Chapter 5: The Wedding Countdown

Oren Gallamor stood on the rooftop terrace the next night, wind whipping her hair as she stared at the dark Atlantic below. The message from Harry Vida still burned in her mind.

'Bring me what your mother hid, or I release everything.'

James Reeves stepped behind her, his presence like heat against the cold night. He didn’t touch her. Not yet.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said quietly.

Oren turned, eyes hard. “You murdered my mother. Forgive me if I’m not in the mood for wedding planning.”

James’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t look away. “I know what I did. And I know nothing I say will make it right. But Harry Vida is using you as a weapon against me. He wants that card. He wants you broken. I won’t let him have either.”

Oren laughed bitterly. “You won’t 'LET' him? You’re the reason any of this is happening.”

The tension between them crackled like lightning. James moved closer, backing her against the stone railing. His hand came up to grip her chin, firm but not painful.

“I’m offering you power,” he said, voice low and rough. “Marry me in three days. Stand as my queen. Help me destroy Vida. Or walk away now and I can assure you, become his next target.”

Oren stared into his eyes, seeing the war inside him - obsession, regret, and something dangerously close to fear. She hated how her body still responded to him. How the memory of his hands on her skin made her thighs clench even now.

“Fine,” she said coldly. “I’ll marry you. But not because I trust you. Because I want the truth and when the truth comes out, you get to bleed and I get to watch.”

James’s eyes darkened. He pulled her into a brutal kiss.

It was angry and desperate. Oren bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. James growled and lifted her onto the wide stone ledge, stepping between her thighs. His hands slid under her dress, gripping her bare skin as he kissed her deeper, tongue stroking hers in a fierce battle for dominance.

Oren moaned into his mouth, fingers digging into his shoulders. For a few heated seconds, hate and lust collided. James rolled his hips against her, letting her feel how hard he was, how badly he wanted her despite everything.

He broke the kiss, breathing ragged, forehead pressed to hers. “I don’t care if you hate me,” he whispered. “As long as you’re mine.”

Oren pushed him back, chest heaving. “I’m not yours. Not yet.”

James smiled darkly. “Three days.”

The wedding was now a weapon.

Two nights later, the castle was alive with quiet preparations. Oren stood in front of the mirror in a stunning black wedding dress that clung to every curve. She looked like a queen ready for war. She touched the empty locket around her neck. She kept remembering her mother's face on the hospital bed. 

Later that night, Zara slipped into the dressing room, eyes wide with fear. “Miss Oren,” she whispered. “Harry Vida sent another message. He knows you have something your mother left behind. If you don’t bring it to him by the end of your wedding night, he’ll release everything, and that includes proof that Mr. Reeves ordered your mother’s death.”

Oren’s blood ran cold. The real microSD card was still hidden. The one piece of leverage she had left.

The next evening, James took her to a private pre-wedding gathering at the harbor club. The tension between them was thick enough to choke on. He kept her glued to his side, one hand possessively on her lower back.

They were deep in conversation when Samantha approached.

“James,” she said urgently. “Harry Vida is here. He’s demanding to speak to Oren. Alone. Before the wedding.”

James’s grip tightened painfully.

Before Oren could respond, the lights flickered. A single gunshot rang out from the upper level.

Chaos erupted.

James shoved Oren behind him, gun already drawn. “Stay down!”

Shots shattered glass near them. In the panic, Oren saw him, Harry Vida, standing in the shadows, smiling coldly as bullets flew.

He was watching her with chilling recognition, as if she was the real prize.

James fired back, shielding her with his body as they retreated toward the exit. As soon as they reached the car, Oren realized the horrifying truth.

Harry Vida wasn’t just coming for James. He was coming for her too.

And from the look in his eyes, he already knew her deepest secret.