chapter 4

Chapter 4.

MRS. DE ANGELIS.

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The air felt light as the music shifted to a romantic one. The guests stood as the doors opened, and Millicent began her walk down the aisle in the company of her father.

Most people usually had butterflies on the day of their wedding, but all she had was dread. She felt like a sacrificial lamb being brought to the altar. The monster beside her was going to hand her over to the devil, the dark angel.

Perhaps her reluctance was heavily expressed on her face, because beside her, her father whispered.

“Smile. Or I'll have Luca's kidney served to you on a plate by sunset.”

Her jaw tensed. “You had better not forget, the moment I say the vows, he'll get released. That was the deal.”

But instead of reassuring her, Salvatore chuckled. “Deals evolve, figlia mia.” < My daughter. >

Millicent froze, wide eyed.

“Pull yourself together and smile, Millicent,” he whispered as he tightened his hold on her, pulling her back to her senses.

“There’s been a new development. Our source confirmed that Angelo has documents buried somewhere. Documents that could destroy our empire if released, or if he pleases. Papers that could wipe us out.”

Her breath hitched.

Documents… How was this any of her business?

“So…” he father continued, “You have a new mission. Steal the documents and… poison him.”

“What?” Millicent glanced around, hoping none of the guests may have heard the nonsense her father was blabbering.

“You’ll give him a slow acting dose, it will be untraceable. Won't kill him immediately… but it will make him suffer slowly till he dies. We'll finish the job before it spreads completely.”

She didn't speak, she couldn't. Poison him? Steal from him?

So this was never about peace… it was always about the damn documents, about murder. And now, she was to play the bride, spy and executioner.

She couldn't help but look at her father in disgust.

Aware of the guests surrounding them, Salvatore reached into his pocket, discreetly slipping a tiny vial into the hidden pocket sewn into her dress.

“Don't disappoint us.”

And with that, he paused a feet away from where the groom and the priest stood.

He stared at her dead eyed, “Make us proud and Luca will be safe.” Then he stepped aside.

Millicent couldn't believe him. But whether she realized it or not, she had been tricked. Again.

She was walking into a war dressed as a wife.

She sighed.

Tears prickled beneath her veil, but she blinked them away as she walked to meet her new husband. Every step was heavy, but her spine remained straight.

Then at the altar, she saw him.

Angelo.

Tall, ruthless and cold. Just as she remembered him.

The man whose heart she'd once held… and shattered.

But he didn't recognize her, not yet.

He turned slowly ,and as she reached him, he offered a smile. One that was measured, composed, and completely unreadable.

“Cara,” < Sweetheart. > he said, taking her hand. His fingers felt like ice.

Then, the priest began the vows with an echoing voice.

“We are gathered here today to witness the union of Millicent Romano and Angelo De Angelis. Before we proceed, do you, Millicent Romano, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in wealth and In ruin, for better or for worse… till death do you part?”

She hesitated… “I do.” her voice came out cracked and forced.

Then he recited the same for angelo. Unlike her, he smiled. “I do.”

But amidst his calm demeanor, she could feel Angelo's eyes on her the entire time. Studying her, unfolding her soul like pages from a book.

Something about her… unsettled him.

Then… the priest voice came out loud, “You may kiss the bride.”

Angelo reached forward, while Millicent could feel her chest beating loud.

His hands gripped her veil, moving it behind her blond hair. And in a single moment, he lifted it.

Their eyes met.

And time? It stopped… shattered.

He stared at her face, that face.

The fact of the one who betrayed him.

For a moment… there was silence.

Angelo's breath hitched, barely, but she caught it.

And that confirmed it…. He recognized her.

He couldn't believe his eyes. If someone had told him, he wouldn't have believed it. But here he was, staring at the woman he once loved, the woman who ruined him… his new wife.

He stared at her, and she stared back.

Then, within seconds, his eyes flashed from soft surprise to pure calculating cold. He smiled in a cold and cruel way that made Millicent's pulse race.

He leaned in slowly, lips brushing the shell of her ear. “Welcome to your new hell, Cara.” < Sweetheart. > “You played me once, Millicent. But this time, I'm going to be the one writing the script.” He murmured, his voice low and dangerous.

Her body went still.

Then his voice dropped lower, laced with venom and promise. “By the time I'm done with you, you'll wish you never said …I do.”

Angelo placed his hand on the small of her back, pulling her closer in… closer than fear, closer than escape.

He leaned in, his smile picture perfect for the cameras.

“Now kiss your groom,” he murmured.

Then…. His breath ghosted over her lips before sealing the moment with a kiss… cold, calculated and final.

This wasn't marriage, nor love.

Rather, it was war. It was the beginning of her sentence.

Millicent felt it in her bones, the quiet threat beneath his touch.

She hadn't just married a man.

She had stepped into the arms of her executioner.

“Smile for the crowd, Mrs. De Angelis,” Angelo whispered in a low and poisonous voice. “Because soon… they'll be watching you burn.”

*Click*

The cameras flashed.

And somewhere behind that smile, something wicked had already begun to move.