Her Unwanted Marriage | MikhAiah

Chapter 1

AIAH.

Walang mangyayaring maganda.

I swear, I never imagined my life would turn out this way. This wasn't a dream. This was my reality—living in a mansion, wearing a wedding ring I never wanted, and being married to a woman who didn't even want me.

The day Ara ran away from the altar was supposed to be the worst day of my life, but little did I know, that was just the beginning. Ang akala ko, it was going to be a temporary fix. Na it's just a stupid agreement. That I'd wear my sister's dress, take her place at the altar, and everything would go back to normal. Well, normal for them at least.

But it wasn't.

Waking up beside Mikhael Lim every morning felt like waking up in hell. Hell, because I could still feel the coldness of her absence. She wasn't herself—the woman I was supposed to call my wife didn't look at me like I mattered. The woman I was supposed to be in love with? She barely acknowledged I was even there.

I woke up alone in our shared room, the bed still cold from the night before. Mikhael never came home the night after the wedding. I don't blame her—who would want to sleep beside someone they didn't love, especially when that person was the replacement for their real love?

That morning, I rolled out of bed and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked exactly like Ara in that dress. The way my hair was done, the way the veil hung just right, it felt like I was living a lie. I felt like a shadow. I wasn't me anymore. I was only a substitute for someone else.

I pulled myself together and dressed in my usual corporate attire, the kind of clothes that were expected of me. I didn't want to wear them. I didn't want to live this life. But there I was, carrying the name Arceta—my father's name—with the weight of my family's reputation hanging around my neck like a noose.

I stepped out of the room, my heels clicking against the marble floors of our house. The silence was deafening. There were no servants bustling around, no family members to offer comfort. It felt like I was in a mansion full of strangers, even though I knew every inch of the place.

The worst part? Mikhael's presence—or the lack of it. Every time I passed by her office, I couldn't help but feel the coldness radiating from inside. I would hear her voice in meetings with other executives, firm and confident. But when it came to me? I never existed in her world.

She's angry at me.

I don't blame her. How could I blame her? After all, I wasn't the one she was supposed to marry. I wasn't the one she had spent years planning a future with.

I sat down at the dining table, alone. The plates were already set for two, but my eyes were trained on the empty seat across from me. Mikhael wasn't coming. Again.

"Good morning, Ms. Arceta."

Of course. Arceta pa rin ako. Dahil ayaw ni Mikhael na gagamitin ko ang last name niya.

I looked up to see one of the house staff walking past, offering a polite smile. I nodded, but it felt so… empty. Everything felt empty.

I noticed Mikhael's phone on the side so I took it and opened it and her Wallpaper appeared to me—a picture of her and Ara, from their past. I don't know why I kept looking at her phone even though I knew there was a possibility that I would see it, but I looked at it anyway.

I sigh, and there they were—Mikhael's arms around Ara's waist, both smiling like the world was them. Mikhael was a different class then. The Mikhael I married is a far cry from the one in that picture.

I swiped the screen off, closing the photo. Why did you leave her, Ara?

Was it really so bad that I had to pay the price for your escape? Was it really so wrong for me to try to make things right? I don't deserve this.

But here I was, stuck in this marriage with a woman who only saw me as a placeholder.

Mikhael doesn't even know the real me. How could she? All she ever wanted was Ara.

"Miss Arceta, pinapasabi po ni Ma'am Mikhael na ililipat daw po ang gamit niyo sa guest room." sabi nito na parang nag aalangan pa.

I looked up to see one of the house staff. I nodded, but it felt so… empty. Everything felt empty.

I picked up my phone again, scrolling mindlessly through texts I didn't care about. But one notification caught my eye—a message from Mama Jovy, my manager. She was one of the very few people who actually understood me, who still saw me as Aiah Arceta, not the 'replacement bride.'

08:45 A.M. Mama Jovy
> "Aiah, good morning! You have a photoshoot today at 2 PM. I'll meet you at the studio. I'll handle everything for you, just be there. You need to get out of this place for a while. You deserve it."

I stared at the message for a while. A photoshoot. I could use the distraction. I needed to get out of this house, to escape the suffocating atmosphere that weighed down on me every day. But I felt that familiar knot in my chest—did Mikhael even care? Would she notice if I left?

No. She wouldn't.

I quickly typed back to Miss Jovy, the only person who still treated me like I was human.

08:47 A.M
> "I'll be there. Thank you. See you later."

I couldn't explain it, but just reading her message made me feel a little lighter. At least someone still cared. At least there was still a world out there where I didn't have to be the person everyone wanted me to be.

I grabbed my bag, ready to head out. As I was walking out the door, I caught a glimpse of Mikhael's office from the hallway. Her door was half-open. I stood still for a moment, thinking about whether I should say something. But then, I realized something. She wouldn't care. She never would.

With one last glance at the room, I turned and walked away, knowing that for the first time in days, I was doing something just for me.

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