The Night After the Wedding
1038 Words
Alice stood at the threshold of Damian’s house, staring inside.
The house was massive. Too massive for just one person to live in. The walls were tall, painted in dark shades, with enormous windows that reflected her own silhouette. The air inside was cold, as if warmth had never once touched this place.
Just like its owner.
Damian stepped in first, not sparing her a single glance. Alice bit her lip, trying to ignore the unsettling feeling creeping up her spine.
I live here now.
The thought felt foreign.
The household staff stood in neat rows, bowing slightly as they passed. No words of congratulations, no sympathetic looks—just empty, unreadable expressions that silently whispered: You don’t belong here.
Damian stopped in the middle of the grand hall and turned to her, his gaze icy. “Listen carefully,” he said, his voice like a blade slicing through the air.
“Don’t touch me. Stay out of my life.”
Alice lifted her chin, refusing to show even a flicker of surprise. “Believe me, that’s the last thing I want,” she replied, her voice steady.
A ghost of a smirk crossed Damian’s lips. “Good. Then we understand each other.”
Without another word, he turned and walked upstairs. His footsteps echoed through the vast, empty house before fading into silence.
Alice remained where she was, staring at the staircase, a strange unease settling in her chest.
This house… felt wrong.
Something wasn’t right here.
---
Hours later, Alice sat in her new bedroom—a spacious room with towering windows that overlooked the backyard.
She tried to block out everything that had happened today, but her mind wouldn’t stop spinning. The wedding, Damian, Evelyn… the secrets that lingered like shadows in the air.
Then something caught her eye.
In the corner of the room sat a small wooden box on top of a desk. Frowning, Alice walked over and carefully opened it.
Inside was a necklace.
A delicate gold chain with a white lily pendant. Beautiful… but why was it here?
A voice behind her made her freeze.
“Don’t touch that.”
Alice turned sharply. Damian stood at the doorway.
His eyes were darker than usual.
“Whose necklace is this?” she asked, even though something told her she wouldn’t like the answer.
Damian stepped forward, slow and deliberate. “That’s none of your business,” he said, his voice quiet but firm.
Alice held her breath.
There was something different about him tonight. Not just his usual coldness. Not just indifference.
Something deeper. Something dangerous.
She swallowed. “Why are you in my room?”
Damian didn’t answer. He just stared at her for a few long, suffocating seconds before finally saying, “Go to sleep.”
Then he turned and left, shutting the door behind him.
Alice remained frozen, her heart pounding.
He was starting to show something.
A darker, more threatening side of him.
And the night grew deeper. Alice lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
But something kept her awake.
A feeling.
The eerie sensation of being watched.
She told herself it was just exhaustion. Just the stress of the day messing with her mind.
But then—she saw it.
Outside her window.
A shadow.
A figure stood in the backyard, barely visible in the darkness.
Alice’s breath caught in her throat.
Who was that? Damian? Someone from the house? Or… someone else?
She wanted to move, to do something, but her body felt too heavy.
And then—just like that—the shadow disappeared.
Alice held her breath, her heartbeat loud in her ears.
And for the first time since stepping into this house, she realized something far more terrifying than her forced marriage to Damian.
This house was hiding something.
And she was not alone.
***
Alice stared at the window, her body frozen.
The shadow was gone, but her heart was still pounding.
Maybe it was just an illusion. Maybe she was just too exhausted after the long day.
But the feeling wouldn’t go away. The feeling that someone was out there. Watching her.
She pulled the blanket tighter around herself, trying to ignore the creeping unease at the back of her neck. But her ears remained alert, listening for the slightest sound—anything that would confirm she wasn’t alone in this house.
Then, in the silence, she heard it.
Footsteps.
Not from outside but from inside the house.
Alice swallowed hard, then slowly got out of bed. Moving carefully, she walked to the door and pressed her ear against the cold wood.
The footsteps were getting closer.
She took a deep breath, turned the doorknob, and peeked outside.
The dimly lit hallway stretched before her. The chandelier flickered faintly, casting shifting shadows along the walls.
No one was there.
But the footsteps continued.
From downstairs.
Alice bit her lip. Every instinct screamed at her to stay put, to go back to bed and pretend nothing was happening.
But curiosity—and fear—pushed her forward.
She stepped carefully down the stairs, making sure not to make a sound.
And then she saw it.
Damian’s study door was slightly open.
A warm light spilled out, casting a shadow onto the marble floor.
Alice held her breath.
Someone was inside.
And it wasn’t Damian.
Someone Else
Alice edged closer, her heartbeat hammering in her chest. She stood by the door, peeking through the narrow gap.
Inside, a man stood with his back to her.
He was tall, dressed in a dark suit, his posture stiff and deliberate. His hands moved quickly, opening one of Damian’s desk drawers and pulling out something—a large envelope.
Alice couldn’t see his face, but every fiber of her being told her he wasn’t supposed to be here.
She took a step back, hoping to slip away before he noticed her.
But then—
The floor beneath her creaked.
The man froze.
Alice’s breath caught in her throat.
For a moment, there was nothing but tense, suffocating silence.
Then, slowly—too slowly—the man turned his head.
Their eyes met.
And in that instant, Alice realized she had just made a terrible mistake.
- Writer
