My CEO Husband Can't Tell Faces Apart

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After my sister ran away from her wedding, I married the Face-Blind CEO in her place.

After another late-night sex session, I was scrolling through my phone before bed when I came across a trending post:

[What should I do after discovering my wife deceived me?]

[I was supposed to marry her sister, but I can't recognize faces. She took her sister's place at the wedding and even gave me an adorable daughter.]

Someone angrily commented below:

[Deception is poison to a marriage! You must divorce her and make her pay!]

The poster stayed silent for a moment before replying:

[Divorce? That's not necessary... but punishment is still in order.]

I was so scared I couldn't sleep all night, terrified that Holden Stone would use ruthless methods to destroy me.

The next day, I nervously clicked on the update---

[This morning when I made eggs, I secretly burned my wife's portion a little and deliberately didn't arrange it into a heart shape.]

[Even though I know she's been cutting out sweets lately, I still added an extra half spoon of sugar to her milk.]

[When I showered, I also closed the door completely without leaving a gap for her to peek through.]

[This way, she should know I'm a bit angry, right?]

The moment I received the news that my sister was returning home, Holden Stone had me pinned against his lap, kissing me.

Because he'd caught me talking to the new male intern, he seemed jealous. Tonight's sex was particularly intense.

My voice was hoarse from begging for mercy, but he still wouldn't let me go.

When he carried me to the bathroom to wash up, I was exhausted, my legs trembling.

Fortunately, though Holden was clingy in bed, his aftercare was always thorough.

Within half an hour, I was back in the soft bed.

The man's strong arms wrapped around my waist, his voice hoarse with satisfaction.

As if mentioning it casually.

"Baby, do you remember what I hate most?"

My whole body stiffened.

I unconsciously recalled how when I first married him, Holden didn't like me.

On our wedding night, he threw a contract at me and coldly warned me.

"Automatic divorce after five years. By the way, I hate lies more than anything, so don't let me catch you deceiving me."

Remembering his expression and tone then, I couldn't help but tremble.

I carefully studied his expression and answered in a low voice.

"You hate... being lied to most."

Hearing my answer, Holden's lips curved slightly.

As if coaxing me, he murmured.

"Then baby, have you ever lied to me?"

Though his tone was gentle, I inexplicably detected a hint of danger in it.

Alarm bells ringing in my mind, I immediately leaned in, obediently kissed Holden's lips, and acted cute.

"I love you most of all. I could never lie to you!"

But the man didn't answer right away.

After a long silence that made cold sweat gradually seep down my back, Holden finally lowered his eyes and gave an emotionless "Mm."

Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.

After confirming Holden was asleep, I took out my phone.

I opened the text my sister had sent.

[Janelle, I'm coming home the day after tomorrow and won't be leaving again. Mom told me you married Holden Stone. Is this true?]

[When the Stone family proposed a marriage alliance back then, I refused.]

[I didn't expect them to still be so persistent. You and he have never even met---did someone force you to marry him?]

Looking at this string of questions, I sighed softly.

Yes, I had indeed deceived Holden.

Back then, our family had a cash flow problem. Only the Stone family was willing to help, but they had one condition.

My sister had to marry into their family.

Apparently, Holden had accidentally run into my sister speaking at an academic conference and immediately proposed a marriage alliance.

But my sister was devoted to her research and extremely averse to men. She refused without a second thought.

Growing up, my sister and I had always been closest. I couldn't bear to see her forced to marry someone she didn't love.

So that very night, I booked her a plane ticket and encouraged her to flee abroad to escape the wedding.

Then I suggested to my panicking parents:

"I found out Holden has severe face blindness. My sister and I look so similar---it'll be the same if I marry him instead!"

Desperate and with no other options, my parents accepted my proposal.

After marrying Holden, I lived in fear every day, terrified my lie would be exposed.

But whenever I thought about how my sister could have her freedom, it all felt worth it.

Lost in thought, my phone suddenly refreshed to show a trending post.

[What should I do after discovering my wife deceived me?]

[I was supposed to marry her sister, but I can't recognize faces. She took her sister's place at the wedding and even gave me an adorable daughter.]

My fingers froze. I stared at the post.

As if possessed, I turned to look.

In the moonlight, Holden was sleeping with his eyes closed, his profile refined and aloof.

I climbed out of bed and carefully went to the living room.

Only then did I click into the post.

The poster's description was brief, but the comment section exploded.

[Substitute bride? Aren't you the one who can't even recognize your own wife? The child is already born and only now you're asking what to do!]

[Besides, if she was a substitute bride, she shouldn't have any feelings for you. You've been married so long---didn't you ever find it strange?]

[Right, love and indifference are pretty easy to tell apart, aren't they?]

The poster, who had been silent the whole time, immediately replied to this comment.

[There's no way my wife doesn't have feelings for me. She loves me very much. If it weren't for my work, she wouldn't want to be apart from me for even a moment.]

[I believe she must have had her reasons for taking her sister's place.]

[Don't talk nonsense and try to drive a wedge between my wife and me.]

The comment section went silent for a long time.

Finally, someone slowly typed out a line.

[...Top-tier lovebrain. I've really seen it all now.]

The poster replied again instantly.

[Lovebrain? My wife does have a bit of that. She's beautiful and naive. I often worry about her being deceived by others outside.]

The comment section completely erupted.

[?? Mind-blowing... Are you sure the lovebrain is your wife?]

[It's obvious who the real lovebrain is! But since you posted this, you must want a solution.]

[Right, when it comes down to it, you were still deceived all these years.]

[Deception is poison to a marriage! You must divorce her and make her pay!]

This time, the poster stayed silent for a moment before replying.

[Divorce? That's not necessary... but punishment is still in order.]

After posting that response, no matter how much the comment section goaded him, the poster never replied again.

Looking at the poster's tone, I unconsciously bit my lip.

A ridiculous thought suddenly formed in my mind.

Both involved arranged marriages, both involved substitute brides, and this poster's word choices felt strangely familiar.

Could this post have been made by Holden?

At that thought, I immediately stood up.

I carefully pushed open the bedroom door. The room was very dark, and Holden was still sleeping.

Biting my lip, to completely dispel my concerns, I walked to Holden's bedside and picked up his phone.

In five years of marriage, I'd never checked Holden's phone. After all, he was famously aloof and self-controlled, never getting close to women.

Recalling the few passwords he commonly used, I quickly unlocked the screen.

Before clicking into the app, I hesitated for a few seconds.

The next moment, my wrist was caught.

A man's burning chest pressed against my back, his breath highly aggressive, his voice revealing no emotion.

"Baby, what are you doing?"

I bit my lip hard. My thoughts raced. In my panic, my mouth found an excuse without my control.

"My... my phone died, so I'm borrowing yours."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them.

What a terrible excuse. As if Holden would believe it.

Unexpectedly, the man was silent for a long time but ultimately said nothing, as if accepting my explanation.

Back in bed, my thoughts couldn't settle for a long time.

I didn't tell Holden that just before he woke up, his phone had received a notification.

It was a new comment from the forum.

[Why hasn't the poster replied? You still haven't said how you're going to punish your wife. You're not really going to divorce her, are you?]

So that poster really was Holden.

Not only did he know I'd deceived him by taking my sister's place, he was also planning to punish me for the deception.

Recalling how the business world had described Holden over the years---vengeful and ruthless---I couldn't help but shiver.

I was done for. I wouldn't survive tomorrow.

When I woke up the next day, Holden was already up.

Since we'd been married, he'd been a good husband and father. He even made breakfast by hand every day according to our tastes.

I walked to the dining table slowly, step by step.

I looked up at the man who was feeding our daughter breakfast with refined, elegant movements.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke softly.

"Holden, there's something I want to tell you..."

"Eat breakfast first."

Long fingers pushed a side plate in front of me.

Holden's expression was calm, as if he knew nothing about my deception.

I lowered my head and only then noticed the breakfast on the plate.

It was no different from what I usually ate---two slices of toast, a fried egg, and vegetables.

Even the mayonnaise had been thoughtfully spread for me.

Because of last night, I had no appetite.

I randomly stuffed a few bites into my mouth and was about to put down my fork.

When I looked up, I saw Holden staring at me with deep, meaningful eyes.

He raised an eyebrow ambiguously.

"You... didn't notice anything different?"

I froze, unconsciously thinking back to the taste of breakfast.

But a terrible thought surged in my mind.

Could Holden hate me so much that he couldn't even wait a day and directly poisoned my breakfast?

My back went cold. I asked tentatively.

"Should I have noticed something different?"

Holden was silent for a moment. The expectant look in his eyes dimmed.

He withdrew his gaze and answered as if it didn't matter.

"Nothing. I just wanted to casually ask how today's fried egg was."

I didn't understand, but I still answered immediately.

"Delicious. Your cooking skills keep getting better."

My intention was to please him a bit.

So when he settled accounts later, he might spare me.

But for some reason, Holden's expression darkened even more.

He stared at me somewhat resentfully.

Then looked at the plate in front of me.

I thought he was blaming me for not finishing breakfast.

I quickly picked up my fork and stuffed the remaining sandwich into my mouth.

While eating, I praised: "It's really good. I like it a lot."

Holden became even more strangely silent.

After a long while, as if finally accepting reality, he took our daughter's hand and walked out.

His voice somehow sounded a bit annoyed.

"Is that so? Since it's so good, I'll make it for you again tomorrow."

I stared at the man's somewhat dejected back, feeling a bit strange.

Holden... seemed angry?

But I clearly finished all my breakfast.

Men's hearts are really hard to understand.

After Holden left, I quickly took out my phone.

I opened last night's post.

Regarding what Holden said last night about punishment, the comments below were dense, but he hadn't replied to a single one.

It wasn't until a few minutes ago that he finally posted an update.

[I punished my wife a bit this morning, but she doesn't seem to have noticed. Was I not obvious enough?]

The comments immediately became lively.

[You punished her so quickly! You really are fast. Did you divorce your wife?]

[What are you thinking? The city hall isn't even open at this hour.]

[Based on last night's lovebrain comments, plus the fact that your wife didn't notice it was punishment... he probably just silently sulked, right?]

[It's not that serious. He probably just secretly looked at his wife a few times less.]

The comment section became more and more lively.

Holden stayed silent for a long time.

Then he first replied to the first comment.

[I said I won't divorce my wife. I swore an oath back then---even if I die, I'll be with her for life.]

[If there are any more comments trying to damage my relationship with my wife, I'll block you.]

After a pause, he replied to the comment about him sulking.

[Of course not. I'm a man of principle. I won't indulge my wife like that.]

[But is sulking useful? If it is, I can try it tonight and make sure she knows she was wrong.]

Someone in the comments was curious.

[How does the poster know your wife didn't notice the punishment? What if she knew but pretended not to because she felt guilty?]

This time Holden replied quickly.

[Because she kept smiling at me, making my heart beat so fast I didn't dare look at her much. That's definitely not the behavior of someone feeling guilty.]

[I understand my wife. She's so innocent and kind---she wouldn't fake things with me.]

Even though the comment section was already prepared, everyone collectively fell silent again.

Instead, Holden himself posted another comment.

[When I get home tonight, I'll definitely punish my wife severely and make her understand the consequences of lying to me!]

Looking at these words, my back inexplicably went cold.

After thinking it over, I still couldn't figure out what Holden's punishment this morning had been.

I instinctively wanted to pack my bags and run.

But thinking of the Stone family's influence throughout the country, I ultimately gave up and silently sat back down on the sofa.

Only one thought remained in my mind.

Tonight was my real death sentence.