Serpentine Apotheosis

Sinead Bell is a descendant of Echidna, her face covered in hard scales. In her past life she eloped with Jonathan, a devoted follower of the Crystal Emperor, and on their wedding day he cut out her heart, calling her cursed and using her Blood of Essence to pave the way for his true love Anna's return. Now time has wound back to one week before the wedding, and in a rundown temple a nameless deity awakens her divine power, offering her a choice: shed her scales and live an ordinary life, or give up love and ascend. She chooses apotheosis.

But her scales must fall before she gains the power to face Jonathan, so she must hide her hatred and play the loving bride. At the party, Jonathan's friend Sam Sunderland and the hostesses mock her face, and outside the door she overhears the truth: Jonathan only married her for the Blood of Essence in her heart, and Sam suggests a bag over her head would do. Swallowing her rage, she smiles and agrees to a family dinner, while her parents, once humiliated by the Perry household, wait unknowingly at home.