After the Secret Wedding: Rise of my Queen Novel – “If this keeps up, she’s gonna die! She’s your fiancée!” The doctor, sweating like crazy, tried to convince him. The guy standing next to him had no expression on his handsome face. He just stared coldly at the woman barely hanging on in the bed. “It would be great if she died. A woman like that doesn’t deserve to be my wife.” Ouch, that hurts! What’s going on? Wait, didn’t I die after getting betrayed by my own team during that mission? There’s no way I would’ve survived that explosion. I should’ve been blown to ashes. So why does it still hurt? Isabel slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, and she could barely make out some people in white coats moving around.
Did I survive and end up in a hospital? Before she could make sense of it, a sharp, splitting headache hit her, and out of nowhere, a rush of memories that weren’t hers came flooding in, nearly knocking her out from the pain. Once the memories settled in, she realized what had happened. She did die, and now she had been reborn in the body of another girl with the same name, Isabel Zimmerman. The guy in front of her, Kaleb Johnson, was supposed to be her fiancé. Today was their wedding day, but it got messed up when the original Isabel’s best friend crashed the ceremony, claiming she was pregnant with Kaleb’s baby.
She even said they were in love and begged Isabel to step aside. Then she faked being pushed by Isabel and ended up in the hospital. The original Isabel’s best friend had an incredibly rare blood type, one that’s almost impossible to find. By chance, she and Isabel had the exact same blood type. To save the woman he loved, Kaleb had the original Isabel dragged to the hospital to force her to donate blood. Just as these memories were starting to make sense, Isabel’s thoughts were suddenly cut off by Kaleb’s cold, heartless words. “She’s a vicious woman with a heart of stone. She won’t die. Keep going!” What a cruel man! Isabel’s fists tightened as a sharp pain cut through her heart. It was a reaction she couldn’t control, purely instinctive.
She knew this was the original Isabel’s way of responding to the crushing hurt she’d been through. But from now on, she was Isabel. And everyone who had wronged her would pay for it. “She’s fighting back!” the doctor yelled. “Hold her down!” Kaleb shouted and came over to help pin down Isabel’s hands. Isabel used all her strength. First, she kicked the nurse holding her leg out of the way. Then, with a powerful move, she flipped over and shook off everyone trying to hold her down. Sitting on the bed, Isabel narrowed her eyes and took a cold, hard look around the room. The nurses and doctors were stunned by her sudden burst of energy, frozen in place and unable to move. Kaleb stepped up, glaring at Isabel.
“Isabel, what’s your problem? Get back down! Eva still needs help!” Isabel stared at Kaleb, her face blank and her voice laced with annoyance. “Who do you think you are? Why should I sacrifice myself to save Eva?” “Why? How can you even ask that?” Kaleb shouted, his anger boiling over. “If you hadn’t pushed her, would she be in danger?” “Huh!” Isabel scoffed. “Are you deaf or what? I’ve already said it. Eva is faking it. She fell on purpose and tried to blame me.” The original Isabel had tried to explain this to Kaleb over and over in the chapel, but he just wouldn’t believe her. “Enough! I saw you push her with my own eyes. Even now, you still won’t admit it!” Kaleb looked at Isabel with complete disgust. Isabel shook her head. “I knew it. You’re blind.” Her tone was laced with sarcasm. “What did you say?!” Kaleb was stunned.
The old Isabel had always done whatever he said without a word of complaint. This didn’t sound like her at all. Isabel carefully got out of bed, swaying a bit from the blood loss. Kaleb was fed up. “I’m telling you again. Lie down and behave, or I’ll send you to the police station and make sure you get what you deserve!” Isabel walked right up to him, looking up with a calm, unbothered expression. “You don’t believe me, right? I’ve got a way to make you believe.” “Isabel! Didn’t you hear what I just said? I’m telling you one last time—” Kaleb didn’t get to finish as Isabel landed a punch in his stomach. “Ugh!” Kaleb grunted in pain, slowly kneeling on the floor, his face turning red and purple, with veins bulging on his temples.
That was a heavy punch! How can Isabel have so much strength? Kaleb looked over and saw that Isabel had already left the room. No! She’s going to cause trouble for Eva! I have to hurry and protect Eva! Ignoring the pain in his stomach, Kaleb quickly got up and ran after Isabel. Isabel reached the VIP room where Eva Shepherd was and locked the door behind her after entering. Bang, bang, bang! Kaleb pounded on the door, shouting through the observation window, “Isabel! Open the door! I’m warning you! If you hurt Eva, I’ll make sure you live to regret it!” Isabel ignored Kaleb’s threats and moved towards Eva. Eva looked ghostly pale, her lips completely colorless. “Nice try, Eva. I’d give your makeup a 60. Just enough to pass.”
With tricks like that, they’re nothing compared to my disguise skills. Eva almost rolled her eyes at Isabel’s comment. What a joke for someone like her, who has nothing going for her except a better background, to talk like that. As Eva was thinking this, Isabel suddenly grabbed her hand. “Isabel, I’m begging you. Please, don’t hurt my baby. Just wait until my child is born, and you can do whatever you want with me. Just don’t hurt my baby—” Before she could finish her pitiful plea, Eva was already crying, tears streaming down her face, looking heartbroken and desperate. Bang, bang, bang! Kaleb kept banging on the door, yelling threats, and trying to intimidate Isabel. Isabel released Eva’s hand and stood by the bed, looking down at her.
“Eva, you’re clearly faking this pregnancy.” Eva’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Isabel. How did she figure it out? Did she grab my hand to check my pulse or something? No way! Eva was sure Isabel didn’t know anything about medicine. “W-What are you talking about? I don’t understand. Isabel, I’m dying … It’s fine if I die, but please, the baby is innocent. Just save us.” Still pretending? Isabel smirked. “Eva, want to make a bet? I can expose your lie in five minutes.” Seeing Isabel’s devilish grin, Eva suddenly felt a wave of panic. What was she going to do? Before she could process it, Isabel raised her hand and slapped her hard across the face. I’m Willing to Marry You The sound of a slap was incredibly loud.
Eva was left dazed, her eyes fixed on Isabel. But Isabel wasn’t done yet. Her hand came down once more, and she slapped the other side of Eva’s face. “Argh!” The slap was even harder than the last one. Eva couldn’t handle it anymore, covering her swollen face and screaming in pain. “Eva!” Kaleb was outside, pacing anxiously. His eyes shot daggers at Isabel, as if he wanted to tear her apart. “Isabel, stop it!” Isabel glanced at Kaleb at the door and then kept on slapping Eva’s face. She was curious to see just how much Eva could take. “Argh! Please stop hitting me. I’m begging you, argh!” Isabel ignored Eva’s screams and kept up the relentless slapping, hitting harder and harder. Even with her face swollen and bruised, Eva lay on the bed and took it without fighting back.
Eva really was something else. No wonder the original Isabel, the more innocent owner of this body, had ended up in such a mess because of her. “Eva, if I ruin your face, do you think your Kal will still like you?” Isabel pulled out a fruit knife and held it close to Eva’s face, making a show of it. Eva’s eyes nearly popped out. “You’re insane! Isabel, are you out of your mind?” Isabel gave her a sweet, almost playful smile. “Yep, I’m crazy. So I really might carve a flower on your face.” Eva, terrified, rolled off the bed and hit the floor, wincing in pain as she rubbed her rear end. “Don’t run! Come back! Didn’t you ask me to save you? How am I supposed to save you if you keep running?” Isabel slowly moved toward her, holding the fruit knife.
“Don’t come any closer!” Eva scrambled up and awkwardly raced toward the door. Thinking she could get away? No way! Isabel chased after her. Eva couldn’t get the door open in time and had to switch directions to keep running. Eva ran ahead, with Isabel chasing after her. “Argh! Please, no! Help! Kal, save me! Somebody help!” “Eva!” Kaleb’s eyes were blazing with anger, as if he wanted to tear Isabel apart. Just then, the medical staff showed up with a key and unlocked the door. Seeing this, Eva hurriedly stumbled over to Kaleb. He grabbed her and held her close, looking pained. “Eva, are you alright?” Eva kept crying.
“Kal, I—” “She’s fine,” Isabel cut her off. “Kaleb, did you see how energetic she was in the room? Massive bleeding? Hmph!” Isabel laughed with a sneer. “Have you ever seen someone who’s supposedly bleeding heavily looking so lively? If you still can’t see what’s going on, then you’re not just blind. You know she’s faking it and you’re going along with her act.” Kaleb was taken aback. He’d been so worried about Eva’s safety that he hadn’t thought about it from this angle. He remembered her looking like she was about to die, barely able to speak. Now, thinking about how she’d been running around the room, he realized she was moving so fast that even he would have had trouble catching her. Seeing Kaleb’s expression change, Eva panicked inside. She then let herself collapse into his arms, like a leaf falling from a tree. Kaleb was doubtful, but when Eva fell in front of him, he instinctively caught her. Eva quickly went back to her weak act, saying in a faint voice, “Kal, I’m afraid We might not be able to save our baby. I’m so sorry.” Isabel sniffed the air, walked over to the bed, and lifted the pillow. She found two blood packs underneath, held them up, and stared at the shocked Eva.
“So this is the truth about the ‘massive bleeding’!” Kaleb was fixated on the blood packs in Isabel’s hand, then turned his angry gaze to Eva in his arms. Eva, shocked, swallowed hard and her tears started pouring. She looked devastated. “Kal, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have done this. But I couldn’t stand the thought of you marrying someone else. No matter what you believe, I can’t live without you. Sobs … Sorry, I’m so sorry!” Eva was crying her eyes out, but inside she was fuming at Isabel. How did she find those blood packs? They were leftovers from when she had been using them. She didn’t have anywhere else to put them, so she just shoved them under the pillow. Now Isabel had found them right in front of Kaleb. Seeing Eva crying so hard and hearing her say she loved him, Kaleb couldn’t bring himself to blame her.
“I’m the one who should apologize. I should have made a decision sooner and ended the engagement with Isabel. I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all this.” “I don’t blame you. I’ve never blamed you.” Isabel watched the scene quietly, thinking to herself, Isabel, this is the guy you once loved so deeply. A jerk who, even with a fiancée, was still thinking about someone else. It’s not worth it to die for someone like him. “Fine, I’ll let you have him.” Isabel took off her ring and waved it in front of Eva. “You always wanted this, right? Here you go.” Isabel said, flicking the ring so that it landed perfectly in the trash can. “Take your garbage with you.” Then, Isabel turned and walked out of the room without looking back. Kaleb watched her leave, seeing a side of her that was thin, defiant, and cold—nothing like the Isabel he used to know.
No matter what, she finally gave up. He never wanted to see her again. She was just not worth it! As Isabel left the hospital, everyone was staring at her. When she passed by a reflective building, she saw herself. She was in a torn wedding dress, and her makeup was a mess from all the struggling and crying. No wonder she was turning so many heads. At that moment, a man standing at the entrance of the city hall caught her attention. The man was stunningly handsome, exactly like in the photos. It was him—Xander Bennett, the global CEO of the Bennett Group! Her last task in her previous life was related to the Bennetts, but she got betrayed before she could finish it. She still had unfinished business as a Lone Wolf! Now that fate brought her face-to-face with him here, she had to complete this task.
She couldn’t let go of her perfect 100% mission success rate! With that thought, Isabel quietly made her way to the city hall. Xander was accompanied by a young man in a wheelchair. He looked somewhat like Xander, but while Xander had a sharp, chiseled look, the man in the wheelchair had a more refined appearance. She recalled that Xander had a younger brother named Samuel Bennett—so this must be him. What are the two brothers doing here? Before Isabel could figure it out, she heard them talking. “It’s already this late. I doubt the Perkins’s daughter is coming,” Samuel said, sounding unhappy.
“Grandma was so desperate for grandkids that she arranged this marriage before she died and insisted you had to get married this year or she’d never rest in peace.” Xander frowned, his dark eyes reflecting a deep, thoughtful look. “It’s normal if she’s not coming,” Xander said. “After all, I never show up at any public events. People say I’m like a ghost, brutal and bloodthirsty, and that I’m a middle-aged man with a receding hairline. Who would want to marry me?” “I would!” Isabel stepped out from her hiding place and looked at Xander. “I’m willing to marry you.”