Scarred Seductress

Just like every other fairytale, Samantha’s began with a long flowing silk gown in pure white. Her dark hair styled into a clean bun, her breath catching in her throat from nerves, her beautiful face glowing with a radiant smile. “You're so lucky, Samantha… you finally get to marry Damien Moretti, just like you both always dreamed,” Marina drooled, securing the last elegant pin in Samantha's hair. She spun her gently by the shoulder, turning her toward the grand mirror before them. “You look so beautiful, sis… no wonder Damien chose you,” she gushed, forcing a smile as Samantha's bright eyes met hers. “Don't flatter me, Marina…” “I'm being honest sis. Do you know how many suitors have approached Dad in the past month, asking for your hand before Damien finally dared to disobey his father and make the engagement public? It's always you sis— you have the beauty of a goddess. Just look at you,” she cooed, a flicker of pain settling in her eyes as she took in Samantha once more—slowly, almost grudgingly amazed by how stunning one person could be. Samantha had always been the centre of attention, the one everyone admired since they were children. No one ever looked her way when Samantha was in the same room—not even Damien. For years, she had endured it, bottled it all up, watching as every spotlight, every whisper, every camera flash was drawn to Samantha's beauty. She had learned to live with it. But not this time. This time, she could see it all coming together—Samantha’s ruin. “Thank you, Marina… and never forget, you are just as beautiful. You're my sister,” Samantha said softly, a chilling wave of nervousness running down her spine as her gaze swept through her reflection. She had always hated her beauty—it made her the centre of unwanted attention, a magnet for men's stares and whispers. It has put her in uncomfortable, even dangerous, situations more times than she could count. In truth, it felt like a miracle she was marrying Damien at all. So many men had lined up before him—some disgustingly old and she had feared her father would settle for the quickest bidder. “And Damien is so brave, going against Matteo Moretti, his own father just to be with you,” she murmured, exhaling softly as she sank into the chair beside Samantha, her gaze lingering on her sister's face. “Marina…” “Damien is perfect, Samantha but his father… his father is…” “I don't care,” Samantha cut her off, forcing down the flicker of fear rising in her chest as she picked up her flower bouquet from the dressing table. “I'm marrying Damien, Marina… not his father. I know what people say about Matteo Moretti, and maybe I should be scared—maybe I should have walked away. But I can't, Damien means too much to me, and I'd still choose him, every single time.” Marina nodded, forcing a smile as she rose to her feet when Samantha did. “You're right, Samantha… you're marrying Damien, the love of your life, not his ruthless father Matteo. You have absolutely nothing to worry about,” she heaved and veiled Samantha's face, looping her arm through hers as if to steady her nerves. A light chuckle slipped from their lips as they stepped out of the dressing room together. “And here comes your happily ever after!” Marina whispered as they stepped into the wedding hall, the small congregation gasping at Samantha's beauty. Up ahead, Damien stood beside the priest, a big smile on his face, his gaze fixed anxiously on Samantha as she walked down the aisle with Marina. Their parents had refused to come. The Moretti family was far too troublesome to buy, and they had never supported their union. Damien's father—he had no business associating with people of their kind, those without power. So when Damien insisted on Samantha, he had only laughed. “My love…” Damien mouthed, taking Samantha's hand and pressing a tender kiss to it. Something in Marina's stomach twisted as she watched, the smile on her face beginning to falter despite her best effort to hold it in place. “We are gathered here today to witness the solemnization of Samantha Monroe and Damien Moretti in holy matrimony,” the priest began. Marina settled into a seat, her eyes fixed on them. Damien and Samantha's eyes met, face radiant with smiles, eyes glittering with unshed tears. What had Samantha done to deserve such happiness? No doubt she was beautiful, but just as her parents had secretly hoped, she alone deserved Damien, not Samantha. They had done everything to separate them, to insert Marina into Damien's life—yet all their effort had come to nothing. “So, do you, Damien Moretti, take this woman, Samantha Monroe, to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, till death do you part?” The priest asked. A sudden hush fell over the congregation, the tension in the hall rising. This was the moment—Samantha was about to become not just the heiress to her father's modest empire, but a Moretti, a name so feared far and wide across the country. “Yes, yes… I do,” he answered, shattering Marina's heart into a million pieces. She looked away, biting her lower lip as tears welled up in her eyes, the echoes of the priest repeating the same words to Samantha tearing something raw inside her. “By the power vested in me… I hereby pronounce you, husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride,” the priest declared, and Damien's lips captured Samantha's in a hungry kiss, the audience erupting into cheers and applause. “Congratulations!” the audience cheered, celebrating around them. Damien held Samantha in a lingering, hungry kiss until a child's cry echoed across the hall, drawing laughter from everyone as he finally released her. “It's a sign… a baby is on the way,” someone joked, and the laughter rippled through the hall. Damien shook his head, his gaze returning to Samantha's bold blue eyes. Finally, she was his—his one and only true love. “I'll never leave you, Samantha… ever. You're mine, forever,” he whispered, as the world around them blurred—peaceful and still, with only the sound of their hearts beating in perfect rhythm. “Me too,” she responded, cuddling into his arms as a wave of joy rippled through her chest, her heart threatening to burst from sheer happiness. “I love you,” he whispered, his gaze lingering on Samantha—until it unexpectedly met Marina's dark, unreadable eyes for the first time. “I love you too,” Samantha responded. Damien tore his gaze from Marina, dismissing the moment, and focusing once more on Samantha—his entire world.