His Accidental Bride: A last minute decision

Ariana Mei Chen bent over her desk, her pencil gliding across paper with practiced ease as the soft evening light slipped through the windows of her room. Downstairs, voices, footsteps and laughter echoed through the mansion as orders were being thrown around. The sounds drifted upstairs like smoke, filling the hallways and curling beneath her door, they were familiar and distant all at once. Tonight was Duan Liu's birthday, a prominent figure in the country. Which meant tonight, like every other important day in the Chen household, Ariana barely existed. Ariana Chen tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes at the sketch before her. The dress on paper was elegant, fitted around the waist and flowing gently below, but something felt incomplete. Ariana Chen studied it carefully, the way she always did, searching for what was missing, the way other people searched for answers. Ariana suddenly frowned. "No..." she murmured. Ariana Chen tapped the pencil against her lips thoughtfully before adding delicate feather patterns along the sleeves of the dress. Her hand moved slowly at first, then with more certainty, each line settling naturally into place. A smile slowly spread through her face, it was looking way better than before. Fashion had always been her escape, not business, not finance, not those endless meetings and company discussions like her parents wanted. It was Fashion! Fashion that deals with colors, designs and ideas. It was a dream nobody in the Chen family had ever cared enough to ask about. Ariana never blamed them for it. She simply learned over the years, to keep those dreams tucked quietly inside herself, the way you keep something precious out of reach of people who don't know its value. A loud knock suddenly pulled her from her thoughts. Ariana Chen flinched slightly. The pencil slipped from her fingers, her right hand pressed briefly against her chest. Quickly setting her sketch aside, Ariana Chen walked to the door and pulled it open. One of the maids stood outside, her expression was unreadable, "Mrs. Chen said, if you aren't downstairs in thirty seconds, they will leave without you." Before Ariana could respond, the maid turned and walked away, her footsteps fading down the hall, leaving nothing behind. Ariana's eyes widened. "Oh no..." She turned immediately. The birthday dinner! She had completely forgotten about it. Rushing toward her closet, she stared at the clothes hanging there. Most of them were old and simple. None of them could be compared to Eloise's collection. There were no gowns dripping with crystals, no designer pieces wrapped carefully in garment bags. Just rows of quiet, understated clothes that never asked for attention. Her fingers finally settled on a long blue dress. It wasn't extravagant, there were no diamonds, no expensive embroidery, no glittering details. It was just soft flowing fabric that was undeniably simple. Ariana changed quickly, standing before her mirror, brushing down her long brunette hair, letting it fall naturally over her shoulders. There was no elaborate hairstyle, no expensive jewelry, just light lip gloss and a little concealer beneath her eyes. Ariana Chen slipped on silver flats shoes and looked up, her warm brown eyes staring back at her. A small dimple appeared on her left cheek as she smiled gently. There was something almost defiant about that small, quiet smile. It was like a candle that had no reason to keep burning, and burned anyway. "Not terrible," she whispered. After one final glance at her room and the sketch still resting on the desk, the feathered sleeves facing upward, Ariana hurried downstairs. The moment she entered the living room, a heavy silence followed. Benjamin Chen looked up first, followed by Natalia, then Eloise. The expressions were familiar, it was filled with disappointment, annoyance and irritation. Ariana Chen had memorized those expressions the way other daughters memorized lullabies. Ariana's smile slowly faded while Natalia crossed her arms. "Wonderful." Her voice dripped with sarcasm, "You somehow managed to make us late." Ariana Chen lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry. I was....." "You were what?" Natalia snapped in annoyance. "Drawing again?" No response. The word landed the way it always did, not quite an insult, but shaped like one. Like something ordinary made shameful simply by the way it was said. Eloise stepped forward quickly, "Mom, don't do that," she wrapped an arm around Ariana and smiled. "She doesn't look bad." Ariana Chen looked at her sister gratefully. It wasn't much, but from Eloise, in this house, it was enough. Benjamin suddenly sighed. "Ariana," His voice softened slightly to hide his disdain. For a second, hope rose inside her. She hated that it did. She hated how quickly it came, how little it needed to survive, just a single syllable, just the sound of her name said gently. Then she heard the statement she was used to. "When we get there, don't walk in with us," Benjamin said. Her heartbeat didn't stop but her heart ached. Benjamin adjusted his watch without looking at her, "I just don't want unnecessary embarrassment tonight." The words landed heavily inside her chest. Ariana didn't flinch because she had learned not to. Still, she forced herself to nod. "Okay." A few moments later, everyone began walking outside, but Ariana stayed behind. She didn't want to upset them more than she already had. The sounds of heels on the marble floor faded. The front door opened and voices carried briefly in the night air, light and easy, as though nothing had just happened. After several seconds, Ariana Chen quietly stepped out of the house. Then she froze the moment she heard her parents' conversation. Benjamin sighed heavily before speaking, "Ariana is such a wasted effort." There was a silence that lasted for almost ten seconds. The kind of silence that doesn't comfort. The kind that simply waits for the next thing to fall. Natalia nodded in agreement before asking, "So why do we keep wasting money on her?" Ariana Chen's fingers slowly tightened around her dress. She didn't move. Ariana Chen just stood there in the dark, outside the house that had never quite felt like hers, listening to the two people who were supposed to love her talk about her like she was a line in a budget they were tired of justifying. For the first time that night, she forgot how to breathe.