Married As My Sister’s Substitute Novel by Judyian _ Novel




Married As My Sister’s Substitute Chapter 01

Everyone in Los Angeles knew that the golden boy, Sebastian Hadley, had once been publicly humiliated—his fiancée, Cressida Collins, ran off with another man during their high-profile wedding.
To make up for her mistake, her family handed over more than a dozen parcels of land to the Hadley family and offered her sister, Evelyn Collins, to Sebastian.
To the outside world, Evelyn was Sebastian's wife, part of the price her family had paid.
But in reality, there was no marriage certificate, no wedding, and his family refused to recognize her at all.
As if to take out his anger on her, on Evelyn's very first day in the Hadley family, Sebastian made her kneel in the main hall for a full day and night.
Then he laid down three rules for her.
First, she was never allowed to go out, and even her own family wasn't permitted to visit.
Second, she was forbidden from involving herself in anything related to the Hadley Group, and any children she might have would have no claim on its inheritance.
Third, she had to obey Sebastian in everything and be there whenever he needed her.
Those three harsh rules were so extreme that they felt like leftovers from another century. Everyone assumed it was only a matter of time before Evelyn broke—and Sebastian ended up humiliated all over again.
Yet Evelyn agreed without a word of complaint, and she followed those rules for eight full years.
Like a bird locked in a cage, she never stepped outside the Hadley's residence again during those eight years.
In the first few years, Sebastian went out of his way to make life difficult for Evelyn.
He made her cook all three of his meals every day herself, yet after she finally prepared everything exactly the way he wanted, he picked it apart.
Then Evelyn would take the dishes back to the kitchen and start over again and again—ten times or more—yet in the end, Sebastian still wouldn't take a single bite.
At night, he wouldn't let her sleep in the bed. She had to remain by his bedroom door, unable to leave until dawn.
Evelyn endured it all without the slightest sign of displeasure. Not only did she do whatever Sebastian asked, but she was also deeply devoted to his parents, Jeremiah and Helena Hadley.
Eight years of unwavering devotion could soften even the hardest heart.
Over time, Sebastian began to accept Evelyn, even agreeing to make their marriage official and give her the wedding she had been owed.
Today was their wedding day, yet Sebastian was nowhere to be seen.
Jeremiah flew into a rage and sent someone to find out what was going on. The person came back and said, "Ms. Cressida is back, and Mr. Hadley went... went to see her."
The entire room erupted.
"If you ask me, Mr. Hadley threw this wedding for the sole purpose of humiliating the Collins family."
"How devoted of Mr. Hadley. Typical, really—no man ever gets over his first love. He's clearly still bitter, but since he can't bring himself to do anything to the woman he loves, he takes it out on her sister."
"Evelyn has spent eight years in the Collins family without any real title. If Cressida really is back, then weren't those eight years for nothing? That's just sad."
The whispers reached Evelyn's ears. She stood frozen, her back stiff with tension, but with a practiced calm, she wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
She should've seen this coming.
She had never expected Sebastian to fall for her when she first joined the Hadley family. But as she felt the affection from Jeremiah and Helena and watched Sebastian gradually change, hope began to bloom within her.
She allowed herself to believe that she could finally have a family of her own.
After dark, Evelyn sent off the last guest, a forced smile on her face, and Sebastian finally showed up.
"Evie, I had a reason for not coming today. Your sister was bleeding out. You know how much I hate her—I wasn't about to let her take the easy way out through death, so—" Sebastian explained, a trace of guilt on his face.
Evelyn cut him off, her expression calm. "Don't bother. I don't mind."
Sebastian frowned deeply.
"If you're upset, you can ask something of me. As long as it's not too much, I—"
"There's no need. I really don't mind." Evelyn cut him off again, her eyes devoid of any flicker of emotion.
That only seemed to irritate Sebastian.
"How can you not mind?"
She couldn't understand why Sebastian still insisted on dragging it out, even after she had been so generous in letting it go.
She sighed. "Sebastian, since you've already made your choice, there's no need to explain anything to me anymore. I really don't care. Whether this is revenge or whether you're still in love with her, as long as you're happy, that's enough."
After she finished speaking, silence stretched between them for a long moment, and Sebastian's expression darkened further.
A moment later, he finally said, "Fine. Since you're being so generous, then you surely won't mind if I bring Cressida back home to recover, right?"
With that, he turned and left.
As Evelyn froze in place, Helena walked over, took her hand, and tried to comfort her. "Evie, don't worry. I'll go talk to that brat, and I won't let that woman move in with us.
"You're the only daughter-in-law we acknowledge."
Warmth rose in Evelyn's heart. This was the true reason for her attachment to the Hadleys—someone here truly cared for her.
She shook her head.
"Helena, once Sebby makes up his mind, no one can change it. Just let it go."
Evelyn's mind wandered.
She'd married Sebastian only because the Collins family had threatened her with her mother's life.
Now that the person responsible had come back, and the Collins family had secretly promised they would help her leave the Hadley family, there was no reason she should let Helena fall out with Sebastian because of her.
At the thought of that, Evelyn suddenly felt a little guilty toward Helena.
Helena had treated her with nothing but kindness, yet she was about to leave without saying goodbye.
All she could do now was repay Helena as best she could during her final days here.
When she got home, Evelyn went straight to the kitchen.
Jeremiah and Helena had had a rough day, and she wanted to make them some stew.
Yet the moment she reached their bedroom door, she heard Sebastian's voice coming from inside.
"Mom, I really did see Cressida lose a lot of blood right in front of me and nearly die. Before she lost consciousness, she told me that she had a reason for running away from the wedding.
"So, I thought I'd bring her back and keep her here while I look into what really happened back then."
Helena's voice rang out. "Do you really believe what she said?
"She ditched you at the altar in front of everyone back then, and you've spent all these years taking the heat for it. Are you sure you don't mind?"
Sebastian said nothing.
After a while, Helena let out a sigh. "A mother always knows her son. You're still hung up on Cressida, aren't you? I won't stand in your way. After all, I can't bear to watch you waste away again, drowning your sorrows in a bottle every single day.
"As for Evelyn, don't worry. I'll help smooth things over with her."
Standing outside the door, Evelyn tightened her grip on the tray. The stew was still steaming, and the heat stung her eyes until they turned damp.
In the end, she still didn't bring the stew inside. She turned around and poured it away.

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