CH.2

EVANGELINE

I walked down the long aisle with measured steps, my hand linked around Dad's arm, feeling like I was walking toward my own execution.

Tables spread out on either side were crowded with attendees whose entire attention focused on me, but their smiling faces felt like masks hiding something sinister.

Every step brought me closer to him, to the man who had promised to make my life hell.  

The white runner beneath my feet might as well have been a red carpet leading to hell.

I caught a glimpse of Cordelia calling my name and waving enthusiastically.

I smiled at her warmth, grateful for at least one friendly face in the crowd, though even her genuine affection couldn't penetrate the ice that had formed around my heart.

I returned my gaze forward to the person I now stood beside, facing the priest.

Gael looked magnificent in his black tuxedo, every inch the perfect groom. But I could see the tension in his jaw, the way his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides when he thought no one was looking.

"Son," Dad's voice carried across the hushed ceremony, thick with emotion and paternal love, "I'm entrusting you with the most precious thing in my world. Evangeline is my heart walking outside my body."

His eyes glistened with unshed tears as he continued, completely oblivious to the danger he was delivering me into. "She's gentle, trusting, and sees the good in everyone. Sometimes too much for her own good."

Dad's grip tightened on Gael's hands and his voice taking on a more serious tone. "Promise me you'll protect her. Promise me you'll cherish her the way she deserves. She's never known cruelty, never known betrayal. Keep her safe from the darkness of this world."

I watched in horror as Gael's lips curved into what appeared to be a warm, reassuring smile - the same smile that had fooled everyone.

"You have my word. I'll take very good care of her."

I caught the subtle emphasis on 'take care of,' the way his eyes flickered to mine with dark promise.

Dad heard a vow of protection; I heard a threat of possession.

Dad turned to me then, cupping my face in his hands as tears finally spilled down his cheeks. "Be happy, my darling girl. You deserve all the love in the world."

I swallowed the lump stuck in my throat after hearing Dad's heartfelt words, each one cutting deeper than the last. He was handing me over to a man who had already promised to make me suffer, believing he was securing my happiness.

The irony of those words was almost too much to bear.

Dad walked away, leaving me alone with the man who would become my legal owner in a matter of minutes, and I felt the last of my protection slip away with his retreating figure.

"Do you, Gael Arthur Dettling, take Evangeline Nadia Morrison to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, till death do you part?"

"I do."

His response was immediate, confident, delivered with the kind of conviction that made the congregation sigh with romantic approval.

The way he said it sent chills down my spine. There was no emotion, just cold certainty.

He wasn't pledging his love; he was accepting delivery of property he intended to break.

"Do you, Evangeline Nadia Morrison, take Gael Arthur Dettling to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, till death do you part?"

Absolute silence prevailed as everyone waited for my answer.

The priest repeated his question after noticing my prolonged hesitation, his voice echoing in the sudden quiet.

The words 'till death do you part' seemed to hang in the air like a prophecy, and I couldn't shake the feeling that death might come sooner than anyone expected.

My death, specifically, at the hands of the man standing beside me.

Regret suddenly struck me, gnawing at my insides. I realized how hastily I'd accepted this arrangement, overlooking so many important considerations. But it was too late now - too late to run, too late to confess, too late to save myself.

Huge waves were pulling me into a drowning ocean, and I wasn't a skilled swimmer. I was going to drown, and everyone I loved would watch it happen while believing I was being rescued.

Our eyes met briefly. I tried to find a glimmer of hope in his darkness. However, all that greeted me was the emptiness inside those hollow stares, and something else - anticipation. He was looking forward to whatever came next.

How much that pained me.

"I do."

My shaking voice finally gave the awaited answer, sealing my fate with two simple words.

Cheers and applause rose from the gathered crowd, but the sound was muffled, distant, as if I were hearing it from underwater.

Everyone was happy with my response except Gael.

His expression remained unchanged, cold and calculating, as if he were already planning my destruction.

When the priest pronounced us husband and wife, Gael pretended to embrace me by wrapping his arms around my waist. To the watching crowd, it looked like a romantic moment. Only I could feel the menace radiating from him.

Then he leaned ostensibly close to kissing me and whispered in my ear so quietly that no one else could hear, "Welcome to my hell, wife. I hope you're ready for what's coming!"

The words sent ice through my veins, but I had to smile for the cameras, had to play the part of the blushing bride while my new husband promised me suffering.

The rest of the wedding past like a fever dream.

I smiled and accepted congratulations, played the part of the happy bride while inside I felt like I was dying a slow death.

Every well-wisher who approached us, every toast raised in our honor, was another nail in my coffin.

Gael was the perfect groom throughout it all - charming, attentive, saying all the right things.

During our first dance, he held me close enough that we looked like lovers, but his grip was just tight enough to be uncomfortable.

"You look beautiful tonight. It's a shame it won't last." He spoke in my ear with that same deceptively gentle tone as we swayed to the music.

I stumbled slightly, but he caught me, making it look like romantic clumsiness to the watching crowd.

His smile was dazzling as he steadied me, yet his eyes promised retribution for my weakness.

The time came for me to follow him home, and I said goodbye to my parents.

This was the most difficult moment of my life, as I would be leaving them for the first time ever - and possibly the last time I would see them as the person I used to be.

Dad didn't stop his warnings for Gael to take care of me while Mom refused to release me from her embrace, making the parting even more difficult.

I memorized the feel of her arms around me, the scent of her perfume, the sound of her voice whispering words of love and encouragement.

"Be happy, my darling," she whispered in my ear. "You deserve all the love in the world."

If only she knew how far from love this arrangement truly was. If only she knew she might be saying goodbye to me forever.

The drive to the Dettling estate was in oppressive silence.

I stared out the window, watching my old life disappear behind us as we head toward whatever fresh hell awaited me.