HE’S TEN YEARS YOUNGER; MY SECRET HUSBAND

NYRA

My life had been harsh, silent, and filled with streams of endless despair bottled up inside my heart, hidden under the disguise of a smile no one could see.

But one thing was certain!

Despite the ache that had lived in me for years, today felt different. A strange warmth bloomed in my chest because I was getting married.

“Wow… It’s beautiful. Thank you, Kathy,” I whispered, flashing a smile as soft as silk. She’d turned me into a masterpiece… one that would leave jaws dropping the moment I walked in.

It was my wedding. My moment. Nothing could’ve felt more deserved than today.

Or so I thought. Turns out, joy is easier imagined than lived.

Somehow, the universe had other plans… snatching away the last crumbs of happiness I’d tucked away like treasures in a cookie jar.

“Hmm, not badddd,” I stretched the last word out like a rubber band, squealing at my appearance that stared at me through my reflection. “It's so perfect!”

I twirled like a doll on display, perfect, polished, and maybe… hollowed.

My eyes lit up, and my lips curved into a smile, satisfied and impressed by everything.

“Oh my gosh, you look so pretty.” Zarina's voice came, pulling me out of my funny daydreaming.

“Girl you look so breathless. Draven is gonna melt away like ice when he sees his bride.” she squealed.

I blushed hard.

Red patches of color were beginning to form around my cheeks. Her words were getting me all mushed inside.

“You really think so…. Babe?” I asked, eyes raised in search of honesty. At least, it was more convincing than what my thoughts were. “I feel nervous and worried today, Zarina. Don't know why.”

Zarina laughed, her hands clutching my chin in admiration like it had some kind of fairy dust sprinkled on my face, “Probably because you can't wait to get fucked… tonight,” she whispered that last part in a low tone, but loud enough for the walls to hear.

I gasped, eyes bulging out of the socket like it was gonna fall out anytime soon. “Zar… you're unbelievable. You know that.”

“Whattt! But it's true, Nyra. Draven is gonna drool all over you… tonight. Like! Girl… have you seen yourself in the mirror?” she hollered, revealing her crooked smile.

Zarina's laughter echoed, but something inside me didn't laugh back. A chill crept up my spine, I forced a smile, “Have you ever been serious before, Zar? I'm telling you, something feels off. I feel really nervous today,”

It felt strange.

“Hey! Hey! Look at me, Nyra.” She paused, her fingers involuntarily moved my glammed face towards her brown chestnut eyes. “Remember back in college, when you and I went for our first swimming competition, and you were feeling really nervous because you thought those looser-ass girls were a better match than you?”

“Yeah,” I muttered to her question.

She went on.

“I told you that you were gonna win this. And you did,” she exhaled. “Everything is fine… don't worry. Draven loves you, and I know you love him too. This is a first for you, probably why you think… everything could go wrong.”

“Everyone is here to celebrate your special moments. Even your dad and mom. You’ve got this, Nyra. Text me at night… after the wild sex between you too,” she laughed hysterically. Her smile had switched into a grin.

“You know what… get out” I rolled my eyes not without pushing her out of my room.

Silly girl!

Maybe she was right. I guess I was being too nervous for nothing.

Kathy, my makeup and hair stylist, had already left the bride’s room. Now it was just me… alone in my world, daydreaming about a place called freedom, until the moment came to walk the altar.

“Soon, all these will be over,” I breathed out, my eyes closed, wandering into thin air.

A message popped open on my phone screen, bringing me back to the harsh reality of life.

“Huh? Who could this be?” I gazed over the screen, glowing on my face with no identity on it.

The content inside the message showed: “There is a very big surprise waiting for you… Inside his room.”

“DRAVEN.”

I furrowed a brow, staring hard at the harmless message, but inside it held a ticking time bomb disguised as a whisper.

My heart fluttered at the message, but something about it felt… off. Still, I wanted to believe. I needed to. So I went.

His dressing space was smaller than mine, but it pulsed with style… intoxicating, sharp, unmistakably him. I stared at his sculpted back, rigid as a marble wall. Draven stood tall in a tailored black leather suit, his presence amplified by crimson shoes that gleamed like warning signs.

He was tall, his loosely curled blonde hair catching the light with effortless charm. A gold watch clung to his strong wrist, which summed up his sophisticated appearance that had long been kept beneath the surface.

“Draven!” I called; my voice was low and soft. I walked inside his classy space without knocking. My steps were invisible like a ghost. I wanted to be one step ahead, surprising him just as he wanted to.

My hand was about to reach his stern shoulder, when his voice broke through the silence, low, deliberate, and impossible to ignore.

“It’s finally here. A perfect time to get the position I’ve always wanted at my dad’s company. She has no absolute idea of what my plans are… trust me. It’s like killing two birds with one stone.”

He kept talking, each word colder than the last, like a script rehearsed for deception.

“No! Alfred, just trust me. You’re the only one I love… not Nyra. She’s just a bait in my plan; once the wedding has been sealed, and certification signed, Nyra will be discarded without even realizing it, and you and I will make a toast to it. I’ll come see you later at night. Same place, same time, bye… love you.”

My feet felt cold!

Words clung to my throat, refusing to surface. Each step away from his room felt heavier than the last. I wanted to scream, to expose him right there, but I swallowed the urge. He was caught. And he didn’t even know it yet.

“Everyone’s waiting, Nyra,” Zarina’s voice broke through the quiet as I wiped away the tears that refused to fall. She stepped closer, brushing my damp cheek with her thumb. “I’m so happy for you. Finally, you’re going to be a Langford.”

She had no clue. Only if she knew.

Sadly! I was going to break everyone’s heart, including mine.

There he was…waiting for me on the altar, smiling so charmingly. My stomach stirred at his deceitful sight. I didn’t want to be here anymore.

“You look so beautiful, Nyra,” His eyes lit up at me, his white set of teeth revealed in the open. Now I stood opposite Draven. The hall was silent… graveyard silent. Every guest watched us like mannequins behind glass, posed for admiration, waiting to be claimed.

I stared at the priest with patience, waiting for him. My gaze drifted back to the man I was meant to spend forever with and to my parents’ faces, glowing with pride, watching their only daughter about to be whisked away into a dream they believed was mine.

“Nyra! It’s now or never”, I whispered to myself, the words slicing through the storm inside me like a battle cry.

“Do you, Nyra Kingswell… take Draven Langford to be your lawfully wedded husband and to share all your future with him as his wife and forever partner?

“NO!”

I turned to the priest with a bold face. Echoing the same word I had said earlier, just in case he didn’t hear the first time. “No! I’m sorry, I can’t marry him.”