Brother-In-Law's Replaced Bride

Bedroom

Irene Jones POV

“Who is this ugly woman?”

I stopped the moment we rolled into the living room, Theodore’s wheelchair gliding with me as I forced it to a halt. It took more strength than I expected, especially after dragging this thing all the way in on my own while listening to every taunt thrown at me along the way.

So this was the first thing I was going to hear after entering this mansion. Perfect.

The place was stunning, all white and wide open, so graceful it made both my apartment and the Jones family home feel like storage closets in comparison. Not that my apartment could compete with anything in this house anyway.

“Theodore, is this what the Jones family gives you? A woman so ugly I feel like I’m staring at a ghost under all these lights?” The woman’s voice cut into me, sharp and irritated, as if the sight of me offended her very existence.

Four people sat waiting—one woman in her forties, another older woman settled beside an equally aged man, and a younger man seated next to the spiteful one. All of them stared at me, eyes narrowing with the kind of easy cruelty that came from privilege.

“I remember very well this is not the woman Leo Jones showed us to marry you,” the older woman said, her voice calmer, more controlled, but no less insulting.

At least she delivered her contempt with poise.

Their looks crawled over me, stripping me down as if I were prey they could tear apart with a single word.

This—this was why I never wanted to come here. Not today. Not looking like this. Even with the makeup I used to make myself look worse, I still usually managed to pull myself together. But today… no. Today I looked exactly as broken as I felt.

Not that it mattered. These people didn’t even know me, yet here they were, flinging insults like confetti.

As if their words could reach anywhere deeper than the things my mother had already carved into me. When your own mother treats you like an inconvenience, strangers lose the power to hurt you.

“Theodore,” the old man said, leaning forward slightly. “Why didn’t you attend the wedding?”

A fair question. I almost applauded him for it.

“Because his bride is hideous,” the old woman answered for him, her tone smooth, practiced—like humiliation was something she served with afternoon tea.

I stood there, heat gathering under my skin, but my face didn’t move. Let them look. Let them underestimate me. I didn’t give two flying f***s.

“Now what can I do? It’s you who decided to marry me into the Jones family, Xinac.” Theodore chuckled as he answered. “And Sammy, tone it down. How can you insult your granddaughter-in-law like this? Same for you, Lilith. She’s your only daughter-in-law.”

Wow. Even when he tried to defend me, it somehow managed to sound more like another insult.

At least I got three names out of it.

I was pretty sure Lilith was Theodore’s mother, Xinac his grandfather, and Sammy his grandmother. And damn, he called them by name?

Not that I could judge. I called my own mother by her name too—forced to, really. Leo expected the same. His real daughter, Misha, could call him Dad. Someone like me? Never.

But Theodore? I doubted anyone could force him to do anything.

“We all can calm down,” the younger man sitting beside Lilith said, his voice mild. “They might be tired, so let them rest first.”

“You don’t have to take their side, honey.” Lilith’s tone softened for him—nothing like the ice she used on me.

So this younger man, who definitely looked younger than Lilith, had to be her husband. Theodore’s father.

Though he didn’t look like one.

“She’s right, Jamey. You better take your wife’s side only.” Theodore’s voice carried a lazy edge, almost mocking.

One thing was obvious: his relationship with his family wasn’t exactly warm. But unlike mine, he had a say here—maybe all the say, judging by how easily he handled them. Sarcastic, blunt, calling everyone by name.

But then why the mask? Why hide in front of his own family?

I hid behind makeup for my own reasons. Theodore didn’t seem like someone who needed to hide from his family… but maybe I didn’t know enough. I didn’t know his family. I didn’t know him.

“You better talk, girl. Why are you silent? Are you mute?” Sammy’s glare sharpened, her eyes carving holes straight through me.

Shit. “I’m sorry,” I muttered, not even sure what I was apologizing for or why I felt cornered into it.

“She’s not mute.” Theodore answered before I could breathe, and somehow his voice made it worse. I had already spoken. Obviously I wasn’t mute. I didn’t need him stating the obvious like some kind of announcement.

Sammy clicked her tongue, unimpressed. “If she isn’t mute, then she should speak properly. Myers family daughters-in-law don’t stand around like statues.”

My fingers tightened around the wheelchair handles. I held myself still, because reacting would only give them more to talk about. Their eyes kept crawling over me, picking apart every inch they thought wasn’t good enough.

Lilith leaned back with a delicate sigh, her gaze drifting toward Theodore instead of me. “This is the woman you brought home? Theodore, honestly.”

Brought home. As if he had picked me out of a bargain bin.

Jamey shifted beside her, discomfort flickering across his face. At least someone in this house still had human expressions. “Let them settle in,” he murmured, trying again to defuse the tension.

But the room felt thick, almost suffocating.

Theodore didn’t seem bothered. Not even a little. He rested back in the chair like he was watching a show, the edge of amusement tugging at him.

And I stood there behind him, heat burning under my skin, reminding myself not to react.

Somehow I was so exhausted and my emotions were all over the place, I could cry some rivers.

“Take me to our room, wife.” Theodore pointed toward the hallway he wanted me to wheel his chair toward. “Goodnight, everyone. We can talk tomorrow.”

Myers family is a weird one. I always thought my family was the strange one, because everyone in mine is so arrogant thanks to the Jones surname, but this family seems more pathetic.

I pushed the wheelchair forward, the silence stretching between us as we left the living room behind. Their stares still clung to my skin, heavy and sour, but distance helped. Every step I took away from them loosened something tight inside my chest.

The hallway lights were softer here, warmer than the blinding glow of the living room, but my heartbeat hadn’t settled. Theodore didn’t say anything, and I wasn’t sure if the quiet made things better or worse.

His posture looked relaxed, too relaxed for someone whose family had just verbally skinned his bride alive in front of him. Maybe he was used to it. Maybe he didn’t care. Maybe it was both.

One thing was sure: he didn’t care, because I was his replaced ugly bride. That was clear enough.

When we reached the corridor leading to the bedrooms, he glanced over his shoulder, just enough to look at me. “You walk too fast.”

I slowed automatically, my fingers tightening on the handles. “Didn’t you say before to fasten up?” I couldn’t understand this man at all. “Where is your bedroom?”

“You’re so eager to enter my bedroom.” He sounded amused.

My cheeks warmed in shame. “I don’t want to deal with your family, so it’s better if I just get inside anywhere I can hide myself.”

No matter how messy it sounded, I really didn’t have the capacity to phrase my words any better. I wasn’t in the mood for it.

“You are going to deal with them a lot more.”