Chapter 1

[ ARIA’S POV ]

The house was quiet, but it did not feel peaceful. The air was heavy, as if something had already gone wrong and everyone was just waiting for it to settle. I stood in the middle of the room with my hands clenched, trying to understand how we had reached this point. Asking myself if there is any love left for me.

"You will have to marry him," my mother said. Her voice was final, leaving no room for arguments.

Across the room, my sister, Lyra, sat by the window. She was casually eating an apple, the sound of each bite clear in the silence. She did not look up or react. To her, this had nothing to do with her.

"But the Devereaux family asked for Lyra," I said slowly. "Not me."

Lyra took another bite, completely uninterested. I looked at her, hoping she would say something, but she stayed silent.

"How can you ask me to take her place?" I asked, my voice rising. "You know how dangerous that family is."

My mother did not flinch. "Your sister is still young," she said sharply. "She has dreams to achieve."

I shook my head and asked the question softly. "What about me? Didn't I have dreams too?"

She stared at me like I meant nothing to her. "Didn't you hear me?" she snapped. "She has dreams to fulfill, she’s still very young and I can’t give her hands in marriage yet. And besides I don't care about your aim or what you want to achieve in life, not like it’s any important, Aria," she said plainly. "It is not like you have ever been serious with your life."

Something inside me went still. I didn't break; I just stopped hoping for anything else. Lyra finally looked up, but only at our mother. She shrugged and took another bite of her apple, acting as if I were replaceable.

"You will marry him," my mother continued. "This is about the family."

"You are asking me to walk into something dangerous," I said, my throat tight. "You know what happens to people who get involved with them, he didn’t ask for me. But if Lyra went it would be different because he had some liking for her."

"What matters is what this marriage brings us," she replied. "Protection. Power. Stability."

"At what cost?" I asked.

She did not answer. We both knew the truth. I looked at Lyra again, but she never offered to take my place. She didn't even try. This had never been a discussion; it was a decision that had already been made for me.

"I am not ready," I said, though I knew it was useless.

"You don't need to be," my mother replied. "It is already arranged."

There was no room left to fight. I stood there for a long time, trying to accept what was happening.

"I won't survive in that family," I whispered.

My mother paused for a second before straightening her back. "You will," she said. She said it because she needed it to be true.

I looked around the house where I had grown up. The walls no longer felt like safety; they felt distant, as if I were already being pushed out. Lyra leaned back in her chair, completely at ease. Her life would stay the same, while mine had just been handed away.

I tried to steady my breath, but it didn't work. No matter what I said, the truth stayed the same.

I was going to marry him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The car ride was suffocatingly quiet. I sat in the back with my hands gripped in my lap, twisting the fabric of a dress that was meant for my sister. My mother and the driver said nothing; it felt as though all the words in the world had been used up when my life was traded away back at the house.

Outside the window, life moved normally for everyone else, while everything had just changed for me. The closer we got to the building, the heavier the air felt. When the car finally stopped, my mother told me to get out. Her voice was calm and controlled, as if this were just another event. I hesitated, knowing that stepping out meant there was no turning back, but I eventually obeyed.

As I walked inside, every step felt slower than the last. When the doors opened, the room froze. The music stopped, and the voices died down. I could hear the whispers spreading through the crowd like fire.

*** "That's not the bride,"***

**** "What is going on?"***

I forced myself to keep walking until I saw him.

Luca Devereaux stood at the altar, still and dangerous. His expression went completely still when he saw me. He didn't look confused; he looked dark and sharp. His eyes locked onto mine with a cold hatred that burned. I reached him with shaking hands, feeling the tension radiating off him.

He leaned in, his voice low and sharp. "Who the fuck are you, and why are you here?"

I stammered, unable to even finish explaining that my sister wasn't there. His eyes grew even colder. For a second, I thought he might end it all right there, but he leaned closer instead.

"I will make sure you regret this, Aria," he muttered. "You will curse the day you stood on this altar with me taking your sister's place you disgusting thing."

He pulled back and told the officiant to continue. Just like that, it was decided. The ceremony resumed as if nothing had gone wrong. I stood there in a blur, feeling his gaze flicker toward me with cold calculation.

When the officiant asked if he would take me, there was a small pause that everyone felt. Then, without emotion, Luca said, "I do."

I said "Yes" before the officiant could even finish the question for me. I knew what would happen if I didn't.

Luca didn't wait for the officiant to finish the final words. He gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him, and kissed me. It wasn't soft or gentle; it was brief, cold, and a complete statement of control. As the room erupted in applause, he leaned into my ear one last time.

"Don't think this changes anything," he said, his grip tightening on my waist. "This isn't a marriage. It's a consequence. For you."

I realized then that I hadn't just been forced into a marriage. I had been handed over to a man who hated me, and whatever came next would not be kind.