Chapter 2

My ex-fiancée, Jessica, held my mother's urn, threatening to destroy it if I didn't marry Rhea in Victor's place.

"Victor and I are true love! You're just a loser, you don't deserve to marry me!"

"Either take this fifty bucks and go marry her, or you and your deadbeat mom can get out of our family and rot on the streets!"

I was furious, but also terrified. Under the immense pressure from my entire family, I still agreed to their demand.

The very next day, I married Victor's fiancée, Rhea Hayes.

The Hayes family wasn't thrilled about the last-minute switch.

They even planned to pay me a huge sum annually, just to humiliate me.

After all, I was just a placeholder groom, a formality.

I never imagined that after only five days, their daughter would transform completely.

Even the doctors said that because the patient had been receiving excellent daily massages, her muscles were getting proper training, and all signs of previous atrophy were gone.

Facing my in-laws' questions, I scratched my head, a little embarrassed.

"Well, a girl needs to be clean, right? I wash her hair, do her skincare. I was worried her muscles would atrophy from not moving, and I happened to have learned massage techniques before, so I just used them."

They didn't say much. That same day, they let me move into the Hayes' mansion.

And they even put me in Rhea's room.

I was surprised.

Back at the Millers', I could only live in a small storage room.

My father's new family had taken over all my things.

As a kid with a cold father and a dead mother, if I dared to fight back, they'd just kick me out to sleep in the yard.

The storage room was small, but at least it was sheltered from wind and rain.

I didn't touch Rhea's belongings. I just cleared a small area for myself to sleep.

I woke up promptly at five in the morning to prepare breakfast for the Hayes family.

Bread, milk, and some jam. Once it was ready, I went to clean the house.

When the Hayes family woke up, they saw steaming hot food on the table.

They looked surprised.

"Didn't Mrs. Jenkins take the day off today? And there's bread and milk…"

I couldn't quite read their tone. I thought maybe they were used to the housekeeper's breakfast and didn't like mine.

After all, I'd made it according to the Hayes family's usual preferences, so it was normal for others not to like it.

I swallowed nervously, carefully answering, "If you don't like this, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, I can make other things, like oatmeal, or even steak…"

They looked me up and down, seemingly a little astonished.

"Sit down and eat with us."

The real turning point was when Mr. Hayes had a heart attack and forgot his medication.

Noticing it, I carried him on my back and ran two kilometers to the hospital.

He called me 'Alex' for the first time.

"From now on, this family will need your help to keep it strong."

I knew then that he recognized me as his son-in-law.

That same year, Rhea woke up.

She just smiled at me. "So this is my hubby, huh? You look so young."

"Just a little soft-tempered. I'll have to protect him well from now on."

She handled outside matters, and I handled inside.

I took care of the home, while she traveled for work, disappearing for days at a time, only to return with various gifts for me.

Life was sweet and warm, until my 'ex-fiancée' and uncle came back.