The Scorned Bride: His Cruel Vows

Thalia's Pov “I didn't cause her death, Adrian.” I pressed, my voice cracking with exhaustion. “I didn’t send that text. I didn’t force her onto that flight. What else do you want me to say? What do you want to hear?” We’d been at this for hours. I’d lost count of how many times I’d repeated the same words, but no one believed me. In their minds, the narrative was simple: I’d driven Adrian’s fiancée, Aria, to her death so I could take her place, marry him, and claim everything that belonged to her. I looked up at the man I had loved for ten long, agonizing years. I was just the charity case. After my parents died in a car wreck, Adrian’s family took me in to keep me out of the foster system. We grew up under the same roof, but I never considered him a brother, and I never hid how I felt. Everyone in our circle assumed we’d end up together eventually. Until Aria showed up. It was love at first sight for Adrian. All the smiles he gave me, all the care and warmth were all shifted to her overnight. She was his angel, and suddenly, I was the villain in my own home. “Adrian, you have the resources,” I begged. “You have the power. Just run a trace on the text. Find out who actually sent it, because it wasn’t me.” “Oh you lying b***h, aren't you tired of pretending?” Aria's mother, Vivian stood up, her eyes red. She'd been crying ever since she got her. “The text came from your phone! You told her to switch to the flight that crashed. If it weren't for you, my daughter would be home right now. She’d still be alive!” I almost cried from sheer anger. “Can you hear how insane that sounds? Fine, let’s pretend I did tell her to switch flights. How could I have known the plane was going to go down? For all we know, Aria set this whole thing up herself! You don’t know who she really was. She—” “Shut your mouth!” Adrian grabbed me by the throat, the corner of his eyes red. “It seems I've been too lenient on you all these years, Thalia. You’ve forgotten your place.” “Accusing Aria like that? Your shamelessness knows no bounds. Who was the one slept with her adoptive brother, knowing damn well he’s engaged? Everything was your fault in the first place! This is all your fault! If you hadn't drugged Adrian, Aria never would have run away! You're just a desperate, conniving slut who couldn't keep her hands off her brother!” Vivian shrieked. I couldn't help it, I laughed. “A slut?” “Isn't that exactly what you are?” Someone sneered from the corner of the room, “Sleeping with your own family…” “I was drugged too!” I screamed, the words that I couldn’t hold back anymore. “Do you honestly think I wanted that? I didn't crawl into your bed out of my own free will, Adrian! I was led to that room. I have the messages on my phone right now! Someone told me to go there!” Adrian's grip tightened, choking off my air as his eyes flared. "I can show you!" I gasped out, desperate, clawing at his wrists. "It was Aria! She sent the text. She told me to go to the room. She set the whole thing up so you’d catch us!" "Shut your mouth!" Adrian roared. With a look of pure disgust, he didn't just let go, he violently threw me away from him. My knees buckled and I went flying, my hip slamming hard against the sharp corner of the heavy wooden side table. A sickening crack echoed in my ears as blinding pain shot up my spine. I collapsed onto the floor, clutching my side and gasping for air. Before I could even blink, Adrian stepped over me. He towered above my body, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. "Don't you dare speak her name with your filthy mouth, Thalia," he threatened, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "If you ever try to slander Aria again to cover up your own disgusting, pathetic crimes, I will make you regret the very day you were born. Do you understand me? You are nothing compared to her. Nothing." Clutching my throbbing side, the tears I’d been fighting finally spilled over. “Then what do you want from me?!” I screamed, pushing my shaking body off the floor. I glared through my blurred vision at Adrian, at Vivian, at everyone in the room. "What do you want from me?! Since you all believe Aria is the perfect angel, and I'm just the parasite you want gone, why keep me here? Call the police! You have the power, Adrian! Send me to prison! Lock me away for life if you're so sure I'm a murderer! That’s what you want, right?” The room went dead silent, save for my heavy breathing. I expected him to reach for his phone and actually call the police. Maybe if they launched into a full-blown investigation, they’d see I was innocent. I was hopeful, but the low, dark chuckle that rumbled in Adrian's chest immediately dashed my hopes. "Prison?" he asked, shaking his head like I was an i***t. "You want me to send you to prison, Thalia?" He took a step closer, his eyes narrowing. "Prison is far too easy for someone like you," he sneered, "You think you can hide out in a cell, serve a few years, and wipe your hands clean of Aria's blood? You're just trying to use the law to escape me. You want an easy out. So no, I’m not giving it to you." My heart did a terrifying flip in my chest. My breath hitched, the tears freezing on my face as I stared up at his merciless expression. "What..." My voice trembled, "What do you mean by that?” “You spent ten years trying to become Mrs. Blackthorn.” Adrian’s fists shook with rage, his dark gaze locking onto mine. "Congratulations, Thalia. You finally got what you wanted." “W.. What?” Adrian grinned, that canine toothed grin I always loved was now something that scared me. The way he looked at me felt like he was about to devour me or send me to hell. "But from this moment on," he whispered, "I’m going to make you regret ever wanting it. I'll make you wish you were the one who died on that plane, not Aria."