Chapter 2 - The Wedding Night

The hotel suite was silent, save for the steady tick of the antique clock on the wall.

I stood by the window, veil discarded, staring out at the glittering skyline. The city lights looked mocking, like a thousand eyes watching, waiting for me to fail. My heart hammered as I heard the soft click of the door locking behind me.

Adrian was here.

I didn’t turn when his footsteps approached. I felt them—the slow, deliberate rhythm of a man who owned every space he entered.

“You’ve been quiet all night,” his deep voice cut through the silence.

My fingers clenched the curtain fabric. “It’s… a lot to take in.”

A low chuckle rumbled from his chest. “Marriage tends to be.”

And then he was behind me. His warmth pressed close, his reflection towering in the glass. His hands slid over my waist, firm, claiming. I stiffened, my pulse spiking.

Don’t react. Don’t let him see you’re not her.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured, lips brushing the shell of my ear. The heat of his breath made me tremble. “More than I imagined.”

My breath caught. I had no idea what Alyssa was usually like with him—playful? Bold? Distant? Every response I considered felt like a trap.

So I stayed still. Silent.

Adrian’s grip tightened, his reflection smirking at me. “Strange,” he said softly, “you feel… different tonight.”

My blood ran cold. He knows.

But then he kissed my shoulder, slow and deliberate, as if savoring me. “Not bad. Just… softer.”

I exhaled shakily, relief and fear tangling inside me.

He turned me around gently, his dark eyes searching mine. For a moment, I thought he’d see right through me, rip the mask away. Instead, he traced his thumb across my bottom lip, gaze darkening.

“You’re my wife now,” he whispered. “That means no walls between us. No secrets.”

My knees weakened. If only you knew.

His mouth descended toward mine, capturing me in a kiss far more dangerous than the one at the altar. This one was slower, deeper, stealing the breath from my lungs. My hands trembled as they hovered helplessly at his chest, torn between pushing him away and clutching the fabric of his suit.

When his lips finally left mine, he pressed his forehead to mine, his voice low and rough. “You belong to me, Alyssa. Every breath. Every inch.”

My heart thrashed painfully. His obsession was clear, terrifying—and yet, a part of me ached under the weight of his words.

Because tonight, in his arms, I wasn’t Alyssa.

But I wasn’t Jannah either.

I was his.

For better… or for worse.

The room was dim, lit only by the golden glow of the bedside lamps. The silence felt thick, charged with something I couldn’t name, until Adrian’s touch broke it.

His fingers traced a path down my arm, slow and deliberate, sending shivers racing through my skin. He watched me like a predator savoring his prey—patient, but hungry.

I tried to steady my breathing. Stay in control, Jannah. Don’t let him notice.

But then his lips brushed against my collarbone, warm and unrelenting, and my control shattered. A soft gasp escaped before I could stop it.

He froze. His gaze lifted to mine, sharp and dark. “That sound,” he whispered. “I’ve never heard you make it before.”

Heat flooded my cheeks. I turned my face away, but he caught my chin firmly, forcing my eyes back to his.

“I want to hear it again.”

Before I could protest, his mouth claimed mine, deeper and hungrier this time. His tongue slid past my lips, coaxing mine into a dance I couldn’t keep up with. The taste of him overwhelmed me, intoxicating, and despite myself, a faint moan slipped free.

“There it is,” he groaned against my mouth, his grip tightening on my waist. “You don’t know what that does to me.”

My body betrayed me, arching closer to his as his hands roamed—over my back, down my hips, pulling me flush against his hard chest. My fingers, trembling, fisted his shirt as if clinging to sanity.

He pushed me gently onto the bed, his weight settling over me. Every inch of him was heat and dominance, pressing me down, claiming space I didn’t even know I had left to surrender.

“You belong here,” he murmured, lips trailing down my neck, marking fire along my skin. “Beneath me. With me.”

I bit my lip to hold back the sounds threatening to spill, but when his hand slid along my thigh, possessive and sure, a louder moan broke free.

Adrian’s eyes darkened, his expression raw. “God, Alyssa…” He kissed me again, rougher now, swallowing every broken sound I made. “I’ll never let you go. Never.”

My heart clenched painfully. He wasn’t talking to me. He thought I was her.

And yet… with every touch, every kiss, every whisper of obsession against my skin, I was falling deeper into a trap I couldn’t escape.

Because for the first time in my life, someone wanted me this way—even if it wasn’t really me.

His mouth trailed lower, tasting every inch of skin he uncovered. Each kiss burned hotter than the last, pulling sounds from my throat I never thought I was capable of.

“Adrian…” My voice trembled, half a plea, half a warning.

He stilled for a moment, lifting his head. His eyes locked on mine—dark, consuming, merciless. “Say my name like that again,” he demanded, his voice low and rough.

The way he looked at me—like I was his entire world—made my chest tighten. I whispered his name again, softer this time, and the growl that rumbled from his throat sent shockwaves through my body.

In one swift motion, he rid himself of the last barrier between us. The heat of his bare skin pressed against mine, his strength caging me beneath him. I gasped at the sensation, my body arching instinctively into his.

“You feel like fire,” he murmured, dragging his lips along my jaw. “And you’re mine to burn.”

When he finally entered me, the world shattered into fragments of sensation. I cried out, clutching his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin. The sharp sting melted into overwhelming heat, filling me, stretching me, consuming me.

Adrian groaned into my neck, his breath ragged. “Perfect. You’re perfect.” His pace was slow at first, deliberate, as though memorizing every reaction I gave him. Every gasp. Every moan.

I tried to silence myself, terrified that the wrong sound might give me away—but he wouldn’t let me.

“Don’t hold back,” he ordered, thrusting deeper, his voice ragged with desire. “I want to hear everything. Every sound you make belongs to me.”

And I couldn’t fight it. My body betrayed me, writhing beneath him, responding to his every move. The sounds spilled freely from my lips now—breathy moans, desperate cries, whispers of his name like a prayer I couldn’t stop repeating.

His lips found mine again, swallowing my voice as his movements grew faster, rougher, more consuming. His hands gripped me tightly, as if afraid I would vanish.

“You’ll never leave me,” he growled between kisses. “Do you understand? I won’t let you.”

Tears blurred my vision—not from pain, but from the unbearable weight of his words. He thought he was binding Alyssa to him. But in truth, it was me. Me he was claiming. Me he was breaking apart and piecing back together with every thrust, every kiss, every vow whispered against my skin.

When release finally tore through me, I cried out his name, my body trembling violently beneath his. He followed soon after, a guttural sound escaping his chest as he collapsed against me, his arms holding me as though I were the only thing keeping him alive.

For a long moment, there was nothing but the sound of our breathing, tangled and heavy in the silence.

Then Adrian whispered, low and possessive against my ear:

“You’re mine now, Alyssa. Forever.”

And as his arms tightened around me, I lay trembling, caught between guilt and forbidden bliss.

Because tonight, I wasn’t Jannah.

I wasn’t even Alyssa.

I was simply his.