CHAPTER 2

KIMANI

The garden erupted into a low hum of disbelief, like bees disturbed from their hive.

“I will claim her.”

Those four words seemed to echo endlessly, leaving me stunned, rooted to the spot. I blinked, convinced I had imagined them, but when I turned, there he was, Alaric Walker.

The Alaric Walker.

Even through the blur of my tears, I recognized him instantly. He was taller in person, his presence overwhelming. Power clung to him like a second skin, making the air around him feel charged. He wasn’t just a man-he was a storm, walking straight toward me with deliberate steps.

“Do you trust me, Kimani?” His deep voice reached me again, softer this time, coaxing, as if it were just us two in the garden.

I couldn’t answer. My mouth opened and closed uselessly. My chest tightened, my pulse thundering in my ears.

“Kimani…” My father’s voice broke through, shaky and uncertain. I turned to see him staring at Alaric, eyes wide with shock. “Do you… know him?”

I shook my head quickly. “No, Papa. I’ve never even spoken to him before today.”

Zendaya stepped closer, clutching my arm. “Wait, wait, you’ve never met him? And he’s asking to marry you here? Just like that?” Her voice trembled.

Malik’s eyes darted between me and Alaric, his usual flamboyance gone. “Babe, this is crazy. You don’t even know him. Are you sure you want this?”

Denise whispered harshly, “Everyone’s watching. If you say yes, your whole life changes. If you say no…” Her eyes flickered toward the guests still whispering cruel things about me. “They’ll keep laughing.”

I swallowed hard, my throat raw. My chest heaved as I stared at Alaric’s hand, still extended, steady, patient. He didn’t look nervous. He didn’t look like a man making an impulsive decision. He looked… certain.

“Kimani.” My father’s voice cracked again. His eyes were full of pain and helplessness. “I just want you to be safe. If this is too much, we can walk away.”

But walking away meant leaving here humiliated, broken, and pitied forever. Jason’s betrayal would follow me. My name would be dragged through the mud before the night was over.

Alaric’s eyes locked onto mine, unreadable, but strangely… grounding. For the first time since the scandal erupted, I felt like I wasn’t drowning.

I took a shaky breath. My voice trembled as I whispered, “Yes.”

Gasps exploded all around us.

Alaric’s lips curved-not into a smile, but into something firm, assured. He clasped my hand, warm and solid, and turned to the officiant. “Continue the ceremony.”

The officiant sputtered, glancing nervously between us, then at my father. Papa’s shoulders sagged, but when his gaze landed on me—pleading, trembling—I nodded slightly. His jaw tightened, and he gave a small, reluctant nod.

And just like that… the ceremony went on.

“Do you, Alaric Walker, take Kimani—”

“I do,” Alaric answered without hesitation, his voice ringing clear.

The officiant turned to me. My legs wobbled, but Alaric’s hand squeezed mine, steadying me.

“Do you, Kimani, take Alaric Walker…”

My breath shuddered, but I managed to say, “I do.”

The crowd erupted again, some in disbelief, others whispering furiously. I don't blame them, this is probably the most intriguing wedding of the decade.

“You may now kiss the bride,” the officiant said, almost nervously.

Alaric stepped closer, towering over me. His dark gaze never wavered as he lowered his head. My lips parted in shock when his mouth brushed mine—brief, firm, but sealing a vow that had changed everything.

In one day, I lost my groom. And gained a husband I had never met.

The wedding ceremony was over. Now, I was actually glad I hadn’t planned a huge reception, because there was no way I could sit in a room full of people, smiling, while they whispered about the bride abandoned and reclaimed in the same hour.

Papa insisted on walking me back down the aisle, though this time my arm was linked not with Jason’s… but with Alaric’s. The contrast was startling. Jason had always held me like I might slip away at any second, as if commitment weighed him down. But Alaric’s grip was firm, grounding, commanding without being suffocating.

Every step felt like walking through fire. Heads craned. Phones clicked. Whispers followed us like shadows.

“She married him?”

“Of all people… Alaric Walker?”

“Do you think it’s a publicity stunt?”

I wanted to disappear, but Alaric walked tall beside me, completely unfazed, his expression carved in stone. He didn’t flinch at the gossip. Didn’t look around. Didn’t even blink. For a second, I wondered if he had staged this, if this entire thing was part of some secret plan.

When we reached the end of the aisle, Papa pulled me into a tight hug. His lips brushed my ear as he whispered, “Be careful, my princess. You don’t know him.”

I swallowed hard. “I know, Papa.”

He stepped back reluctantly, his face etched with worry, then turned his sharp gaze to Alaric. “Take care of her,” he said firmly, almost like a warning.

Alaric inclined his head once. “Always.”

And just like that, my father let me go.

The ride away from the ceremony was silent at first. The limo door closed, shutting out the crowd, and suddenly it was just the two of us. Me in my wedding gown, veil slipping, mascara smudged from tears. Him, flawless in his suit, watching me with unreadable eyes.

I fiddled with my hands in my lap, the silence pressing down on me. “Why… why did you do it?” I finally blurted, my voice cracking.

Alaric leaned back, his gaze steady. “Because you didn’t deserve what he did to you. And because you needed saving.”

My chest tightened. “You don’t even know me.”

“True.” His lips curved slightly, it was not a smile, but something close. “But I know weakness when I see it. Jason showed the world he was weak. I won’t let them think the same of you.”

I blinked at him, speechless. Saving my dignity? Protecting me from humiliation? Who did that in this world especially someone like him?

The car rolled to a stop. I glanced out the window, expecting a huge mansion, it was actually bigger than I expected that I held my breath.

The Walker estate loomed ahead. Massive. Secluded. Gilded gates opened slowly, and the limo drove inside.

Panic spiked through me. “Wait, are we… going there?”

Alaric turned his gaze back to me, calm, final. “You’re my wife now, Kimani. This is your home.”

My stomach dropped. My mind spun. Just hours ago, I was planning a honeymoon with Jason. Now, I was being driven into the fortress of a man I had never met until today.

And for the first time since the wedding, the weight of what I had done crashed into me.

I was Mrs. Alaric Walker.

The car came to a stop and Alaric stepped out first. I expected him to keep on walking but he turned around and bent, carrying me out of the car. "You don't have to carry me." I told him.

"I know of a tradition where you have to carry your newly-wedded wife over the threshold of the house." he replied and kept on walking.

He carried me as though I weighed nothing, his stride confident, unhurried. My arms instinctively clutched his shoulders, the solid strength of him both unsettling and strangely reassuring.

The Walker estate was even more imposing up close, arched windows, marble pillars, and carved iron doors that looked like they belonged in a palace rather than a home. The staff lined the entrance, silent and composed, though their eyes widened ever so slightly as their employer strode past them with a bride in his arms.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. They all knew this wasn’t planned. They all knew I was not supposed to be here.

When Alaric finally crossed the threshold, he paused briefly, his voice calm but commanding as he addressed the butler who had hurried forward.

“Prepare the east wing for Mrs. Walker.”

The title jolted me like a slap. Mrs. Walker. That was me now.

The butler bowed quickly. “At once, sir.”

Alaric continued walking, his expression unreadable as he carried me through grand hallways lined with chandeliers and oil paintings of ancestors whose eyes seemed to follow me. My nerves spiked.

“You can put me down now,” I whispered, my voice small in the cavernous silence.

He glanced down at me briefly, and for the first time, I thought I saw the faintest flicker of amusement in his dark eyes. “You’re not a burden, Kimani. You’ll learn that I don’t do things halfway.”

I bit my lip, unsure how to respond. Every word from him felt deliberate, weighted. He didn’t just say things—he declared them.

At last, we reached a set of double doors. He pushed them open with one hand, still holding me effortlessly, and stepped inside a room so vast it could have been a hotel suite.

He finally set me down on my feet. My legs wobbled a little, and I steadied myself by gripping the edge of a velvet armchair.

“This will be your room,” he said simply, his tone final, as though no argument could exist. “If you need anything, the staff will attend to you. You’ll have privacy here.”

I stared at him, confused. “So… we’re not…?” My cheeks burned as I stumbled over the words.

His gaze sharpened, reading me too easily. “You’re my wife, Kimani. But I’m not Jason.” His voice lowered, cool and certain. “I won’t take what isn’t freely given.”

Relief rushed through me so strongly I almost sagged into the chair. At least he wasn’t expecting me to… to perform as his wife tonight.

Still, questions clawed at me, too many to hold in. “Why me? Out of everyone—you don’t even know me. Why would a man like you do something like this?”

He studied me for a long moment, his silence heavier than words. Finally, he said, “Because sometimes, one choice defines everything. I made mine today.”

And with that, he turned toward the door.

Panic fluttered in my chest. He was just going to leave me here? In this castle of strangers?

“Alaric!” I called impulsively.

He paused at the doorway, his tall frame framed by the golden light of the hall.

“Thank you,” I whispered, my voice trembling.

For a heartbeat, something softened in his expression, almost imperceptible. Then he inclined his head once, firmly, before disappearing into the hallway.

The doors shut with a quiet click, and I was left alone in a world that wasn’t mine, wearing a gown that no longer felt like it belonged to me.

In less than a day, I had gone from bride-to-be to abandoned… to wife of the most powerful man in the city.

And I had no idea what tomorrow would bring.