LOGINADRIAN POV
Adrian was in his office reviewing an office file when his phone started buzzing.One notification. Then another and another.By the sixth one, he picked up the phone to see what the hell was going on.Insta*** tags. All of them. People he barely knew tagging him in the same post over and over.He opened the app and his blood went cold.Elite Gossip had posted a photo of him and Vanessa. The one his mother had forced them to taADRIAN POVIt's been three days since Adrian married the devil’s assistant, three days since that embarrassment of a wedding happened and his life had gone from hell to something much worse.He was living in the same house as Vanessa but they weren’t sharing a bed, no shared meals, no sharing of anything except the same address and the same last name.His mother had cornered him after the wedding reception asking where they were going for their honeymoon. The look Adrian gave her must have been murderous because she’d backed away immediately and hadn’t brought it up since.Now Adrian stood in his bathroom letting the warm water from the shower wash over him. The heat felt good against his tense muscles. He’d been carrying so much stress in his shoulders that everything ached.He closed his eyes and tilted his head back under the spray.Kira’s face appeared in his mind immediately. The way she’d looked at him during the wedding. That sad smile she’d given him right before he said I do.
KIRA POVKira left the house at exactly six in the morning.The sun was barely up and the streets were still mostly empty. She’d barely slept, tossing and turning all night thinking about the email, about the complaint, about who could have possibly done this to her.Marcus insisted on coming with her. He sat in the passenger seat of her Maybach looking all nervous as she pulled out of the driveway.“Are you sure you want to drive?” he asked.“Yes.”“Because you look like you didn’t sleep.”“Well, I didn’t.”“Then maybe I should drive.”“Marcus, I’m fine.”She pressed harder on the gas and the car jerked forward.Marcus grabbed the handle above his window. “Jesus Christ, Kira. Slow down.”“We need to get there before the inspectors.”“We need to get there alive at least.”Kira took a sharp turn and Marcus let out a sound that was half scream, half prayer.“I don’t want to die,” he said. “Kira, please. I’m too young and handsome to die in a car accident.”“You’re not going to die.”“Yo
KIRA POVThe question hung in the air like a death sentence.“If anyone here has any reason why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace.”Kira’s entire body was tensed. Her hands gripped the armrests of her chair so hard her knuckles turned white.She should stand up. She knew she should. Should walk right up there and tell everyone that Vanessa was a manipulative liar. That the pregnancy was probably maybe fake. That Adrian was being blackmailed into this marriage.But what would people say?They’d call her a bitter ex-wife who couldn’t let go. A jealous woman who couldn’t stand to see her ex-husband move on. They’d say she was making a scene, causing drama, trying to ruin someone else’s happiness out of spite.The whispers would start immediately. The judgment, ohh the social media posts calling her pathetic and desperate.Kira stayed in her seat.Marcus shifted besi
ADRIAN POVThe officiant cleared his throat and opened the small book he was holding.Adrian stood at the altar feeling like he was watching someone else’s life. Like this was happening to a different person and he was just observing from somewhere far away.Vanessa stood beside him with red marks still visible on both cheeks from where Kira had slapped her. Her makeup was smudged and running. The stain on her dress was obvious to anyone who looked or was standing close enough.She looked like a mess but she was smiling anyway. That same fake smile she always wore, the one that never ever reached her eyes.“Dearly beloved,” the officiant began. “We are gathered here today to witness the union of Adrian Michael Westbrook and Vanessa Marie Chen in holy matrimony.”Adrian’s jaw tightened. Holy matrimony? There was nothing holy about this.“Marriage is a sacred bond between two people who love each other. Who commit to suppo
FREE POVKira raised her hands like she was surrendering. “Please don’t involve me in whatever weird family problem thingy the both of you have going on. Nothing happened between me and Adrian right now. Sorry you found us in that position. I’ll take my leave now.”She moved toward the door but Vanessa blocked it with her body.Kira stepped to the right. Vanessa moved to the right.Kira immediately stepped to the left. Vanessa still moved to the left with her.They stood there like that for a moment, it wasn’t funny anymore. Two women, one in a wedding dress, while the other in a cream colored guest outfit. Both refusing to back down for each other.Kira’s jaw tightened. Her patience was beginning to wear thin.“Vanessa, I beg you with whatever you hold so dearly, please don’t piss me off today or…”“Or else what?” Vanessa cut her off. Her voice was sharp and challenging, or else what Kira?Kira tu
VANESSA POVThe music and the entire serene was beautiful.Classical strings playing softly as Vanessa stood at the entrance of the garden. Every guest was seated. Three hundred people dressed in their finest, all turned toward her, waiting.Jenna stood beside her holding the long train of her wedding dress. The fabric was heavy. Everything Vanessa had ever dreamed of.Lily, the flower girl, stood in front looking adorable in her gold ball gown. The little girl had Kira’s eyes. Kira’s face. It was uncanny how much she looked like her mother.Every time Vanessa looked at Lily, all she saw was Kira. A constant reminder of the woman whose life she was trying to steal.But not today. Today was supposed to be Vanessa’s day.They’d already walked down the aisle. Past rows and rows of guests. Past the elaborate floral arrangements Catherine had insisted on. All the way to the front where the officiant stood waiting under an arc







