The bride he didn't choose

Chapter 9

“I promise you,” Windsor said, his voice low but steady, his hand tightening protectively around Elora’s trembling fingers, “I will find whoever sent those kidnappers. You are safe with me. I’m here for you… and I will always be.”

Elora wanted to believe him.

She really did.

But the fear clawing at her chest refused to loosen its grip.

Her body still shook faintly, her mind replaying everything that had just happened—the masked men, the sudden attack, the way they had called her by a name that wasn’t hers.

“Take her. She doesn’t belong here.”

A broken sob escaped her lips.

“When you were with Grandpa…” she began, her voice cracking, “I heard a voice. It said… it said I’m enjoying what belongs to someone else.Tears spilled freely now. “Windsor, I don’t know who I offended. I don’t know why this is happening to me…”

Windsor’s jaw tightened.

Something dark flickered in his eyes.

“Don’t worry,” he said firmly, pulling her into his chest. “Everything will be fine.”

“Security!” Windsor’s voice rang sharply through the grand hall, echoing off the marble walls.

Within seconds, several armed guards rushed in, their expressions alert.

“Boss, we are here.”

Windsor turned slowly, his gaze cold and dangerous.

“I need every single one of you to be on high alert,” he said. “There is someone inside the Collins estate. Someone dangerous. And they are targeting my wife.”

The guards stiffened.

“I’m giving you thirty days,” Windsor continued, his voice dropping into something far more threatening. “Thirty days to find this person.”

A heavy silence followed.

“And if anything—anything—happens to my wife…” his eyes darkened, his tone lethal, “I will personally make sure none of you live to regret it.”

The threat hung in the air like a blade.

“Understood, boss,” they replied in unison.

“Good. Now go.”

As they dispersed quickly, Windsor turned back toward Elora.

But she wasn’t looking at him.

Her gaze was fixed on the far end of the hallway.

Empty.

Yet—

Her expression said otherwise.

“Elora?” Windsor called softly.

She blinked, snapping out of whatever trance had taken hold of her. “I… I thought I saw someone.”

Windsor’s fists clenched.

“They won’t get near you again,” he said.

Outside the Collins estate, hidden just beyond the tall iron gates, a figure stood in the shadows, phone pressed tightly against their ear.

Their voice was low. Urgent.

“We need to be careful,” the person whispered. “They’re starting to suspect. We’re about to get caught.”

A pause.

The wind rustled through the trees, carrying a faint chill.

“I think you should stop this,” the voice added, tension rising. “This is going too far.”

Silence answered from the other end.

Then—

A second voice spoke.

Cold.

Unyielding.

“No.”

The single word cut through the line like a blade.

“I will never stop,” the voice continued, quieter now, but far more dangerous. “Not after everything she’s taken from me.”

The figure outside swallowed hard. “You don’t have to do this. We can find another way—”

“There is no other way,” the voice snapped, sharp and filled with rage barely contained. “She is living my life.”

A heavy breath.

“I was supposed to be in that house,” the voice continued, slower now, almost trembling with emotion. “I was supposed to be his wife… to have that name… that power… that future.”

The words turned bitter.

“But she took it.”

The figure outside closed their eyes briefly.

“This won’t end well,” they warned softly.

A dark chuckle echoed through the phone.

“It won’t end at all,” the voice replied.

And then—

A whisper that sent chills down the spine.

“I will kill her.”

The call ended.

Back inside, the Collins estate had fallen into an uneasy silence.

Too quiet.

Too still.

Elora sat on the edge of the bed, her hands wrapped tightly around herself as if trying to hold her pieces together.

Something was wrong.

She could feel it.

Not just outside.

But inside the house.

Inside her life.

Inside her own idetity.

Downstairs, Windsor was pacing, his mind racing with everything Elora had told him.

His phone vibrated suddenly, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Unknown number.

He hesitated for a moment.

Then answered.

“Hello?”

Silence.

“Who is this?”

A soft breath echoed through the line.

Then—

A voice.

Familiar.

Too familiar.

“Enjoying your marriage, Windsor?”

His blood ran cold.

“Who is this?” he demanded.

A faint laugh followed.

“You really don’t recognize me?” the voice teased. “That’s disappointing.”