Chapter 1: The Wedding Day Nightmare

Bella pov

The ivory silk of my wedding dress whispered against the marble floor as I hurried through the empty corridors of the Black estate. My heart hammered against my ribs, not from nerves but from hope—a dangerous, fragile thing I'd been nursing for two weeks like a secret flame. I was pregnant.

The word still felt foreign in my mouth, terrifying and wonderful at the same time. I'd found out two weeks before the wedding, staring at those two pink lines in the bathroom, my hands shaking so badly I nearly dropped the test.

I had planned to tell Caleb tonight, after the ceremony, when we were finally alone. Maybe it would change things between us. Maybe a baby would bridge the cold distance he'd kept since the day my father sold me to him like livestock.

Maybe he'd finally look at me and see someone worth loving.

"Mrs. Black?" I turned to find James, Caleb's assistant, hovering near the grand staircase. He looked uncomfortable in his formal suit, his eyes darting away from mine.

"Have you seen my husband?" The word still felt strange. As if saying it aloud would make it real, make this arrangement into something more than a business transaction.

James cleared his throat. "Mr. Black is in his private office, ma'am. But he asked not to be disturb."

I was already moving. "Thank you, James."

My heels clicked faster as I navigated the maze of hallways. The Black estate was obscenely large, all dark wood and crystal chandeliers, the kind of wealth that whispered instead of shouted. I'd been here for a few months and still got lost. Caleb had given me a wing of my own—as far from his bedroom as architecturally possible.

Tonight would be different. Tonight, I'd tell him about the baby, and maybe his eyes would warm just a fraction. Maybe he'd touch my face the way he had during our wedding photos, when he'd needed to pretend for the cameras.

I reached his office door and raised my hand to knock, but something made me stop. Voices filtered through the heavy oak, low and intimate.

"Caleb, please." That was Jade's voice. My sister's voice, breathy and desperate. "You know how I feel about you."

Cold slid down my spine as my hand dropped to my side.

"This is complicated," Caleb said, his deep voice muffled but unmistakable.

"It's only complicated because you married her." Jade's words dripped with venom. "She trapped you, baby. You know that. My father forced your hand, used his business problems to manipulate you into this sham marriage."

"Jade"

"I'm the one you want, I have always been the one."

I should've knocked. Should've walked away. Should've done anything except what I did next instead i pushed open the door.

The scene before me unfolded in excruciating slow motion, every detail burning itself into my memory with cruel intensity. Jade, her gold dress hiked up around her thighs, straddling Caleb's lap in his leather desk chair. His hands gripped her waist, fingers splayed possessively over the fabric. Their lips were locked together, her fingers tangled in his perfectly styled black hair, his head tilted back to give her better access.

They didn't hear me at first. The kiss deepened, Jade making a soft sound in her throat that made bile rise in mine. My vision tunneled. Then Jade's eyes opened, met mine over Caleb's shoulder, and she smiled. Actually smiled against his mouth before pulling back with theatrical shock.

"Oh my God." She scrambled off his lap, her performance Oscar-worthy as she pressed her hands to her mouth. "Bella. I—we didn't"

Caleb's head whipped toward me, and for one second—one brief, stupid second—I saw something like guilt flash across his face. Then it hardened into the cold mask I knew so well, the Winter King returning to his throne.

"Bella." My name on his lips sounded like a judgment. "What are you doing here?"

The words came out broken, barely a whisper. "It's our wedding night."

"I asked not to be disturbed."

"I'm your wife." My voice cracked, and I hated myself for it, hated the hot tears already burning behind my eyes. "I just wanted"

"Wanted what?" Jade's voice turned sharp, vicious. She smoothed down her dress with shaking hands, but her eyes were steady on mine, triumphant. "To interrupt? To play the victim again? You're so predictable, little sister."

"Jade, enough." Caleb stood, adjusting his jacket with precise movements. His grey eyes were frozen tundra as they met mine. "Bella, we need to talk."

"Talk?" I laughed, a horrible sound that didn't belong to me. "You were just—she was" I couldn't finish. Couldn't make my mouth form the words that would make this real.

"It's not what it looks like," Jade said, and the sheer audacity of the lie made me flinch.

"I saw you." My voice gained strength from somewhere, anger beginning to burn through the shock. "I saw everything."

Caleb moved toward me, and I stumbled back, my heel catching on my dress. His jaw tightened. "You're being dramatic."

"Dramatic?" The word came out as a shriek. "I just found my husband kissing my sister on our wedding night, and I'm being dramatic?"

"See?" Jade turned to Caleb, her lower lip trembling with practiced perfection. "This is exactly what I told you about. She's obsessed with you, Caleb. She sees threats everywhere, i came here to talk business, and she's twisting it into something sick."

"Business." I stared at my sister, this woman I'd grown up with, who I'd defended and loved despite her cruelty. "Business that requires sitting in his lap?"

"You're disturbed," Jade whispered, backing toward Caleb like I was dangerous. "You need help, Bella. Professional help."

Caleb's hand came to rest on Jade's shoulder, protective, and something inside me shattered beyond repair. He was choosing her. In this moment, faced with his wife and his mistress, he was choosing her.

"I think you should go back to your room," he said, his voice deadly calm. "We'll discuss this later when you're rational."

Rational. As if I was the crazy one. As if I hadn't just witnessed my entire world collapse. But I had one card left to play. One truth that would change everything.

My hand moved to my stomach, pressing against the barely-there swell hidden beneath silk and lace. "Caleb, I need to tell you something. I'm"