The Gilded Cage

Elena’s pov

Julian pulled back with an expressionless face. He looked at Mia, who was shrinking behind my skirts and holding tightly to my legs.

“What is that?” He asked, pointing at her with a flick of his wrist.

“My sister,” I said firmly. “ She’s coming with us. That was the deal.”

Julian looked irritatingly at my stepmother, who nodded frantically. He let out a short, dry laugh.

“ A buy one get one free deal? How charmingly middle class. Fine! Pack the brat. We leave in ten minutes.”

“What?” I said confused “ The wedding is Tomorrow not today? I’m not even packed up yet”

I’m going nowhere.”

“Enough!” Beatrice snapped angrily.

“You are leaving right here right now, you’ve outdone yourself today. Aren’t you tired already?

She turned to Julian with a smudge smile.

“Mr Silverton, she’s going with you whether she likes it or NOT.” She drawled as she shot me a stern look.

Was that how desperate they wanted me gone?

I stared blankly at Beatrice.

“At least can I get a fitting dress?” I said sadly.

“Where on earth do u think you could get a fitting wedding gown for you miss Elena, Julian asked, raising an eyebrow at me. “Unless you’d be willing to take on a parachute wrap”.

I had handled my stepmom's abuse and sienna’s hurtful words for years but hearing these words from someone I was getting married to had a different effect on me.

I hurriedly pulled Mia towards the door, but Julian caught my arm. His grip was effortless but impossible to break. He leaned in once last time as his breath of expensive wine hit me.

“By the way Elena ……. the wedding is not in a church. We’re going straight to the court house. My grandfather wants a legal marriage bonding document, not a hall filled with thousands of people witnessing me getting married to a woman who can’t even fit in a standard car seat.”

………………………………………………………….

The court house was a blur of grey marble and rinked of cold ink.

There were little or no flowers apart from the bouquet I had in my hands, no external witnesses, just the old wrinkled priest, my family, a young man whom I presumed to be his cousin brother, a tired clerk and a stack of papers that felt like a death warrant.

I was pushed into the part of the courtroom used as a chapel with my bouquet trembling in my hands. At the altar edge stood Julian Silverton.

When the priest asked for vows, Julian’s voice was a deep, bored rumble. “I do,” he said, the words sounding more like a business closing than a promise.

Mine was a ghostly sound.”I do”.

It was time to sign the marriage registrar.

I signed my name - Elena Rose Montgomery - watching as the ink bled into the paper. Beside it Julian signed his name in a sharp, aggressive scrabble.

I am Mrs Julian Silverton. The thought was a heavy weight in my stomach.

Mia sat on a bench nearby, clutching a tattered teddy bear, her eyes wide with terror. I looked at her and reminded myself: This is for her. If I have to endure his insults, if I have to live in a house of ice, it’s so she never has to feel Beatrice’s hand across her face again.

“Done,”Julian said, standing up and buttoning his jacket. He didn’t look at me. He didn’t offer a ring.

“The driver will take the girl to the North wing. You’re coming with me to the office.”

“What?No!” I stepped toward Mia. “Im staying with her. She’s scared, Julian.”

Mia looked up at me with mixed facial expressions clutching me even tighter.

“She’s a Silverton ward now,” Julian said, his voice clipped. “she will be fed, clothed, and educated. But you have a role to play. There’s a press conference in an hour. My grandfather needs to see us together, looking blissful.”

I crouched down to meet Mia’s gaze, cleaning her facial heat and the tears that had been flowing already.

“You’re safe Mia, I’d make sure I come see you every chance I get. Now you are a good girl Okay?”

She nodded in agreement, giving me a peck on the cheek.

“I love you Elena” she said in the most charming way ever.

Before I could reply Julian grabbed my elbow and steered me toward the exit. I looked back at Mia, my heart breaking as she was led away by a silent security guard.

“Don’t worry, Mia! I’ll see you soon!” I yelled.

He shoved me into the back of a sleek, black limousine. The interior was leather and chrome, smelling of power and a mix of female colognes.

He stepped in and shut the door creating a deafening silence.

“You’re a monster,” I whispered, staring out the tinted window at the receding courthouse.

“I’m a businessman with class, Elena. There’s a difference,” he replied, opening a laptop. “You are currently a liability. You're not polished, you’re emotional, and frankly you’re an eyesore for the Silverton brand. My marketing team has already drafted a story about your ‘charitable soul’ to explain to the public why I chose someone of your low class.”

I turned to him, my eyes full with tears

“You know nothing about me. I have a degree. I have published papers on botanical genetics. I’m not just a charity case because I don’t wear size zero.”

My voice was almost fading now.

Julian finally looked up from his screen. His gaze was cold. “In my world,Elena, if it isn’t beautiful or sexy, it isn’t useful. You have six months to make yourself useful. If you fail, the divorce will be quick and your sister will be back in that attic before the ink is dry.”

The limo suddenly screeched to a halt. A crowd of paparazzi swarmed the car, their flashes blinding.

Julian reached over, his hand gripping the back of my neck, pulling me toward him.

“Smile, Wife,” he hissed. “And for God's sake, suck in your stomach, the world is watching.”