Chapter 1: The Wedding

The loudest part of our wedding was not the music, but the silence that followed our vows.

Zara held the bouquet with trembling fingers as the guests applauded around her. Adrian stood beside her, handsome and distant, wearing the expression of a man who had signed a business agreement rather than married a woman.

The church was filled with light, music, and the smell of fresh roses, yet she felt none of it. All she could hear was the echo of the vows they had spoken minutes ago; promises that sounded beautiful in front of hundreds of people but felt strangely hollow standing between them.

Adrian did not look at her.

He thanked the priest with a polite nod, adjusted the cuff of his black suit, and stepped aside to allow the photographer closer.

“Mr. and Mrs. Moretti, just one smile please,” the photographer said cheerfully.

Zara turned toward her new husband.

For a brief second, Adrian’s eyes met hers. They were dark, unreadable, and completely absent of warmth. He offered a practiced smile for the camera, the kind meant for magazines and business events, not for a bride.

The flash went off.

And just like that, the moment was captured forever.

A perfect lie.

The guests began moving toward the reception hall. Laughter filled the air. Glasses clinked. Somewhere behind her, her aunt whispered, “She’s so lucky.”

Lucky?

If only they knew.

Zara tightened her grip on the bouquet until a thorn pressed against her palm. The sharp sting grounded her.

“Your father is smiling again,” Adrian said suddenly.

His voice was calm, low, almost gentle.

She followed his gaze across the church. Her father stood near the entrance, speaking to the bank manager who had threatened to seize their house only two weeks earlier. For the first time in months, the deep worry lines on his face had softened.

Relief washed through her chest.

This was why she had agreed.

Not for love.

Not for the mansion, the money, or the famous Moretti name.

For him.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Adrian finally looked at her properly. “Don’t thank me yet.”

The words settled between them like cold rain.

Before she could ask what he meant, his mother appeared at his side, elegant in silver silk and diamonds.

“Adrian, the investors have arrived,” Mrs. Moretti said. Then her eyes moved to Zara, assessing her with the same detached politeness she had worn since the engagement announcement. “Try not to keep them waiting.”

Investors.

Not family friends. Not guests.

Investors.

Zara felt something inside her sink.

Mrs. Moretti linked her arm through her son’s and guided him toward the reception hall. Adrian took a step, then paused.

Without turning back, he said quietly, “You should prepare yourself, Zara. Tonight will be very different from what you imagined.”

She watched him walk away and disappear into the crowd without looking back, surrounded by wealth, confidence, and people who belonged in his world.

She stood alone at the center of the church while the celebration continued around her. Laughter rose from the guests, cameras flashed, and the organ played softly in the background, but none of it reached her.

A waiter passed by carrying a silver tray of champagne. Zara set down her bouquet and reached for a glass, hoping the cold would steady her shaking hands.

That was when she heard two men behind her.

“So the marriage is confirmed?”

“Yes. The Moretti merger can proceed now.”

Zara’s fingers froze around the glass.

Merger?

Her heartbeat quickened.

Slowly, she turned toward the reception hall where Adrian stood beside his mother, already discussing business with a group of men in expensive suits.

In that moment, a terrifying thought entered her mind.

What if she had not been chosen to be Adrian Moretti’s wife?

What if she had simply been chosen for the deal?

And suddenly, the vows they had spoken only minutes ago felt less like the beginning of a marriage and more like the signing of a contract no one had allowed her to read.

And for the first time since saying I do, Zara realized that marrying Adrian Moretti might not be the hardest part.

The hardest part would be surviving the silence that came after.