Chapter Three

The wedding passed in a blur, a hollow ceremony wrapped in gold and diamonds.

Angela stood before the altar, the weight of the gown dragging at her shoulders, the jewels on her head glittering like shackles instead of ornaments. She could hardly hear the priest’s words over the click and flash of cameras. Smiles surrounded her, strangers pressed congratulations into her hands, voices drowned in the rush of her pulse.

The only thing she felt with piercing clarity was Daniel’s hand, heavy on hers, steady and firm—like a shackle disguised as affection.

By the time they left the church, Angela felt like her body was no longer her own. She was a doll, painted, dressed, displayed, and passed from one set of hands to another.

The car ride was silent. Daniel sat beside her, immaculate as ever, his profile chiseled against the window light. He hadn’t spared her more than a glance, as though she were already a settled matter. Angela clenched her hands in her lap, staring at the ring that now mocked her finger.

When they arrived at his mansion, Angela felt swallowed whole. The door shut behind them with a dull thud, and suddenly the noise of the world was gone. Just silence, huge and heavy, stretching through the marble halls.

Daniel moved with deliberate calm, unbuttoning his cuffs as he entered the study. He didn’t look at her when he spoke.

“You can breathe now.”

Angela’s throat tightened. “Is that what this is to you? Breathing between appearances?”

He slipped off his watch and set it down on the polished table. “That’s what marriage is, Angela. Appearances.”

“Not for me.”

Finally, he turned. His gaze was cold, unreadable, but steady. “For you especially.”

Her chest rose and fell with fury. “Then why marry me at all?”

Daniel’s lips curved, but there was no warmth in them. “Because I need a wife who fits the part. Beautiful, proper, from a family ambitious enough to hand you over. You are… suitable.”

Her throat constricted. “A trophy.”

“A trophy,” he confirmed, his voice smooth as glass.

Angela’s nails dug into her palms. “And what am I supposed to do? Just smile beside you like a puppet while you live your life however you please?”

“That’s exactly what I want you to do.” He stepped closer, his words measured, sharp. “I want you to be the wife who smiles at galas. You’ll sit beside me at dinners. You’ll wear what I approve. You’ll never embarrass me in public. And in private—” His eyes locked on hers, hard and final. “—you’ll give me an heir.”

Her heart stuttered. “An heir?”

Daniel’s expression didn’t waver. “That’s your only true duty to me. The rest is an image. But the heir—that’s blood. My legacy. It’s non-negotiable.”

The words slammed into her like a physical blow. She whispered, raw, “So love isn’t even on the table?”

Daniel scoffed quietly, almost amused. “Love is for dreamers. You’ll get respect, security, and my name. That’s worth more than love or whatever fantasies you cling to.”

Her voice shook, but the fury in it burned. “No. What you’re asking is for me to die slowly. To lose myself in your shadow until I don’t even recognize the woman in the mirror.”

“You’ll recognize her,” he said calmly, “The only difference is that she’ll be draped in diamonds. And she’ll carry my child.”

Hot tears pricked her eyes. “I can’t. I won’t be that woman.”

Daniel leaned in, his voice like ice. “You will. Or I’ll remind you how much power your father sold to me when he signed you away. You’re mine, Angela. And until you give me an heir, don’t expect anything that resembles affection from me.”

Her chest heaved, her tears spilling freely now. “So that’s it. My worth is only in a child I haven’t even given you yet?”

Daniel’s gaze hardened. “Exactly.”

-----

Angela sat at the edge of the bed later that night, her wedding dress pooled around her like a cage. The diamonds in her hair glittered mockingly, as though the world itself laughed at her imprisonment.

She broke the silence first, her voice trembling but her chin high. “Tell me something, Daniel. Why? Why should I play along? Why should I be your trophy wife—the perfect doll you parade in public—when you don’t even love me?”

Daniel didn’t flinch. His gaze was level, cold, unreadable. “Because it is what is required of you.”

“Required?” she laughed bitterly. “By who? You? My father? You drag me to an altar, chain me with vows I didn’t choose, and now I’m supposed to smile and pretend this… farce is a marriage?”

“Yes,” he said smoothly, loosening his tie as if her rage didn’t touch him. “Pretend. Because appearances are everything. You’ll learn quickly that in this world, perception matters more than truth.”

“And what about me?” she snapped. “What about my truth? My life?”

“It’s irrelevant.”

The word struck like a slap. She swallowed hard, her chest rising and falling as anger and despair tangled in her veins.

“Irrelevant?”

Daniel nodded without hesitation. “Your life ended the moment your father signed you into this arrangement.”

Her eyes widened. “Signed me like a contract? So that is what this is. A contract marriage. I am just your property”

“You are my wife,” Daniel responded evenly. “Which means you are my responsibility and my possession.”

Her hands fisted on her skirt. “Do you even hear yourself? You don’t want a wife—you want a puppet. But I won’t be that puppet. I won’t be someone who smiles, nods, and plays along so you can look untouchable. I won’t live my life for your image.”

Something flickered in his eyes—amusement? Anger? But it was gone in an instant. “You misunderstand, Angela. You will live your life for my image, because there is no alternative.”

“You can’t keep me chained forever. You can control the world, Daniel, but you can’t control my heart.”

A smirk ghosted across his lips. “Hearts are fragile things. Easily broken, easily silenced. You’ll do well to remember that.”

Her tears burned, but she refused to let them fall. “So that’s your marriage proposal? To silence me, control me, parade me around?”

He leaned back, calm, terrifyingly calm. “My promise is to give you the life your father wanted for you. Wealth, power, and status. But you must fulfill your end of the bargain.”

“Bargain?” she laughed dryly. “What's this .... bargain?

“You must give me an heir. Bare me children. That's your price to pay for everything I have to offer.”

“Children.”

The word landed like a hammer. He nodded in affirmation. 

Angela’s breath caught. “What?”

“You heard me,” he said, each syllable deliberate, merciless. “You’ll give me an heir. That is your value in this marriage. Until you do, you’ll never have my respect… and you’ll certainly never have my love.”

The world tilted under her. She staggered back, clutching the table, her tears spilling fast now.

“You can’t mean that,” she whispered.

“I mean every word.” He turned from her, dismissing her with the movement. “You’ll never earn a shred of affection from me until you bear my child. Until then, you’re nothing more than a pretty ornament in my world.”

Her sob caught in her throat. “You’re a monster.”

“And you,” he said coolly, pausing at the door, “are my wife. Monsters don’t change, Angela. But wives… wives learn to play their roles.”

She choked out, “I'm not your wife. I'm just a baby-making machine to you, and in your own words an ornament.” She paused and thought of her father. Her dead mother and everything her father told her before she agreed to comply. Then she spoke slowly, her voice dangerously low. “I will give you children. But I will never forgive you for this. Never.”

Daniel’s hand stilled on the door. He didn’t turn. His voice was cold, final, a cliff’s edge she could not cross.

“You don’t have to forgive me. You only have to obey. Yes. Either you obey… or I’ll take your compliance.”

Angela’s body trembled. Her heart screamed at her to fight, but his words pressed like iron chains around her. “This isn’t marriage,” she whispered. “This is prison.”

Daniel’s eyes darkened, lips curving into a merciless decree. “Then learn to be the perfect prisoner, Mrs. Rourke. Because the world will never see your chains.”

The door shut with a decisive click, and Angela stood alone in the silence, drowning in diamonds, broken vows, and the cruel condition that had just shattered her world.