Chapter Four

Lianna

Married to a Monster

I stop fighting, not because I have given up. But because my body physically cannot keep going.

At some point, terror becomes exhausting.

At some point, my screaming turns into silence.

My limbs feel heavy as the women surround me again and this time, I don’t kick or run.

I just sit there on the edge of the bed while trembling hands peel my soaked clothes away.

Humiliation burns through me as a stranger unzips my dress and another removes my shoes.

Someone brushes the wet hair away from my face as I stare straight ahead numb and detached. 

This cannot be real.

This cannot be happening.

This has to be a nightmare is all I am thinking in my head. 

Any second now I will wake up in my tiny apartment, tangled in blankets, with Maya yelling at me for oversleeping.

But seconds pass and I don’t wake up.

The crying maid from earlier kneels in front of me, her eyes are red.

She holds the wedding dress carefully before she whispers.

“I’m sorry.”

Something inside me cracks.

“Why?” I ask.

My voice sounds empty. She looks down.

“I cannot disobey him.”

Him, always him.

Everyone bends around one man.

Everyone fears one man.

Cassian Moretti.

They slide the dress over my body, the silk kisses my skin, it's beautiful and exquisite.

Hand sewn lace. Pearls stitched into the bodice. A gown women dream about.

And I hate every thread. Because none of this is mine. Not the dress. Not the ring waiting downstairs. Not this life. Not this marriage and definitely not him. 

I stand when they tell me to stand.

I turn when they tell me to turn.

I become a doll.

A body being prepared for sacrifice.

One woman applies makeup she pauses and says, “You are beautiful,” she whispers.

I almost laugh.

Beautiful, as if beauty matters.

The crying maid finishes pinning the veil.

Then she freezes and her eyes widen.

She looks at something behind me.

Everyone immediately bows their heads.

My blood runs cold but I don’t need to turn.

I know who it is, I feel him before I see him. That suffocating pressure. That terrifying stillness.

Slowly, I raise my eyes to the mirror and 

there he is standing behind me.

Cassian Morett in a Black suit with his broad shoulders and cold gray eyes. 

He looks at my reflection in the mirror, not

 at the dress or the veil. 

The room empties in seconds. No one waits for orders. They simply disappear.

He steps closer and the mirror now frames us together as Bride and groom.

The image makes me sick.

His voice breaks the silence.

“Turn around.”

But I don’t move.

I grip the vanity table hard enough that my nails hurt.

“No.”

“Liana.”

He says my name, in a controlled quiet but yet somehow dangerous than shouting.

I close my eyes and turn to face him. I hate how beautiful he is. I hate how calm he is. God, I hate him.

Tears burn my eyes again.

“Why me?”

The question slips out before I can stop it.

His expression doesn’t change. So I ask again this time louder.

“Why me Cassian?” I step toward him suddenly getting this courage, “You knew.”

My voice shakes, “You knew I wasn’t Bianca.” I take another step “You knew I was innocent so why?” My chest rises and falls violently. “Why are you doing this to me?”

His gaze remains fixed on me cold and unmoved then suddenly he speaks. 

Cold.

“Because you are here.”

That’s it, that’s his answer, three words, three cruel, brutal words.

Because you are here. As if my existence is all the justification he needs.

Something inside me snaps and I slap him hard and my hand stings as it hits me what I have just done. 

Cassian doesn’t move or move or blink, he doesn't react he just looks at me, and somehow that terrifies me more than rage.

His head turns back toward me and his eyes meet mine and for the first time

“Hit me back.” The words escape before I can stop them. Because surely men like him retaliate. Surely monsters punish defiance.

Cassian’s jaw tightens. Then, to my complete shock he lifts his hand and his fingers brush the side of my face gently. 

His thumb rests over the skin I struck him with warm and steady

“You should stop doing reckless things.”

I can barely breathe.

“Why?”

His thumb moves once. A slow stroke across my cheek.

“Because one day” his eyes darken, “you might provoke a man who lacks my patience.”

A chill runs through me but before I could say anything else a voice speaks from outside.

“It’s time.”

The word crushes my chest. Cassian lowers his hand and the warmth disappears. I grab his wrist desperately.

One last plea.

“Please.” the tears fall freely now but I don’t care.

“I will disappear, you will never see me again.” I shake my head frantically. “I won’t tell anyone anything, all you have to do is let me go.”

I look straight into his eyes trying to find something, anything, any humanity, “I don’t want this.”

His expression hardens instead and I am met with a cold stare 

“No.”

He removes my hand from his wrist and offers me his arm.

“Walk.”

But I don't walk instead I yank my arm away from his, he looks at me

“Run if you want.” he says his voice stern and cold. “My men will bring you back.”

Every word is deliberate, “And next time” his voice drops lower, “I will not ask you to walk.”

My body betrays me and my legs move, not because I choose to but because fear drags me forward.

The hallway blurs. The staircase disappears beneath us. Voices echo below as the music starts. 

We reach the aisle as candles glow and the guests rise.

Everyone smiles politely.

As if this is real.

As if this is sacred.

As if this isn’t violence dressed in white silk.

Cassian leads me forward and the priest begins with words of devotion about faith and commitment and love 

Questions are asked and answers given. But it's like I am being carried away I barely hear anything.

A diamond catches candlelight.

Cassian takes my hand and my fingers tremble violently and I try to pull back but he tightens his grip. The ring slides onto my finger.

The priest smiles and says the words that destroy my world.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

The room erupts in applause and my vision blurs.

I can’t hear or think or breathe, I am married to a stranger, a monster, I am married to a man who stole my life.

Cassian turns toward me and the applause fades into distant noise as he steps close.

His hand settles at my waist, Possessive.

Then he leans toward my ear and his breath brushes my skin and in a voice only I can hear, he whispers the words that make my blood run cold.

“Welcome to the Moretti family, wife.”