Chapter 4
973 Words
Chapter Four: The Vows We Didn’t Mean
The room was too quiet to feel like a wedding.
No music. No flowers. No witnesses, save for Camilla and a stone-faced officiant in a gray suit. It all felt too clean. Too fast. Too… empty.
Lina stood across from Alexander in the marble atrium of his private office, her palms slightly clammy despite the chill in the air. She wore a soft ivory sheath dress, simple and elegant, chosen by his stylist. Her hair was swept back in a loose bun. No veil. No bouquet.
No love.
Just a contract.
Alexander, of course, looked unbothered in black-on-black. Tailored suit, polished shoes, expression unreadable.
“You may proceed,” the officiant said without preamble.
Lina swallowed as the man’s voice echoed off the tall glass windows.
Alexander took the lead. His vows were cold, precise, memorized—not from the heart but from legal necessity.
“I, Alexander Wolfe, take you, Lina Evans, as my lawful wife—for the period and purpose stated in our mutual agreement. I vow to respect the terms of our contract. To uphold appearances. To maintain confidentiality. And to provide all provisions promised therein.”
He slid a silver band onto her finger.
It was beautiful—simple, heavy, expensive.
But it felt like a shackle.
The officiant turned to her. “Your turn.”
Lina’s breath hitched. Part of her wanted to laugh. Vows? What vows? There was no love story here, no whispered dreams or fairy-tale promises. Just paper. Ink. Desperation.
Still, she raised her chin.
“I, Lina Evans, take you, Alexander Wolfe, as my lawful husband… under the terms we agreed. I vow to fulfill my role. To protect your secrets. To follow the rules. And… not fall in love.”
The officiant didn’t even blink. He stamped a paper, signed, and said flatly, “You are now legally married.”
That was it.
No kiss. No applause. No smile.
Just a moment of silence.
And then, her world changed.
⸻
They rode back to the penthouse in silence. Lina stared at her ring, turning it slightly on her finger. Her hands still trembled—maybe from the cold, or from the weight of what she’d done.
She was someone’s wife now.
His wife.
Alexander sat beside her, unreadable. He didn’t speak until they reached the elevator.
“The press release will go out in the morning,” he said. “We’ll do our first appearance next week at a charity gala. Until then, you stay here. No press. No contact with your old life.”
She turned toward him, frowning. “So I can’t even visit my brother?”
“Only through approved visits. And only if you cooperate with everything else.”
Lina’s heart clenched. “You said you’d help me protect him.”
“I am. But Noah is leverage now, Lina. For both of us. Don’t give the world a reason to question this marriage.”
She felt like he’d slapped her without touching her.
“You really are heartless,” she whispered.
He turned to face her, jaw tight. “Emotion gets in the way of control. I don’t do chaos.”
“And I don’t do cages.”
“Then behave like a woman who chose freedom.”
The elevator dinged. She stepped out before him, furious, humiliated, and trapped.
⸻
The next morning, everything had changed.
Paparazzi gathered outside the building. News headlines ran photos of her walking beside Alexander at the courthouse, grainy and zoomed-in: “Wolfe Weds Mystery Woman in Secret Ceremony.”
Some called her a gold-digger.
Some called it a PR stunt.
One blog even speculated she was pregnant.
Lina scrolled through it all with shaking fingers, curled up on the plush velvet couch in her new living room. She hadn’t slept. Her body was in a penthouse, but her heart was still somewhere in that old apartment, packing bags and counting coins.
A knock came at the door.
It was Camilla, holding a tablet. “You have to get dressed.”
“For what?”
“A photo shoot. Vogue Middle East is doing a feature on you two next month. They want some early press material.”
“I haven’t even been a wife for 24 hours.”
“Exactly. The clock’s ticking. Try to look in love.”
Lina wanted to scream.
But instead, she stood. “Fine. But I’m picking my own shoes.”
Camilla arched an eyebrow. “Rebellious already?”
“No,” Lina said with a tired smirk. “Just reminding everyone I’m still a person.”
⸻
The photoshoot was a whirlwind.
She wore a crimson dress that hugged her like sin. Alexander stood behind her, hands on her waist, lips near her ear. They looked perfect on camera.
But between flashes, he didn’t speak.
And when the camera wasn’t watching, his hands dropped away like she burned him.
She couldn’t decide what stung more—the coldness… or the parts of her that wanted to reach back.
⸻
That night, Lina sat alone on the balcony of her new home, legs tucked under her, watching the lights of the city blink like distant stars.
She was married. Rich. Safe. Out of the struggle.
And lonelier than she had ever been in her life.
Inside, Alexander poured himself a drink. No words. No looks. Just silence and routine.
Lina turned her head. “Do you even believe in love, Alex?”
He didn’t answer right away.
Then, slowly: “Love is a currency people overvalue. It inflates. Bursts. Destroys.”
She looked away. “Maybe you just invested in the wrong hearts.”
His voice was low. “And maybe you’re still hoping this turns into something real.”
She didn’t respond.
Because maybe… he was right.
- Writer
