Chapter one

Elena's POV

"Do you, Elena Vale, take Dorian Blackwood as your husband?" the priest asked as he stared at me.

I glanced at the man standing opposite me, my vision blurred by the veil my mother had chosen for my sister. She had worn a smile on her face when she made me wear it, but I had no choice. The word no sat at the tip of my tongue, but what came out was yes, the word my father and mother had carefully placed on my tongue after practicing it with me all morning.

The priest nodded before turning towards Dorian.

"And do you, Dorian Blackwood, take Elena Vale as your bride?"

Dorian's face darkened instantly, and his grip on my hands tightened. I winced, but that didn't stop him from pulling me closer, as if my pain meant nothing to him.

"I do," he gritted out, his words sounding like he was also being forced into this marriage. His jaw set, and his grip on my hands hurt even more.

The priest nodded after hearing Dorian's reply. His face remained blank, as if he had no idea this was a forced marriage. Even if he did, nobody could save me anyway.

"You may now kiss the bride," he continued, closing the book in his hands as he stared at us, waiting for us to seal our marriage with a kiss.

This was something I had never imagined, kissing my childhood crush. I was the invisible twin, the one he never saw. Lara, the golden child, had always been his first love.

My hands were shaking in his. I slowly closed my eyes, expecting his lips to touch mine, but the words I heard next made me freeze.

"We skip that part," he snapped, his voice cold and leaving no room for argument.

A bitter laugh almost escaped my lips. What had I expected? It wasn't as if I thought he would kiss me when he still loved my sister.

It was supposed to be him and Lara. Last night we couldn't find Lara anywhere, and at dawn my parents decided the marriage would go on without her. Both families were facing financial problems, and this marriage was supposed to bring them together. So I was the one they forced to take her place.

The guests started clapping. No one even seemed to care that my husband had just refused to kiss me. I forced a smile as I followed Dorian towards the reception hall. He walked ahead of me without even looking back to see if I was following him, making me lift my wedding dress so I wouldn't trip over it.

"Congratulations, Dorian," one of the guests said as he shook his hand. "You finally got married."

"Thank you," Dorian replied shortly.

The man turned to me, his eyes moving over my dress before settling on my face.

"And you must be Elena. I thought Lara was supposed to be the bride."

My smile almost disappeared, but before I could say anything, my mother quickly stepped forward.

"Lara had some personal issues to attend to, so Elena agreed to take her place."

Agreed?

I wanted to laugh at the word. Nobody had asked me if I wanted to marry Dorian. My parents had simply told me what I was going to do, and when I tried to refuse, they reminded me of everything I owed them, as if I had forced them to bring me into this world.

I had read every page of the marriage contract before I signed it. I was the only one in my family who ever read the fine print. It hadn't changed anything.

The man nodded and scratched the back of his head before moving away to greet another guest.

I followed Dorian to the table prepared for us, ignoring the whispers that followed me as I walked past the other guests.

"Imagine marrying your sister's boyfriend."

"I heard Lara disappeared the night before the wedding. What if something happened to her?"

"Or maybe she ran away. Who knows?"

I gripped my bouquet and kept walking. I wanted to tell them that I knew nothing about Lara's disappearance, but I knew nobody would believe me. To them, I was simply the replacement bride who had gotten what she wanted.

As I sat beside Dorian, I remembered the last time I had seen my sister, two days before the wedding. She had been in her bedroom, talking on a phone I had never seen before. The moment I walked in, she ended the call and quickly hid it inside her bag.

When I asked who she had been talking to, she told me to mind my business.

I hadn't thought much about it then, but now I couldn't help wondering if that phone had something to do with her disappearance.

"Stop staring at me."

Dorian's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I turned to him and realized I had been looking at him for too long.

"I'm sorry," I muttered.

He scoffed before reaching for his glass.

"Don't think that because you're wearing my ring, you have any right to interfere in my life."

I looked down at my hand. The ring felt heavier than it should have, and I suddenly wished I could take it off and return it to him. Before I could reply, my mother approached our table.

"Elena, smile. People are watching you."

I forced my lips into a smile, and she nodded in satisfaction before walking away. I hated how easily everyone expected me to pretend that I was happy.

Then the music suddenly stopped.

I looked up as the guests began turning towards the entrance. A woman stood there, her hair messy and her clothes wrinkled, with tears running down her cheeks. My breath caught in my throat.

Lara.

My sister was standing at the entrance, and for a moment, I couldn't understand what I was seeing. Everyone had been looking for her, and now she was here, just when the wedding was almost over.

Dorian stood up so quickly that his chair scraped against the floor.

"Lara?"

His voice was different from the cold one he had used with me. He sounded worried, almost relieved. But Lara didn't look at him. Her eyes were fixed on me.

"She did this to me!" she cried, pointing at me. "My own sister locked me up so she could steal my wedding!"

The guests gasped, and I felt my entire body go cold.

"Lara, what are you talking about?" I whispered.

She shook her head, crying harder as Dorian turned to me.

"Elena," he said, his voice low. "What did you do?"