All Chapters of The Bargain Of Survival : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

The veil clung to her skin like a web spun in haste. Lyanna Gray stood still beneath the weight of her wedding gown, that had layers of white silk cascading around her like water pooling at her feet. The bodice pinched too tightly at her ribs. The scent of jasmine from the centrepiece arrangements turned her stomach. And around her, the cathedral-like ballroom of the Ward Estate shimmered in white-gold candlelight. With crystal chandeliers loomed overhead, glittering like threats. Gold trim adorned the towering columns. A harpist sat silent in the corner. The marble floor beneath her heels gleamed with obsessive polish, like even the ground was expected to perform. Only, there was no music, no tears of joy, no clinking champagne flutes, only pens, papers, and tension thick as smoke. Cassian Elijah Ward, her husband-to-be, hadn’t looked at her more than once. He sat perfectly still, immaculate in a black Tom Ford suit, one hand resting on the mahogany table beside the ce

Cassian’s private Grecian villa The villa was impossibly silent. Bigger than anywhere Lyanna had ever imagined herself living, it exhaled the kind of wealth that didn’t need to announce itself. The marble floors shimmered beneath her bare feet, and every step echoed like she was walking through a mausoleum for the living. She had tried to unpack. Folded her clothes into drawers lined with lavender paper. But it hadn’t helped. The walls still felt like strangers, every painting glaring at her like she didn’t belong. She slipped from her room just past seven, barefoot and dressed in a simple silk slip, nothing showy. Nothing Cassian could accuse her of using to “tempt.” Her hair was pulled into a knot at her nape, not out of vanity, but control. The villa unfolded like a palace. Glass cases held ancient vases and silver blades she didn’t recognize. The corridors were lined with portraits, men and women with sharp eyes and sharper smiles. People who had

LYANNA’S POV The message came at 6:14 a.m. it was a knock, followed by a voice through the door, one of Cassian’s assistants, polite but brisk. “Madam Ward, your presence will be required at a press event today. Outing details are in the file left on your table. Your stylist will arrive within the hour.” No explanation. No request. Just required. Like I was another piece of his empire, another asset to be displayed. I didn’t answer. Didn’t open the door. I just lay there under the weight of the sheets and the silence, staring at the ceiling of a room I still couldn’t call mine. This wasn’t part of the agreement, not explicitly. But the contract was iron-clad, and Cassian always knew how to wield it without raising his voice. There were things I could resist. This wasn’t one of them. Still, that didn’t mean I’d smile. I dragged myself out of bed and walked barefoot to the balcony, arms wrapped around myself. The morning air was sharp, scented faintly with rosemary f