FALLING FOR THE UNWANTED BRIDE

Disvirgined

I lay beside him afterward, stiff beneath the sheets, my body painfully aware of every inch of space between us and how easily it could disappear if either of us moved.

When his hand found mine in the dark, I didn’t pull away. My fingers curled around his without thinking, as if my body had already decided something my mind hadn’t caught up to.

Sleep came in fragments.

When I woke, the bed beside me was empty.

For a moment, panic fluttered in my chest until the door opened and Casper walked in, fully dressed, his presence filling the room like it always did.

“Good morning, babe.” He leaned down and kissed my cheek, soft and familiar.

I blinked up at him, disoriented. “Morning.”

“How’s your stomach?”

The lie I’d told the night before came rushing back, heat creeping into my face. “It’s… fine,” I murmured.

He studied me for a second longer than necessary, then smiled. “Good. Because I have a surprise for you.”

My heart skipped, nervous excitement tangling with something colder. “A surprise?”

“Get dressed. We’re leaving soon.”

I nodded, even though a strange reluctance settled in my chest. This would be my first time leaving the house since I arrived. The walls had begun to feel like a cage.

Hand in hand, we stepped into the waiting car outside. His grip was firm, grounding. The city blurred past the window as we drove, my thoughts racing faster than the road beneath us.

When the car finally stopped, I stepped out and froze.

The place before me looked unreal. Lush greenery stretched endlessly, sunlight glinting off water that sparkled like glass. It felt less like a location and more like a dream someone had carefully built.

I gasped before I could stop myself.

Casper smiled, clearly pleased. “You like it?”

“Like it?” I turned slowly, trying to take everything in. “I love it.”

I felt like I’d wandered into a movie set, something too perfect to belong to real life.

We were led to a private table overlooking the view, already set, an usher and a chef waiting. Once the food was served, they disappeared, leaving just the two of us and the feeling of nature around us.

The nerves crept back in immediately.

Casper fed me himself, his attention not leaving me, treating me with a tenderness that made my chest ache. Every small gesture felt deliberate, like he was trying to prove something, maybe to me, maybe to himself.

When we were done, he reached across the table and took my hand.

“You know,” he began, his voice quieter now, “the first time I said I was going to marry you, you didn’t believe me.”

I let out a small, nervous laugh. “I didn’t think you were serious.”

“But here we are.” His thumb brushed over my knuckles. “I love you, Diana. And I’ve wanted you for a long time.”

My breath hitched.

“I can’t pretend anymore,” he continued his eyes locked into mine. “Looking at you like this… it makes me want to kiss you all day.”

He stood moving closer, his fingers brushing my lips. Before I could gather my thoughts, his mouth was on mine.

The kiss was gentle at first Then something shifted, and I found myself responding without realizing when I’d decided to. It felt inevitable.

He lifted me into his arms, still kissing me, carrying me through a door I hadn’t noticed before. The sudden coolness of the room seeped into my skin, sending a shiver through me.

The space was beautiful, but I barely registered it. Everything narrowed down to him.

“I want your first time to be special,” he murmured, resting his forehead against mine. “You’re special. This moment matters.”

His hand rested at my waist, waiting and giving me space to pull away.

I didn’t.

“Are you sure?” he asked quietly.

The question unraveled something inside me. We’re married, I reminded myself. I shouldn’t say no.

I nodded, heart racing so hard it felt like it might give me away. “Yes.”

His thumb traced slow, soothing circles against my skin. We stood there like that for a moment, breathing each other in.

When he kissed me again, it was hungry this time.

My hands fisted in his shirt, not wanting the moment to slip away.

When his hands slid up my back, I shivered not from fear, but from how gently he held me, like I was something fragile.

He kissed my neck, my shoulder, the space just below my ear, my thoughts scattered completely

He traced kisses down slowly, never taking his eyes off my face, watching every reaction like it mattered. Like I mattered. .

He pulled of my underwear slowly gently thrusting into me.

I had imagined my first time so many ways but none of them like this. It was painfully sweet and there was no rush.

Only the terrifying realization that I trusted him.

When he finally rested his forehead against mine again, his voice was low, almost reverent. “You’re shaking.”

“I’m okay,” I whispered even when I ached beneath. And I was in the strangest, most dangerous way.

He did'nt leave my side, steady and attentive, And when I finally closed my eyes and let myself fall, it wasn’t into fear.

It was into him.

He pulled me close, his arm secure around my waist.

“You’re safe,” he murmured, half asleep.

The words lodged painfully in my chest.

Because I wasn’t.

Not really. But for this one night, I let myself pretend.

I stared at the dark ceiling, my body still warm, my thoughts anything but. The truth came in slowly,

I had just slept with my sister’s husband.

For a moment, I let myself lie there anyway. Let myself borrow the lie. Just for the night.

Then my phone vibrated.

I stiffened.

Careful not to wake him, I reached for it.

One message with no name came up.

My eyes widened as I read it.

“We found him Dap.“

Only one person calls me Dap.