Chapter Seven The Wedding Rehearsal (Part One)

The Billionaire's Contract Bride

Chapter Seven The Wedding Rehearsal (Part One)

The Blackwood Estate was alive with activity.

Florists arranged thousands of white roses along the grand staircase while decorators adjusted crystal chandeliers that sparkled beneath the afternoon sun. Outside, workers erected an elegant glass pavilion overlooking the estate gardens.

The wedding was only three days away.

Inside the mansion, Claire stood before the large bedroom window assigned to her.

She had never imagined that one signature on a contract would change her life so completely.

A gentle knock interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in."

An elderly woman entered with a warm smile.

"My name is Margaret," she said. "I've worked for the Blackwood family for over thirty years."

Claire smiled politely.

"It's nice to meet you."

Margaret placed several elegant garment bags on the bed.

"These are your gowns for the rehearsal dinner, the wedding ceremony, and the reception."

Claire's eyes widened.

"I've never seen dresses this beautiful."

Margaret chuckled.

"Mr. Blackwood personally chose the designers."

Claire looked surprised.

"He did?"

"Yes."

Margaret lowered her voice.

"He spent nearly two hours rejecting every design until he found the ones he believed would suit you."

Claire blinked.

That didn't sound like the cold, detached man she had met.

Could Martin have a thoughtful side that he carefully hid from everyone?

Meanwhile...

Martin stood in the private gym on the estate.

The steady rhythm of gloves striking a heavy punching bag echoed through the room.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Each punch was controlled, powerful, and precise.

Ethan Cole entered quietly.

"You've been here for almost an hour."

Martin didn't stop.

"I think better when I train."

Ethan handed him a tablet.

"Our security team has found something."

Martin stopped punching.

"What is it?"

"A member of the household staff has been making unexplained phone calls late at night."

Martin removed his gloves.

"Who?"

Ethan displayed a photograph.

The same servant who had secretly recorded the family dinner.

Martin's expression darkened.

"Keep watching him."

"Don't confront him yet."

"I want to know who he's working for."

That evening...

The wedding rehearsal began.

Close friends, trusted business associates, and members of the Blackwood family gathered in the estate's magnificent ballroom.

Claire descended the staircase wearing an elegant champagne-colored gown.

Conversations stopped.

Every eye turned toward her.

Even those who had doubted her beauty found themselves speechless.

Martin, waiting at the foot of the staircase in a perfectly tailored black tuxedo, looked up.

For the first time in years...

He forgot what he had been thinking about.

Claire looked...

Radiant.

She reached the final step.

Their eyes met.

"You look beautiful," Martin said quietly.

Claire smiled.

"And you almost sound sincere."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"I was."

Before Claire could reply, applause filled the ballroom.

Edward Blackwood beamed with pride.

"My grandson finally found a woman who can keep him humble."

Laughter rippled through the room.

Martin pretended not to hear it.

Across the ballroom...

Ivy watched from the shadows.

She had not been invited.

Yet somehow...

She was there.

Her fingers tightened around the champagne glass.

"So that's Claire Jacobs..."

The woman beside her whispered,

"She's prettier than I expected."

Ivy's jaw clenched.

"Beauty fades."

"But pain..."

She smiled coldly.

"Pain lasts."

She quietly slipped away from the crowd.

No one noticed her disappear.

Except one person.

Claire.

For a brief second, their eyes met across the ballroom.

Claire felt an unexpected chill run down her spine.

It wasn't fear.

It was instinct.

Something about Ivy's smile warned her that trouble was coming.

Later that night...

The rehearsal ended.

Guests began leaving.

Martin walked Claire toward the estate gardens to escape the noise.

The moon reflected beautifully across the fountain.

Neither of them spoke immediately.

Finally, Claire broke the silence.

"Can I ask you something?"

Martin nodded.

"Why did you really choose me?"

He looked at the water before answering.

"My grandfather believes that a man's greatest decision isn't choosing a business."

"It's choosing the person who stands beside him."

Claire waited.

"I spent years looking at people's masks."

He turned to her.

"You were the first person I met who had nothing left to hide."

Claire lowered her eyes.

"You make me sound stronger than I feel."

Martin's voice softened.

"Strength isn't the absence of fear."

"It's moving forward despite it."

Claire looked at him with surprise.

For the first time...

She wasn't speaking to the ruthless billionaire.

She was speaking to the man behind the reputation.

Just as she was about to respond—

CRASH!

The massive crystal chandelier inside the ballroom came crashing down.

Glass exploded across the marble floor.

Guests screamed.

Servants ran in every direction.

Martin instinctively pulled Claire behind him.

His protective arm wrapped around her before either of them realized what had happened.

Silence followed.

Then Ethan's voice rang out.

"Everyone stay back!"

Martin stared at the shattered chandelier.

His instincts immediately told him something was wrong.

The steel support cable hadn't snapped naturally.

It had been...

Cut.

Someone hadn't tried to ruin the rehearsal.

Someone had tried to kill.

And Claire had been standing directly beneath it only moments before.