The Duke's new obsession

The heavy silk of my wedding gown felt less like a garment and more like a gilded cage. Every stitch represented a political debt, a silent contract signed in my blood. I stood before the tall mahogany mirror, watching Bella’s trembling hands as she fastened the last of the pearl buttons along my spine. Her reflection was a ghost of my own—pale, terrified, and helpless. In the capital, daughters were currency, and today, my father was finally cashing me in. "The carriage is here, My Lady," Bella whispered. Her voice was thin, barely rising above the dread pooling in my chest. She tried to smooth the lace at my wrists, but her fingers were shaking too hard. I looked at the girl in the mirror. She looked like a Duchess, draped in cream-colored satin and antique lace that cost more than a village. Butinside, I felt like a sacrificial lamb. The journey was supposed to be a simple transition from one prison to another—from my father’s house to the cold halls of Duke Nottingham. The carriage ride started in a suffocating silence. But barely an hour into the journey, the world shattered. The carriage jolted to a violent halt, the horses screaming in protest. Outside, the shadows of armed men spilled across the gravel like ink on a page. The air in the cabin suddenly turned freezing. The door was wrenched open, letting in the biting night air. A man with eyes like flint looked at me. He didn't look with the respect due to a bride. He looked with the cold calculation of a merchant assessing fine silk. "Duke Nottingham’s contract has been voided," he rasped, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. "You’ve been outbid. You belong to a new master now." "That's impossible..." I choked out. My breath caught in my throat, and the white lace of my sleeve snagged on the rough wood of the carriage door as I pulled back. "My father would never... he gave his word. The seal was set!" The man laughed, a sound like grinding stones. "Your father is a businessman, girl. Nottingham offered him a title. My master offered him a kingdom. Who do you think a man like that chose?" I always knew I was nothing more than a pawn on a chessboard I hadn't helped carve. In the end, did it truly matter if the hand holding the piece had changed? The fate remained the same: I was property. A prize. A debt paid in flesh and silk. Perhaps he saw the blood drain from my face, or the way my skin turned a ghostly grey under the dim moonlight, because his gaze softened just a fraction. It wasn't kindness; it was the clinical look of a man making sure his new investment wasn't about to break before the journey even began. He reached out a gloved hand, not to comfort me, but to tilt my chin up so he could inspect my face. "You are mine now," he stated. His voice was like velvet over stone-smooth, but dangerously heavy. "And I am quite certain your father taught you exactly how to behave for a man of my station. Do not make me regret the price I paid." The words sent a violent shiver down my spine, rattling the pearl buttons of my gown. I lowered my eyes, staring at the polished, expensive leather of his boots. The realization of my father's greed settled in my gut like lead. He hadn't just married me off; he had sold me to the highest bidder in a secret auction. "Yes... My Duke," I whispered, the title feeling like ash in my mouth.