Chapter 2 She Substitutes, He Stands In
Clara Bennett's mind went blank.
She felt a warm chest pressed against her back, the sound of a fierce heartbeat echoing in her ears. His masculine presence enveloped her completely. She took a deep breath, but her limbs remained rigid, unable to relax.
The man's hand suddenly stilled.
"Do you know who I am?"
Clara Bennett froze.
He likely meant to remind her that he was her husband, that this was their wedding night, and that intimacy between them was only natural.
But Clara Bennett, taking his question literally, answered timidly, "I know... you're Mason Reed."
His eyes narrowed slightly, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
Mason Reed... Hah, she'd gone to the trouble of remembering that name.
Too bad he wasn't actually Mason Reed.
And she wasn't Evelyn Bennett.
The moment she'd stepped through the door, he'd known she was a stand-in. He didn't know the full story, but judging by the temperament of the Bennett family's eldest daughter, there was no way she'd ever marry a backwoods nobody like him.
Not that it mattered. She was a substitute bride, and he was a substitute groom. They were even.
"Mason Reed..."
He snapped out of his thoughts, looking down to meet her watery, captivating eyes. Her shy, soft expression was like an invisible hand, seizing some hidden part of his heart.
"I'm sorry, I'm just so nervous," she said, biting her lip. Tentatively, she reached out, her small hand hooking around his neck. "You're my husband... whatever you do to me is fine. So, um... let's start."
Tiny beads of sweat glistened on her delicate nose. She leaned in awkwardly, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
Something stirred in Mason Reed's chest. Just as she fumbled toward his lips, he gently grabbed her hand and pushed her back, creating some distance between them.
Clara Bennett blinked, stunned. The flush on her cheeks hadn't faded, and her wide eyes brimmed with confusion.
"Forget it," he said, glancing at her. "You've had a long day. Get some rest."
"Mason Reed, I—"
"I think you need time to adjust. Until you're used to having a husband, I won't push you."
With that, he rolled over.
Clara Bennett stared at his bare back, lost in thought. It wasn't until his soft snores filled the room that she snapped out of it.
Only then did she really study him.
He looked striking even in sleep—sharp, chiseled features, thick brows that exuded masculinity, and a strong arm tucked under his head. His toned muscles made her cheeks flush all over again.
Clara Bennett's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly turned her face away.
Drowsiness crept in, her mind a jumbled mess.
She thought back to the day before the wedding, to the cruel taunts of her stepmother and Evelyn Bennett, her older sister.
They'd sneered at her, saying the Reed family had once been close allies of the Bennetts, bound by an old engagement promise.
But after the Reeds fell on hard times, they'd retreated to a remote village, living in abject poverty.
The son, they claimed, was a good-for-nothing thug, notorious in Willow Creek, and rumored to have a rap sheet a mile long.
"Me, marry a lowlife like that?" Evelyn Bennett had scoffed, her tone dripping with arrogance. "You're the perfect fit, though. Your mother's been with who-knows-how-many men, and that brother of yours is just a bastard!"
"You're only good enough for a street rat!"
"Clara, think it over," her father had said coldly. "Marry Mason Reed in Evelyn's place, and I'll give you the money. You can save your mother."
Her stepmother had jabbed a finger at her head, spitting venom. "Letting a little wretch like you marry as the second Bennett daughter is already more than you deserve! Don't push your luck!"
Clara Bennett jolted awake, realizing the sun was already high in the sky. The man beside her was gone.