Chapter 12

~ LENA ~

The day of the wedding arrived. My wedding day.

My wedding.

The words were strange, like something unreal my mind hadn’t fully caught up with yet.

A little over a week ago, I was a woman with a simple, boring life—a modest secretary with a routine that never changed. No boyfriend. No glamorous friends. Nothing special about my name or my future.

And now?

Now I was about to marry one of New York’s most eligible bachelors. I was the center of attention at a wedding so beautiful it felt like a dream.

A dream I’d had countless times as a little girl. Only this was better than anything my younger self could have ever imagined.

The ceremony was being held in the sprawling gardens of Hawthorne Estate, a historic property reserved for ceremonies that belonged in glossy magazines and modern-day fairytales.

The estate grounds looked like something from a royal ceremony. It was breathtaking. Perfect—too perfect for something that was a lie.

Grand floral installations spilled over in soft cascades of white and blush. The string quartet was tucked discreetly to the side, playing something soft and classical. White chairs were arranged with military precision. And the guestlist? It read like a registry of the world’s elite—names that commanded boardrooms and shaped headlines. CEOs, politicians…people whose names meant wealth and power.

And I was about to walk into the middle of it all.

My palms were damp around the bouquet, my fingers trembling as I stood, about to walk down the aisle that stretched before me like a river of ivory silk lined with flowers. Just then, the music changed, replaced by the bridal march. Instantly, every head turned towards me as though I were a queen about to walk in.

I didn’t feel like royalty. I felt like a secret dressed in white, a fraud about to walk down the aisle.

Breathe, Lena. Breathe.

My body refused to listen. Even after days of practicing, it still felt impossible. As the center of focus of so many eyes, it felt like the air had been stolen from my lungs.

Breathe, I continued to urge myself as I took my first step on trembling legs.

 Don’t faint. Don’t trip. Don’t look guilty. Smile.

Nathan stood at the end of the aisle in a perfectly tailored black suit, composed, looking happy, like a man who was finally getting exactly what he wanted. He was devastatingly handsome. From a distance, he looked like every dream I had ever whispered into the dark.

Focus, Lena. Focus on Nathan. Don’t look at the crowd. Just focus on him and keep walking.

Like a desperate prayer, I kept repeating the words in my head, even as the weight of hundreds of eyes pressed down on me. Each step on the aisle felt fragile, like I was walking on glass that could shatter at any moment. But I kept walking.

Much earlier, before the stylists arrived and before I allowed strangers to pin and sculpt me into perfection, I had called home. Being on the verge of panic, I knew the only thing that could calm me down was hearing my mother’s voice.

“Lena?” I could sense her frown the instant she heard my voice on the phone. “Mi amor, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Mamá.” Silently, I wiped away tears. “I’m just tired…exhausted. I had a busy week. And I miss you both so much.”

“Aw… Honey, we miss you too. You work so hard. You’ve always worked so hard.”

“I do it for you, Mum. You and Sofia.”

“I know. And I’m so very proud of you. Because of you, Sofia is going to be fine. She’s alive, Lena—and it’s all thanks to you.”

Alive. Sofia was alive.

Her life wasn’t hanging by a thread anymore. She was alive. Breathing. Recovering. Smiling again.

All because of this. All because of the choice I had made.

I held on to that thought like a lifeline.

My sacrifice wasn’t in vain.

The truth settled deep in my chest, heavy and grounding all at once. It didn’t erase the fear. It didn’t erase the guilt. But it gave it meaning. It gave me strength.

Now, I had to pay the price. See this through to the very end.

Even if I didn’t belong in this world. Even if I felt like an intruder draped in satin and diamonds that weren’t meant for me.

Sofia was alive. That had to be enough.

Now, as I walked down the aisle, I wondered if any of the guests could sense it. If they could tell something was wrong. Maybe something in my face, or my walk. Something that would give me away as an impostor.

I kept my eyes fixed ahead, refusing to look at them. I was afraid to—afraid that if I searched their faces long enough, I would see suspicion there.

Or worse—that someone would rise to their feet, their voice cutting through the music in objection.

“Stop! She’s not who you think she is! She’s an impostor!”

The thought made my stomach churn.

But no one stood. No one spoke. The music continued.

Julian stood by Nathan’s side as his groomsman. There was a subtle smile on his face as his eyes met mine. They were steady, calm, and reassuring.

You’re fine, they seemed to say. Just keep walking.

I was almost there, almost at the altar, when my eyes strayed to the side. I caught glimpses of faces I’d never seen before. Amongst them, I spotted Deborah and Ashley seated together in the front row with bright smiles. Deborah was dabbing tears in her eyes with a tissue. Ashley was mouthing the words, ‘You look beautiful.'

Her sudden change from hostile to friendly made me wonder if the happiness on their faces—hers and Deborah’s—was genuine.

Or was it merely a performance? The performance expected of them.

Finally, I reached the elaborately adorned floral arch where Nathan and Julian stood waiting. The entire garden fell silent as I took Nathan’s outstretched hand.

We were so close I could feel the warmth radiating from his body as he smiled at me. Close enough, I could hear the quiet exhale of breath he released as I took my place beside him.

The priest began. His voice rose steadily over the garden as he spoke of union, covenant, devotion, and lifelong promises. Words that sounded timeless. Sacred.

Forever.

My heartbeat pounded so loudly in my ears that I barely heard half of it. I was about to marry a man I didn’t truly know. A man who believed he knew me. A man who trusted me.

I felt sick repeating vows I didn’t know if I could keep—or for how long. Every word felt heavy on my tongue, and I trembled slightly, my palms slick with sweat.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

There it was—the line I couldn’t uncross. The moment the lie became legal.

Mrs. Blackwood. There was no turning back now.

“You may kiss the bride.”

Nathan’s hand on my waist pulled me close until there was no space left between us. Then his head dipped, his mouth claiming mine softly in a kiss that made the noise around us blur into silence.

Even though we were in front of an audience, he took his time. His lips moved over mine slowly, deliberately, with quiet possession, sealing the union and imprinting himself on me forever in a way no one could erase.

The kiss deepened, lingering like something dangerous. Like a slow, intoxicating drug I was already beginning to get addicted to.

I clung to it. For one reckless moment, I forgot why I was there. I forgot the contract, forgot the audience. I forgot who I really was.

It felt real. In that single heartbeat, I was Kimberly. A wife being claimed by her husband in front of the world. A woman exactly where she was meant to be.

I was completely lost in it until applause erupted around us, shattering the illusion. Warm laughter and cheering from the guests pulled us apart.

But Nathan didn’t step back immediately. His forehead remained close to mine, his breath warm against my lips as he smiled.

“Finally,” he murmured. “Mrs. Blackwood.”

The name settled over me like something heavy and irreversible.

“You’re mine now,” he whispered. “Forever.”

Forever.

It was the word every bride longed to hear—the promise of a lifetime, of unwavering devotion, of a love that would stretch beyond years and into old age. It was supposed to feel safe, certain, endless in the best way.

But standing there in his arms, with applause swelling around us and cameras flashing, the word didn’t feel romantic. It felt permanent.

And permanence was the one thing I could not give him.

Still, I forced a smile as we turned towards the crowd, letting the world and the man who loved me believe I could.