chapter 1

Chapter 1

Elara had always believed that marriage was meant to feel warm, even if love did not arrive immediately.

She thought there would be patience, and perhaps a quiet kind of affection that would grow with time, especially since she had already given up so much just to stand where she was now.

The massive bedroom was dressed in luxury, yet it felt colder than the marble corridors outside. The chandelier above cast a soft golden glow, but it did nothing to ease the tight knot in her chest.

She sat on the edge of the bed with her fingers clasped together, her wedding dress still wrapped around her like a promise she was afraid to unwrap.

Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of something she had not planned. The beginning of something that might make or break her.

Dominic Blackwood stood a few steps away, loosening his cufflinks with steady, practiced movements. He did not look at her, not even once, and his expression remained as distant as it had been throughout the ceremony.

Tall, imposing, and terrifyingly composed, he looked more like a boss concluding a business deal than a groom on his wedding night.

Elara swallowed hard and forced herself to speak. “Do you want me to change first?” she asked softly, because she did not want to sound unsure even though she felt exactly that.

“It does not matter,” Dominic replied, his voice calm and flat. It was as though they were discussing a contract clause rather than something so intimate.

Elara’s heart trembled, but she nodded and stood up anyway. As she carefully unzipped her dress and folded it away, she reminded herself that this marriage had never been about love.

She had known that from the very beginning. Still, she had hoped that once they were married, once she became his wife in name and truth, something might change between them.

When she turned back, Dominic was already walking toward her.

There was no tenderness in his touch, no hesitation, and no warmth in his eyes. Everything happened quickly and mechanically, and Elara clenched her teeth to keep herself from crying when the pain came.

She told herself to endure it, because wives were supposed to endure, and because she believed that maybe this was just how he was.

When he was done, Dominic stepped away and reached for his shirt without a word. He did not hold her, and he did not ask if she was all right. He simply dressed himself with the same composure he always carried.

It was more like he had just used a toilet, and he did not even care about flushing it.

Elara pulled the blanket around her trembling shoulders and sat there quietly, feeling exposed and foolish at the same time.

“I will be staying in the study tonight,” Dominic said in his emotionless voice, already turning toward the door.

Her breath caught in her throat, “You are not staying here?”

“There is work to handle,” he replied, as though that explained everything.

The door banged behind him, and the sound echoed in the room and in Elara’s heart longer than it should have.

Elara stayed in the same position for a while, staring at the empty space he had left behind. She told herself not to overthink it, because he was a busy man, and because this marriage was arranged for reasons that had nothing to do with love.

Still, the silence felt heavy, and it pressed against her chest until breathing became difficult.

Later that night, she got up to look for some water because her throat felt dry, and because she needed a reason to leave the bedroom before the loneliness swallowed her whole. The mansion was quiet, and the corridors were dimly lit as she walked barefoot toward the kitchen.

As she passed by the study, she heard voices inside.

She had not intended to eavesdrop, but her steps slowed when she recognized Dominic’s voice, and something in his tone made her stop completely.

“The medical reports are clear,” a man said from inside, his voice respectful and cautious. “She is healthy, and there should be no issues with conception.”

“That is good,” Dominic replied. “We do not have time for complications.”

Elara’s fingers curled into the fabric of her robe, and her heart began to pound.

“How long do you intend to keep her?” the man asked after a brief pause.

There was a moment of silence, and then Dominic spoke again, his words sharp and precise.

“Once she gives birth, her role is fulfilled. I only need an heir.”

Elara felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath her feet, and her whole being was floating in the air.

The man hesitated before he asked. “And if she becomes attached. Though you are cold, women can’t just seem to resist you?”

“That is irrelevant,” Dominic said calmly, his voice flat with no emotion. “She was chosen for her background and her health, not her emotions. This marriage was never about love.”

“Understood.”

Elara’s vision blurred, and she pressed her hand against her mouth to stop herself from making a sound.

Her body felt heavy, yet hollow at the same time, and every word she had just heard carved itself deep into her heart.

A breeding vessel! That was all she would ever be in Dominic’s eyes.

She did not remember how she returned to the bedroom, nor did she remember sitting back down on the bed. Her mind replayed his words over and over again, and each repetition hurt more than the last.

She had given him everything she had, including her trust and her body, because she believed that being sincere would count for something.

She had walked into this marriage with courage and hope, even when everyone around her had warned her that Dominic Blackwood was incapable of love.

And now she understood that they had been right.

Tears slid down her cheeks silently as she stared at the floor, and she clenched her hands into fists because she refused to sob loudly in a house that had never welcomed her to begin with. Her heart felt torn apart, but beneath the pain, something else slowly began to rise.

If she were nothing more than a means to an end, then what would happen once she carried his child? What would happen to her, and what would happen to the baby she might soon be carrying?

What would happen to her after she had given birth? Dominic was clear; all he wanted was an heir from her, but what about her? What would be the meaning of her life?

Elara lowered her head and took a shaky breath, because she knew one thing with painful clarity.

If she stayed, she would lose everything, including herself.

And if she wanted to protect what little she had left, then this marriage would not be allowed to define her ending.

She had to quickly think of something.