Chapter Four: Our One Night 

I spent most of my wedding pretending I wasn't terrified.

The fake smile on my face must have been convincing enough because nobody questioned it,guests toasted us, cameras flashed, and champagne flowed like water.

Everyone kept gushing about what a perfect couple we made. I just smiled, nodded, and played my part. Inside, I felt like an actress who had been thrown on stage without a script.

The ceremony itself passed in a blur,one second I was standing at the altar, and the next, the priest was saying the words husband and wife,my heart stopped.

Not from romance, but from sheer terror,it was suddenly very real.

Jason Crane was my husband.

By the time the last guests finally started leaving, a deep, heavy exhaustion had settled into my bones,, all I wanted was silence and a chance to breathe.

The elevator ride up to his penthouse felt suffocatingly intimate. For the first time all day, we were completely alone,no parents, no reporters, no corporate expectations. 

Just us.

The silence stretched,I stared intently at the glowing floor numbers, doing anything to avoid looking at him, my pulse was embarrassingly loud in the quiet car.

A soft chuckle broke the air.

I blinked and looked up, Jason was watching me really watching me,not with his usual polite, formal mask, but with genuine amusement.

"You look like you're about to faint, Serenity."

Heat rushed straight into my face,I let out an awkward laugh. "Is it that obvious?"

A slow smile tugged at his lips. "I'd have to be blind to miss it."

I groaned, burying my face in my hands,

Jason actually laughed, the sound caught me completely off guard. It wasn't cold or intimidating like the version of him on the news, it was warm and comforting. 

For a second, he looked less like the ruthless billionaire everyone feared and more like a regular man trapped in a crazy situation.

The elevator doors slid open, and we stepped into the penthouse,my breath caught, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the New York skyline, the city lights glittering endlessly below the place was stunning, luxurious, and completely cinematic, it made me feel incredibly out of place.

Jason loosened his tie, sliding the silk fabric from his collar,the casual movement drew my eyes, and my heart gave a sudden, traitorous kick ,I snapped my gaze away, but it was too late.

He noticed,the amusement returned to his eyes. "Relax. I don't bite unless you want me to."

My face burned hotter. "I am relaxed."

His eyebrow lifted, clearly not buying the lie but he didn't push. Instead, he walked toward the kitchen. "Are you hungry?"

"A little," I admitted.

Ten minutes later, we were sitting at the kitchen island eating ham sandwiches. It wasn't exactly the lavish wedding night I’d expected, but I secretly loved it. 

The simplicity felt real,no cameras, no performances, just food and conversation.

The safe, easy topics faded into longer, deeper discussions. I found myself laughing not the polite, forced laugh I’d used all day, but a real, belly-aching laugh.

Jason stopped and just stared at me, his dark eyes softened in a way I hadn't seen before.

"What?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"You laugh differently when you're comfortable," he murmured, his gaze locked onto mine. "It suits you."

My breath hitched,the observation felt intensely intimate like he’d actually been paying attention to me.

 A strange, dangerous warmth bloomed in my chest.

"You spend a lot of time hiding behind a wall, don't you?" he asked quietly.

My fingers tightened around my glass,the accuracy of his words cut right through me. 

"Occupational hazard when you grow up in my family."

Jason frowned. "Because of your sister?"

I let out a bitter whisper of a laugh. 

"Sloane is the masterpiece. I'm just a rough draft."

"People are idiots," Jason said, his voice suddenly turning dark and protective. "I've met your sister, Serenity, she's a hollow performance. You're real."

Something in my chest completely melted. He wasn't saying it out of pity, he sounded genuinely annoyed on my behalf ,it was a feeling I had never experienced in my entire life. 

Someone was taking my side,we moved to the living room, sitting close on the leather sofa while the city glowed outside,the atmosphere shifted, growing heavy with a sudden, pulsing tension. 

The easy conversation died down, replaced by a charged silence.

My heart hammered wildly against my ribs as Jason shifted closer,his eyes dropped briefly to my lips, and every nerve ending in my body instantly woke up.

Slowly, he reached out, his knuckles and gently brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face. 

The touch was so tender it made my throat ache,nobody had ever handled me like I was something precious.

"You're beautiful, Serenity," he whispered, his deep voice wrapping around me in the dark room.

Tears pricked the backs of my eyes, and I looked down, unable to hold his intense gaze.

 "Don't say things you don't mean, Jason."

His fingers caught my chin, gently tilting my face back up to his. "Look at me," he commanded softly. "I don't say things I don't mean, I wish you could see yourself the way I see you."

My heart broke a little in that exact moment not from pain, but from a terrifying, beautiful surge of hope,the kind of hope that makes a woman fall completely.

For the first time since this arranged marriage was announced, I stopped seeing Jason Crane as a business contract.

 I saw him as my husband, when his lips finally met mine, everything else vanished.

The kiss started slow, hesitant, before deepening into a desperate, burning hunger that left me breathless,the distance between us evaporated.

 Every touch was electric, a silent confession of a desire we’d both been trying to fight for months.

For a few hours, the outside world ceased to exist,no parental pressure, no shadow of my sister, no expectations, just the heavy, intoxicating heat of his body against mine.

Lying together afterward in the dark, I rested my head against his bare chest, listening to the steady, reassuring rhythm of his heartbeat. 

His strong arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me impossibly close,I felt warm, protective and safe for the first time in my life.

A small, content smile touched my lips as my eyes grew heavy,for the first time in twenty-seven years, I felt chosen. I felt wanted.

Jason pressed a soft, lingering kiss to my forehead, his fingers gently tracing patterns in my hair.

"Goodnight, wife," he murmured into the dark.

I fell asleep thinking we actually had a chance.

I had no idea that across the city, the happiest night of my life was already being dismantled.

 I had no idea that Sloane Grayson was standing in a dark room, smiling down at a table full of engineered photographs.

And by the time the sun came up, the dream would turn into a living nightmare.