Chapter 3

The attendees clapped unenthusiastically.

“Wonderful! Now it is time for the wedding feast!” My uncle announced.

I could not help but see him with resentment. Feasts take a long time to get organized and Gregory mentioned my uncle talked about me in his letters, how long had he been planning this marriage? It had to be at least a few months, which meant he knew for a while that this was coming and yet he never told me anything, he caught me off guard and gave me no time to prepare for this. Today I woke up thinking it was going to be just a regular day and now I was married to a king! All because of my uncle’s cruel silence. He could have warned me about his plans but he never said a word.

Gregory offered me his arm to lead me to the dining hall. I took it because I didn’t know how to reject it, he was my husband now, it was expected for us to walk together.

We got to the dining hall, where the enormous rectangular table was already set to receive us. Dozens of mouthwatering dishes were waiting for us. My stomach rumbled when I saw the different dishes laid on the table, due to the commotion I had completely forgotten to eat, and now my body was complaining about it.

Gregory and I took a seat next to my uncle and aunt. The rest of the attendees sat around us. Gregory’s knights chatted cheerfully among them while Anthony had a frown on his face and remained quiet.

Everyone started to eat, Gregory did not pay much attention to me, he was busy talking to my uncle, Kendalia listened to both attentively. The knights had their own conversation, they looked at me from time to time with curiosity, trying to learn something about their new queen. The only ones quiet were Anthony and me. I knew my cousin was upset, but not as much as I was. I had just married a cold and selfish man, who looked at me like property, I felt miserable and sick. The worst part was that I couldn’t stop thinking about his kiss, the tender way his lips touched mine, how he tasted, and the pleasant sensation I experienced was burning the back of my mind.

Once the hunger subsided a bit I stopped eating and pushed my plate away. I was overwhelmed by emotion and I feared that if I ate too much I was going to get sick.

“You should eat, tomorrow at dawn we will leave for my kingdom and the journey is long. You are going to need all of your energy,” Gregory whispered to my ear.

It was the first time he spoke directly to me. Feeling his breath over my skin sent a chill down my spine.

“So soon?” I asked, terrified, things were happening too fast. “But I won’t have time to pack,” I said nervously, I did not care at all about packing, I just wanted to see if there was a way to postpone our departure.

Gregory sneered at my remark.

“That is not a thing you should worry about, you won’t be taking anything with you, Addison. Whatever you may need, you are going to get it in my kingdom,” he said as if it were obvious.

My throat tightened, I wasn’t even going to be able to take anything from home.

“Why not?” I inquired softly.

Gregory rolled his eyes as if he were tired of my questions.

“Because you are starting a new life and in order to do that you need to leave everything behind. You are a Dominis now. Stop asking silly questions,” he said in a rude tone.

I felt a sharp pain of loss. I wasn’t going to take anything with me, not even my last name. I was a Dominis now.

Suddenly, the doors opened and Edward and Andrew appeared under the doorframe with frowns on their faces. Somebody had told them what was happening, probably one of the servants in the castle. Part of me felt glad to see them, I needed their support more than I needed air, but I was also frightened by what they could do and my uncle’s reaction to it.

Without thinking about it, I stood up from my chair to run towards them, maybe if I spoke to them first they would not make a scene that could enrage our uncle. But I was unable to move, my husband was clasping my arm.

“What do you think you are doing?” He inquired with his eyes narrowed.

“Those are my brothers, I need to talk to them,” I explained to him.

“If they want to talk to you, they ought to approach the table. You are the wife of a king now, you should act like it,” he said in a calm yet firm tone.

“Please, they are my family and they don’t know what happened,” I whined. “I have to speak to them.”

“I am your family now,” Gregory reminded me.

Kendalia rolled her eyes as her lips mutter the words “I told you so.”

While Gregory was reminding me of the new bond we had, my uncle stood up and walked towards his nephews. I could not hear what they were saying since they were practically whispering, I just saw my brother’s disgruntled facial expression. I observed them from a distance feeling impotent. Anthony decided he didn’t want to be a witness anymore, so he joined their conversation. While no one would have dared to defy the king’s decision, the three of them were evidently displeased with what was happening, I could see it in their faces and their moves. Andrew’s eyes found mine, they conveyed how confused and lost he felt about this.

Desperate to join them, I turned to my new husband.

“Please, let me go to them. Let that be my wedding present,” I begged.

Surprise crossed Gregory’s face like lightning, then a hint of a smile appeared instead. His grip around my arm loosened.

“Do not take long,” he said.

I hastily walked towards my brothers. As soon as I was within reach, Andrew took my hand in his and squeezed it.

“What is happening? Are you all right?” He inquired with a worried expression on his face.

“How could you marry someone without telling us?” Edward asked me looking concerned.

My uncle glared at me, causing his threat to come to my mind word by word. I could not say the truth to my brothers, that I was forced, that I did it for them. Those facts were only to be known by me and the king of Lerene.

I took a deep breath. The time to lie to them had come.

“I am really sorry, everything happened so fast. King Gregory was impatient to get married and he refused to wait… our uncle made me realize that it was an opportunity I could not waste,” the words felt like poison coming out of my mouth.

King Adolf nodded as I spoke, satisfied to see that I was helping him deceive them as he wished. Anthony twisted his mouth into a grimace, he looked disappointed in me, as if I should have known better and not accepted the proposal without my sibling’s knowledge, he had no idea his father had threatened me to do so, he believed my lie, that I willingly agreed to this marriage. Antony didn’t know me very well, so he accepted my words as the truth. My brothers, on the other hand, knew me better than I knew myself and I immediately could see in their faces that they were not buying my account of the facts. I had to get better at lying.

Andrew squeezed my hand once more. “Are you sure you are fine?” He whispered.

I nodded softly to calm him down.

“I am happy with this choice,” I lied as best as I could.

“Now that everything is clear, why don’t you join us for the celebration? Come! Join the feast!” My uncle said cheerfully. “This is a happy day for our family!”

My stomach churned at his happy tone. He was a monster, just as the man he forced me to marry.

Edward and Andrew were very clever young men, they knew I was lying, but they also realized that I was lying for a reason and decided not to make a scene until they figure out what was really happening.

My brothers joined us at the table. They greeted Gregory with cold but impeccable manners, they resented him, that was clear, but they didn’t want to cross the man who had the life of their sister in his hands, so they acted politely.

A few hours went by, I was unable to speak to my brothers. Gregory remained at my side the whole time.

“I think it is time for us to go to bed,” Gregory announced almost at midnight.

“Of course, you must be exhausted and you are probably eager to spend time alone with your bride,” my uncle said with a creepy grin on his face.

My heart sinked to my stomach, until then, I had not even thought about the wedding night. Gregory took my hand in his and kissed it gently, then his eyes fixed on me as a smile appeared on his face.

“Yes, I am,” he muttered.