Chapter two
1051 Words
CHAPTER TWO
The first thing Devon King said to his wife the next morning was—
“What the hell is this?”
Nora looked up from the dining table slowly.
Sunlight spilled through the massive windows behind her, turning the untouched cup of coffee beside her cold gold. Across from her, Devon stood frozen near the doorway in a black dress shirt, staring directly at her face for the first time.
Really staring.
Confusion hit him first.
Then disbelief.
Then anger.
Violent, immediate anger.
Nora set her fork down carefully.
The dining room suddenly felt too quiet.
Devon looked like a man trying to process a car crash in real time.
“You’re not Lily.”
Not even a question.
Nora swallowed once. “No.”
His expression changed instantly.
The air changed with it.
Devon stepped closer. “Where is your sister?”
Nora did not answer fast enough.
He laughed once under his breath.
A dangerous sound.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
He dragged a hand over his face before turning sharply toward the staff standing near the doorway.
“Get my mother down here. Now.”
The maid nearly ran.
Nora sat perfectly still while Devon paced once beside the table like he physically could not contain the fury moving through him.
“You thought this was funny?” he asked suddenly.
“I didn’t choose this.”
“Bullshit.”
His eyes snapped toward her.
“You expect me to believe you were dragged into a courthouse at gunpoint?”
Nora looked down at the fading red mark near her wrist from where her father had grabbed her earlier.
Then back at Devon.
“No,” she said softly. “You already decided what to believe.”
For a second, something flickered across his face.
Then disappeared.
The dining room doors opened before either of them spoke again.
Victoria King entered first, elegant and composed in cream silk despite the early hour. Richard King followed behind her looking irritated more than shocked.
Devon turned immediately.
“Did you know about this?”
Victoria’s eyes landed on Nora briefly.
Cold. Assessing.
“Yes.”
Devon actually looked stunned.
“You knew?”
“The Chase family explained the situation late yesterday evening.”
“The situation?” Devon barked out a laugh. “They swapped brides.”
Victoria remained calm. “Lower your voice.”
“You married me to the wrong woman.”
“You were legally married to a Chase daughter,” Richard said flatly. “The agreement remains intact.”
Nora felt something cold crawl down her spine.
Agreement.
Again.
Not marriage.
Never marriage.
Devon looked between his parents like he genuinely could not understand what he was hearing.
“She lied to me.”
Nora finally stood.
“No,” she said quietly. “I didn’t.”
Devon’s gaze cut toward her sharply.
“You stood beside me through an entire wedding ceremony pretending to be your sister.”
“My parents locked me in a room.”
“And you still went through with it.”
“What exactly was my alternative?”
Her voice stayed calm, but something underneath it finally sharpened.
“Should I have screamed in the courthouse? Run into traffic? Maybe thrown myself down the stairs for dramatic effect?”
The room fell silent.
Devon stared at her.
Nora could see the exact moment uncertainty tried to enter his head.
But pride killed it quickly.
Because believing her meant admitting something ugly.
That he never paid enough attention to realize the woman beside him was terrified.
Victoria folded her hands neatly. “What is done is done.”
Devon turned toward his mother slowly.
“You cannot seriously expect me to continue this.”
“We expect you to behave rationally,” Richard said. “An annulment immediately after the merger announcement would raise questions.”
“There should be questions.”
“There will not be.”
Nora watched the entire conversation like she was invisible again.
Not one person asked what she wanted.
Not one.
Devon looked furious enough to break something.
Instead, he laughed quietly.
“Unbelievable.”
Then his eyes landed on Nora again.
This time colder.
Sharper.
More personal.
“How long were you planning to keep pretending?”
Nora felt exhaustion settle into her bones.
“I wasn’t pretending.”
“You wore the dress.”
“They put me in it.”
“You signed the papers.”
“They handed me a pen.”
Devon stepped closer suddenly.
“And last night?” he asked softly. “What excuse do you have for last night?”
Heat flooded Nora’s face instantly.
She hated that it did.
Devon noticed.
Of course he noticed.
His jaw tightened slowly as realization moved across his expression piece by piece.
The dark room. Her silence. The name he said.
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered.
Nora looked away before he could see the humiliation still sitting inside her.
For the first time since entering the room, Devon seemed genuinely unsettled.
Not angry.
Worse.
Ashamed.
The bathroom memory clearly returned to him all at once because he swore quietly under his breath and turned away fast.
Nobody spoke.
Even Victoria looked uncomfortable now.
Finally Richard broke the silence.
“This situation can still be managed.”
Devon laughed bitterly. “Managed.”
He looked at Nora again.
Longer this time.
Actually looking.
The loose sleeves swallowing her wrists. The untouched breakfast. The exhaustion beneath her eyes.
Not Lily.
Nothing like Lily.
“How much did they promise you?” he asked quietly.
Nora blinked once.
“What?”
“Money. Property. Whatever this was worth.”
Something inside her finally snapped.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
“My father sold me because my sister said no,” Nora said. “Do you honestly think I saw any of that money?”
The words landed hard.
Devon’s expression shifted.
Tiny. Almost invisible.
But she saw it.
Good.
Let him feel it.
A phone suddenly started ringing somewhere nearby.
Victoria answered it immediately.
Two seconds later, her expression changed.
“Speak of the devil,” she murmured.
Devon frowned. “What?”
Victoria lowered the phone slowly.
“Lily Chase is downstairs.”
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