Chapter:you may now kiss the bride
“You may now kiss the bride,” the priest said.
Those words didn’t register in my brain at all.
A few minutes ago, I was about to kill myself, and now I was in a cathedral, standing on the altar opposite my future husband.
He inched closer to me, pulling me in for a kiss.
It felt like fire when his lips landed on mine. A drop of tear traced down my cheek like fire once he pulled away.
It was done. I was married to Alessandro Matteo.
The cathedral was filled with his men clapping and hailing this matrimony.
“You wanted to leave this wedding earlier. I will deal with you later,” Alessandro whispered to me.
His expression was strict. He walked away from the altar. The church began clearing out, and everything ended in a blur, from the huge doors to the blurry faces that exited the church.
Everyone was gone.
My eighteenth birthday had just turned into a whole nightmare.
This was surely a day I wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon.
I stood on the altar, noticing every detail of the cathedral come to a blur as tears pooled in my eyes.
“Congratulations, my daughter,” a voice came from a distance, causing me to turn around.
I knew that wretched voice.
It was my father.
The man who sold me out to clear his debt.
He was the reason I was standing here today. The audacity he had to show himself here after two whole years.
“You look really beautiful,” he said, now standing before me.
“What are you doing here?” I said angrily, throwing my bouquet of flowers on the floor.
“Don’t do that. It is considered bad luck,” he said, stroking the tears away from my face.
My body was vibrating with anger.
“What are you doing here?” I asked once again.
“It is your wedding day. I came to see you,” he said with another mocking smirk.
“Oh, really? Or did you want to see your transaction for payment in the process?” I said, walking away from the altar.
“At least now you have shown your usefulness,” he said with a short laugh.
I halted in my steps but continued my walk.
My father was the worst thing, besides this marriage, to ever happen to me.
Two years ago, I was sold to the Matteo family by my own biological father to clear a debt.
My father had taken a loan from the Matteos to buy a new shipment of drugs. His previous shipments had been seized by the FBI, and he was losing customers. He needed a solution really fast.
It didn’t go according to plan. His shipment was seized again, and this time, he had no money to pay the debt he owed the Matteos.
So he decided to offer the only thing he knew he could.
He offered me.
His own daughter.
I still remember the day they came for me.
Another day I couldn’t forget.
I remember looking at my father that day, begging him not to let them take me.
Instead, he did something I did not expect.
He told them, “Take her away.”
There was no hesitation behind that statement.
That was the day I saw my father for the evil he truly was.
I walked out of the large cathedral doors, and a man interrupted my walk.
“Mrs. Matteo, I was asked to take you back to the Matteo mansion,” the man said.
Mrs. Matteo?
This was my new reality.
I was a Mrs. Matteo now.
I got into the car.
I started to actualize my life.
This was my new life.
The drive was oddly short, probably because I spent the whole drive trying to convince myself that this was okay.
It was not the mansion I knew.
It was different. I knew this because I had spent two years in the same one.
I was escorted into the house.
This mansion was slightly bigger.
The flowers I saw outside were wonderful, and the inside was beautifully decorated.
I was taking a moment to appreciate my surroundings when I heard someone call my name from above.
It was Alessandro.
He was at the top of the stairs.
I looked up to meet his gaze.
“Come up here now,” he ordered.
I took a deep breath and walked up the stairs.
I reached the top and stared at him.
I was waiting for him to explain why he called me upstairs.
He led me to his bedroom and closed the door.
He took a moment to look at the door as if calming himself.
“You tried to leave the wedding,” he said, turning around to face me.
“Yes.” I nodded.
He walked closer to me, and I walked backwards until I hit the wall.
“Why?” he asked, oddly calm.
“I don’t know if it hasn’t seemed clear the many times I have tried to escape. I don’t want to marry you,” I said in a very loud tone.
“Well, that is too late,” he scoffed.
“Oh, wow,” I said, looking away.
“The next time you try something like this, I will deal with you,” he said, squeezing my arms tightly.
“Ahh…” I cried out.
He didn’t stop.
“You are hurting me. Ahh…” I cried loudly.
He stopped and looked at me like he wanted to apologize, but his ego wouldn’t let him.
“Pull up your dress,” he said.
“What?” I asked him.
“Pull up your dress,” he said, bringing his face close to mine.
I was not going to do that.
Before I could say no, he tore my dress from top to bottom.
I was standing with parts of my dress on my body and my underwear.
“Get on the bed,” he ordered.
I did as he said.
He walked closer to me, and I could feel my heart beating faster.
He reached for me, but I immediately pulled away.
“I don’t want to,” I said, my voice shaking.
He stopped.
For a few seconds, he just stared at me.
His expression was unreadable.
Then he stepped back.
“You really don’t want this?” he asked.
I shook my head.
He looked away, running a hand through his hair.
“Fine.”
I couldn’t believe it.
He turned away from me and walked toward the door.
Pls make this only letters and numbers