Semua Bab The Wedding Night Curse: Bab 1 - Bab 9

Alika's POVI stood before an old mirror, its glass fractured like a spider’s web. My ivory wedding gown trailed along the cold, polished floor. No laughter echoed through the room. No bridesmaids fussed over me with makeup brushes and final touches. Just the groan of wooden floorboards and the scent of damp earth drifting in through the half-open window.This day was supposed to be the happiest moment of a woman’s life.But for me—it felt like a funeral rite.The Damar family estate was nestled at the edge of a forest, far from town, cloaked in moss and shadow. They said the house was over two hundred years old, passed down through generations. But what sent a chill down my spine… was the rumor. Not one marriage ever ended happily in this house. Not one bride ever left.“Citra.” A calm but cold voice called me from the doorway. Raditya’s mother, Mrs. Sekar Damar, wore a black lace dress with a golden snake-shaped brooch pinned to her chest. “It’s time.”I nodded slowly, lowered my ga

Alika's POVI don’t remember exactly when everything started to change.Maybe it was the first night, when the woman in the mirror looked at me as if I were her. Or perhaps it began with that strange dream—the upside-down room, the soulless bride, and a voice that told me I had to kill Ethan before the third night.But this morning... something feels truly different.The sky outside is overcast, yet the light that filters in is strange. Dim, as if held back by an invisible fog. I crack open the window, only to be met with an unnaturally cold breeze, despite it not being winter. A sharp scent of jasmine hangs in the air—too sweet, almost suffocating. And faintly... I can smell blood.Ethan left at dawn. I have no idea where he went. When I asked Mrs. Whitmore, the elderly housekeeper, she only replied in a hushed tone, “Master Ethan has family business to attend to.”Whatever that means, I know I won’t get a clearer answer.Alone in the large bedroom, I start to feel like a prisoner. E

Alika's POVSomething wasn’t right.The air felt heavier as I walked down the west corridor, each step echoing off the cold stone floor. I wasn’t supposed to be here—this part of the mansion was always locked, always avoided. But tonight, the door had been left ajar.Almost like someone was waiting for me.I hesitated in front of the half-open door. A sliver of darkness stared back at me, quiet and unmoving. My fingers hovered over the knob when I heard it.A voice.Soft. Male. Familiar."Alika..."I froze.Ethan?I turned, but no one was there. Just empty shadows and the hum of an old chandelier swaying above me. My breath caught. I knew Ethan was in the east wing tonight, handling guests from Boston. He couldn't be here.Still, I stepped inside.The room was small—dusty and untouched. Cobwebs clung to the corners, and the musty scent of old wood and forgotten things filled my lungs. In the corner sat a table, draped with a torn lace cloth. On it lay a book, thick and dark, like it h

Alika's POVThe air was heavier tonight.It wasn’t just the chill anymore. The Blackwell mansion had turned sentient. I could feel it in the way the floorboards creaked without weight, the way every shadow seemed to stretch toward me like it was hungry.I clutched the old grimoire I had stolen from the study—an ancient book bound in dark leather, written in a language that almost seemed to breathe. It had taken me hours to decipher even a few pages, my fingers trembling with each turn as if the ink itself was judging me.But I had finally found something.A way to undo it.The curse.A reverse ritual. A way to sever the Bride’s Bond and escape this nightmare. My blood, willingly given. My body, willingly seated. In the Bride’s Throne. Before midnight of the third night.And tonight… was the third night.I pressed my hand against the page, rereading the phrase over and over:“She who breaks the