Chapter 3-Echoes of a cursed vow

The morning light cuts through the curtains, harsh and uninvited. I didn’t sleep. Not really. Not when every second of the night was filled with the heavy weight of his presence. Elias. My “husband,” the word still feeling foreign on my tongue. The bed is cold on my side, empty, but I know he’s just in the next room. I know because the house feels too quiet. Too still.

I sit up and glance at the clock on the nightstand. It’s already late. The reception went on for hours, and by the time it ended, I was too exhausted to care about anything—too exhausted to do anything but collapse into bed, alone in a house that wasn’t mine.

I hear footsteps in the hall. Heavy. Purposeful. My chest tightens instinctively.

Elias.

A knock sounds at the door, sharp and quick. My heart skips. It shouldn’t, but it does. I don’t know why. Maybe because, right now, there’s no escaping him.

“Come in,” I call out, my voice sounding smaller than I intended.

The door opens, and there he is, standing in the doorway. Tall. Silent. There’s nothing warm in his eyes this morning. Nothing that would suggest he’s any less a stranger than he was last night.

“We need to talk,” he says, his voice low, controlled.

I nod, not trusting myself to speak. I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t want to deal with any of this, but I don’t have a choice. Neither of us does.

He steps into the room, closing the door behind him. The space between us feels endless, and I hate how much I want him to cross it. To break this distance. But I also hate how much I don’t want him to.

He stands near the foot of the bed, hands shoved in the pockets of his dark jeans. His shirt is slightly wrinkled, sleeves rolled up, giving him a look of someone who’s been through hell and doesn’t care anymore. I want to ask him if he even slept, but I don’t.

Instead, I cross my arms over my chest, leaning back against the headboard. “What do you want to talk about?”

He hesitates, glancing at the floor for a moment, before meeting my gaze. “The Maddox family. The traditions. We need to discuss it.”

I raise an eyebrow, irritation stirring beneath my skin. “Traditions? You mean the ones that forced me to marry you? The ones that ruined my life?”

He doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t even blink. “It’s not just about you, Avery. This is about the family. The bloodline. The pack.”

There’s that word again. The pack. I don’t know why, but the way he says it sends a chill down my spine. It’s like there’s something behind it, something he’s not telling me. “The pack?” I repeat, trying to sound casual, but my voice wavers.

Elias’s jaw tightens, and for a split second, his eyes flash with something—something dangerous, something primal. He looks away quickly, like he’s ashamed of whatever it was.

“Yeah. The pack,” he says, his voice rough. “It’s… a legacy. A responsibility. One that comes with certain… expectations.”

“Expectations?” I scoff. “I was dragged into this mess because of ‘expectations.’”

“You weren’t dragged into this. You made the choice,” he snaps, stepping forward, his presence suddenly overwhelming. “You didn’t have to marry me. But you did. You don’t get to pretend like you’re some victim here, Avery.”

I stand up abruptly, the motion too fast, too sharp. My heart is pounding in my chest now, but I force myself to meet his eyes. “You don’t get to lecture me, Elias. You don’t know what this feels like.”

“I know enough,” he growls. “You think I want this? That I wanted you standing here? You think I wanted to be trapped in this life? But here we are, and now you’ve got to play your part just like I’m playing mine.”

“Your part?” I almost laugh. “What part is that? The dutiful groom? The grieving fiancé pretending to be in love with the woman who replaced his dead fiancée?”

His face darkens, and for a moment, I see something flicker behind his eyes—a mix of anger and something else. Something cold. “You don’t know anything about me, Avery. About who I really am.”

The words hit me like a slap. I want to argue. I want to scream, to demand answers, but something in his tone keeps me silent. It’s not just anger in his voice. It’s something… darker. Something hidden beneath the surface.

“I know enough to know you’re not the man you’re pretending to be,” I mutter, backing away. I need space, distance. I need to breathe.

“You don’t know anything,” Elias replies, his voice low. “But you will. Soon enough.”

My heart races, and I turn away, afraid that if I stay looking at him, I’ll see something I can’t handle. “What does that even mean?”

“I can’t explain it all right now,” he says, his voice distant, almost resigned. “But you’re not just my wife. You’re… part of something much bigger. Something neither of us can avoid.”

I don’t understand. But I don’t ask. I’m afraid of what the answer might be.

There’s a long silence between us, the weight of his words lingering in the air like a fog I can’t escape. I don’t know what he’s talking about. I don’t know what kind of man Elias Maddox really is. But I’m starting to think that maybe I don’t want to know.

“I need you to understand something, Avery,” he says after a moment, his voice rougher than before. “This isn’t just about me. It’s about us. We’re in this together. Whether we like it or not.”

I look up at him, my chest tight with something I can’t name. “What does that mean, Elias? What are you saying?”

He takes a step closer, his eyes dark with something unreadable. “It means… there are things in this world you don’t understand. Things you’re not ready to face.”

I swallow hard, but the words catch in my throat. “Like what?”

He doesn’t answer. Just looks at me—his gaze cold, heavy, filled with secrets. And for the first time since we’ve met, I realize that I don’t know if I’m ready for whatever this man, this marriage, this curse is going to bring.

But I’m going to have to be. Because it’s already too late.