they calculated everything

Pearl’s P.O.V.

“Ms. Pearl Nickelson, do you, in the name of God, take Mr. Arthur Froste as your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish and obey, until you part by death?”

The words echoed around me.

But they didn’t reach me.

My eyes, hidden behind the veil, were unfocused. I didn’t know where I was looking… or what I was hearing.

Everything felt distant.

Muffled.

The only sound that truly registered was the howling of the wind inside my head.

“Ms. Nickelson?”

Someone called again in a bit of a loud voice this time.

God!!!!

It was really happening.

If someone had told me yesterday that I would be standing at the altar with a man who was still mourning his dead wife—who died three years ago—and that I would be nothing more than a means to save his son…

But not only was I standing in front of that man…

I was marrying him.

And the worst part?

I chose to trust him instead of the family with whom I spent all my life and believed that the whole world could go against me, but they would never betray me.

“Ms. Nickelson, do you take Mr. Arthur Froste as your husband?” The officer asked me again.

“Pearl. Get a grip on your emotions, sis. You still have me. You are not alone.” Sapphire whispered in my ear from behind.

“I do,” The words left my lips automatically, with no emotion; distant and hollow.

Sapphire’s hand on my lower back trembled. My sister was still enraged, but I asked her to trust me.

Just like Arthur asked me to trust him.

“Mr. Froste, please put the ring on Ms. Nickelson’s finger.” The officer requested Arthur Froste in a cheerful voice, but it sounded like a slap on my face.

It was when I slowly lifted my eyes. His dark hazel eyes were still cold and detached, as if he weren't attending his wedding but a funeral.

His face was completely blank as if he weren’t on earth.

My hands were trembling hard. I couldn’t muster the courage to lift my hand.

He slowly raised his hand toward me and took mine.

The cold touch of his fingers made me shiver hard.

This was it. There was no way back now.

The tears were now hanging at the base of the eyelashes, but I couldn’t cry.

The cold metal of the ring burned my skin there, but I endured it.

Everyone clapped, but the excitement and happiness were missing in their claps.

“Ms. Nickelson, please put in Mr. Froste’s finger.” The officer requested me in the same cheerful voice.

I took a deep breath and slowly moved towards Sapphire.

She produced the ring in front of me. This was different from the ring that I chose for Jack. This was just a plain platinum band.

Arthur was still holding my hand, and for some unknown reason, my nerves relaxed a bit.

I barely registered when Arthur suddenly steadied my hand.

His grip was firm.

Controlled.

He helped me take the ring.

Then raised his hand toward me.

Every movement felt mechanical…..Scripted.

As if we were both trapped in something neither of us could stop.

I slipped the ring onto his finger.

Still staring at him.

Still trying to understand—

Vera wasn’t that close to me, but our whole family knew how deeply they were in love.

Everyone called Vera a blessed woman because of Arthur’s devotion towards her.

I saw that in Vera’s last days.

I watched Arthur sitting beside her for hours, holding her hand tightly.

He was a practical person. He accepted his fate without showing vulnerability, but we all knew that he never let any other woman come close to him after Vera's demise.

He refused this arrangement.

And yet—

He agreed.

“Just trust me. I promise you that this will be the last thing that I will ask you to do against your will.”

His words echoed in my mind.

Somehow, I trusted him. I still don’t know why, but I trusted him over everyone.

“Now the groom may kiss the bride.”

My entire body froze.

My breath hitched.

For a moment—

My heart stopped beating.

Arthur’s hand tightened around mine.

And my pulse spiraled out of control.

Kiss?

If it were Jack…. Maybe I could have accepted it with a smile, but Arthur?

I looked up at him through tear-blurred vision.

He stepped closer, slowly, deliberately, still holding my hands, but face blank and eyes distant.

My body trembled uncontrollably.

My breathing turned uneven.

I tightened my grip on his fingers.

Terrified.

Completely unprepared.

And then—

I felt it.

His lips.

Soft.

Brief.

On the top of my head.

My body jolted hard when I felt Arthur’s lips at the top of my head.

Not my lips.

Not even my cheek.

Just my head.

A breath left my lips.

Sharp.

Relieved.

My body went weak instantly.

Relief flooded through me so suddenly that it almost hurt.

He finished the ceremony without turning it into a joke.

As he promised, he protected me.

My knees gave out.

I collapsed on his chest.

His strong arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me onto his chest.

A small whimper escaped me again.

I was still hidden behind the veil.

No one could see my face.

“My wife is exhausted and needs rest. Please enjoy the feast. I’ll join you shortly.” Arthur’s calm and controlled voice cut through the room.

“What happened? Is she okay?” I heard Mom’s worried voice.

I closed my eyes.

I didn’t have the strength to respond.

“Should she be?” Arthur replied, his tone cold enough to silence everyone.

Before I could process anything—

His arm slid beneath my knees.

And suddenly—

I was in his arms.

He lifted me effortlessly.

I wrapped my arms around his neck instinctively, hiding my face in the crook of his neck.

He walked steadily, and I was glad that he was taking me away from all the chaos.

“They calculated everything, Pearl.” His voice broke through my thoughts.

“What…?” I whispered, confused by his statement.

He didn’t stop walking.

“It’s your ovulation period.”

My breath caught.

For a second—

I didn’t understand.

“Do you understand what that means?” he continued. “Why do they want you to consummate this marriage tonight?”

My mind struggled.

It clicked.

The timing.

The urgency.

The pressure.

Everything.

Why were they so adamant about marrying me tonight at any cost?

My heart slammed violently against my ribs.

No…

No, they wouldn’t—

But they did.

They did.

My fingers tightened against his collar.

If forcing me into this marriage was what I felt was the worst betrayal earlier, then what should I call this cruelty?

“What now?” I asked him in a trembling voice, my head still resting on his shoulder.

“Nothing that they planned. We will save Evan, but on our terms…. Whatever will happen, you will choose.” He replied to me in a firm voice.

What will I choose?????

“Rest now. You have had enough for today,” he ordered calmly, holding me safely in his embrace, and for the first time in the day, I relaxed.

------------------------

None of them noticed that at the farthest corner of the banquet hall, someone was watching everything with a cold gaze.

The hatred for both Arthur and Pearl was burning his gaze, but he kept on sipping the wine from his glass while watching them take vows and finishing the ceremony without any problem.

His phone buzzed in his pants pocket.

He took his phone out and put it to his ear.

“What now?” The person on the other side of the call barked angrily.

A sly and cruel smile crept onto his lips.

Arthur Froste – the man who ruined all his plans.

“He ruined the plan; he will pay the price.” The man replied, finishing the glass at the end.

"Jack is still critical, right?" he asked casually, but the cruelty was evident in his voice.