."
Something inside me cracked open a sharp, painful fracture that spread through my chest until I could barely breathe.
"So that's it?" I whispered.
"You're really doing this to me?"
He didn't answer, he didn't need to.
Clara let out a soft laugh from behind me.
"Honestly, Livia, you should be grateful. Do you know how many women would kill to marry into the Kingsley family?"
I turned to her slowly, my vision blurring with tears. "Then why don't you?"
Her smile didn't falter.
"Because I have standards."
For a moment, I couldn't hear anything but the pounding of my own heartbeat.
This wasn't real it couldn't be, but it was.
They had decided and planned it all without me.
I was nothing more than a replacement, a sacrifice for Clara
"I hate you," I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
Clara's eyes flickered with amusement.
"That's not very bride-like of you."
I couldn't stay there another second.
Without another word, I turned and ran to my room by the time I reached my room, I was shaking with anger and tears.
The door slammed shut behind me, the sound echoing through the silent house before everything collapsed at once.
The tears came fast and uncontrollable, blurring my vision as I stumbled toward the bed. My chest ached like something was crushing it from the inside, each breath i took was sharp and uneven.
How could they do this to me?
Switch Clara to me on the day before the wedding?
I am supposed to marry a man I had never met, a man everyone whispered about.
Lucian Kingsley, the blind billionaire.
And I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with him as some kind of caretaker .
A sob tore raked through me as I buried my face in my hands.
This couldn't be happening, it couldn't.
My phone buzzed on the bedside table, for a second, I just stared at it, then with trembling hands, I picked it up.
There was only one person I wanted to talk to.
Betty.
I pressed her contact and held the phone to my ear, pacing the room as it rang.
It rang three times then she picked immediately
"Livia?"
Her voice came through, warm and familiar, and I nearly broke all over again.
"Betty…" My voice cracked, and that was all it took.
"Hey, hey—what's wrong?" she asked immediately, her tone filled with concern.
"Why do you sound like that?"
I took a deep breath trying to steady myself, but the words came out in a rush anyway.
"They're making me marry him"
Silence.
"…What?"
"Tomorrow ," I said, my grip tightening around the phone. "Clara backed out, and now they want me to take her place."
"Are you serious right now?" Betty's voice rose, her voice shaking with anger.
"They can't just do that!"
"They can," I whispered. "And they are."
"Livia…"
"I don't want this," I admitted, my voice trembling again. "I don't even know him. I heard he's—" I hesitated, the words tasting bitter on my tongue.
"i heard he's blind and he's… disabled."
Betty exhaled slowly. "So what? That doesn't mean you have to marry him."
"I don't have a choice," I said. "If I refuse, they'll cut me off completely."
More silence, heavier this time i knew she understood what that meant.
"I hate them," she muttered. "I actually hate them."
A weak, humorless laugh escaped me.
"Join the club."
"You could leave," she said suddenly. "Come to Korea, stay with me. We'll figure something out."
For a moment, I let myself imagine it, traveling to stay in Korea with my best friend and starting a new life there.
But reality came crashing back
"I can't," I said quietly.
"Why not?"
"Because running away won't fix anything," I replied. "They'll still control everything. And I'll have nothing."
Betty sighed. "So your solution is to just… accept this?"
"I don't know what else to do."
The words felt heavy, like I was admitting defeat.
Before she could respond, the sound of my door opening distracted me.
I froze and turned slowly.
Clara stood in the doorway, her gaze sweeping over me with annoyance, as if my tears and anger were nothing more than an inconvenience to her.
"It's time Livia," she said.
I tightened my grip on the phone. "Time for what?"
She raised a brow.
"Dress fitting, obviously. You are the bride now, remember?"
My chest tightened again.
"I'm not in the mood," I said quietly.
Clara smiled at me cruelly.
"You don't get to have moods anymore, Livia."
"Be ready in ten minutes," she added, turning toward the hallway. "Or I'll tell Father you're being difficult again."
"That bitch" Betty said
I closed my eyes briefly and took a deep breath
"…I have to go."
"Wait—"
"I'll keep in touch with you Betty" I said and cut the call
I didn't want her to worry about me, I can handle myself
I sat on the bed for a while looking at my phone Then I wiped the tears from my face.
Today was all I had left and somehow… i had to survive it.
******