SECRET NIGHTS WITH YOU

Meg I smiled widely as I walked down the aisle wearing my wedding dress. Anyone who sees me would think that I was so in love with the groom, which is why I felt so happy marrying him. In front of the altar, my groom was waiting for me with a scowl on his face. But I didn't care if my groom wasn't happy on our wedding day. All that mattered to me was that my long-awaited dream of becoming an Imperial had come true. I turned to the people standing and lined up on the left side of the church. My stepbrother, Cirius, was looking at me. I smiled secretly when I saw his dark and tight-lipped expression. Cirius doesn't want me to marry Ashton, my boyfriend for three years. But he couldn't do anything but agree to let me marry Ashton because they caught us in bed together. And he wasn't the only one who saw us, but all the guests at my stepmother Cora's birthday party. His reputation in high society would be ruined if he didn't allow me to marry Ashton. The company's stocks would surely be affected. I inherited my father's company after he died, but Cirius manages it as my guardian. According to the last will and testament left by my father before he died, I must be twenty-five years old before Cirius can pass on the full management of the company to me. Cirius was furious with what he witnessed and if he wasn't considering that Ashton was an Imperial, I'm sure he would have beaten him and thrown him to a faraway place or even had him killed. But he couldn't afford to offend the Imperial family. The Imperial family was the most powerful and wealthiest family in the country. Ashton was from the powerful Imperial clan which was led by his older brother. That's why I forced myself on Ashton even though I knew he loved another woman. I couldn't count the number of times Ashton had tried to break up with me but I didn't agree. I just promised him that I would let him do whatever he wanted as long as he didn't leave me. I swallowed the rest of my pride and humbled myself in front of Ashton and his friends, even in front of his mean girlfriend. His friends think that I love Ashton so much and I can't lose him so I endured Ashton's humiliation of me in front of his friends and his blatant cheating on me. But he doesn't know that he was my only hope to escape from my brother's grasp. It was my stepbrother, Cirius's fault that I let Ashton trample my dignity over and over again. Before, Cirius and I were close. He always took my side when I fought with his sister, Chyna. In short, he spoiled me. I wholeheartedly treated him as my older brother, especially when my father died in an accident. But on the night of my eighteenth birthday, he entered my room and tried to force himself onto me. He confessed that he had liked me for so long and he wanted to marry me. And he would take responsibility and marry me after that night. But his plan failed because his younger sister suddenly entered my room. So he just pretended that he was helping me into bed because I was drunk although I'm not. After he attempted to do something bad to me, that's when his obsession with me came out. He monitors all my movements. I'm not allowed to be friends with any man or even talk to them. In front of other people, he is a loving brother. But people have no idea that he is a beast wearing human clothes. Ashton was my childhood friend. I seduced him despite knowing that he was courting Hannah so he became my boyfriend. And Cirius couldn't do anything but accept that I had a boyfriend so people wouldn't suspect that he was secretly coveting his stepsister. But he always reminded me not to let Ashton touch or kiss me, or else, I wouldn't like what he would do. Whenever I came home from dating Ashton, he would almost bathe me in alcohol to disinfect my whole body. He said that Ashton was dirty and he is the only man who has the right to touch me. That's how obsessed he is with me. It's scary. I don't know when he will lose control of himself again and force something to happen between us again. So I didn't wait for his attempt to rape me to happen again and I made a way for Ashton to marry me. I planned everything so that people would see that Ashton and I were together in the same bed. Because I knew that if people saw us like that, he would have no choice but to marry me. He is afraid of tarnishing the name they are protecting. And above all, he is afraid of his older brother Raven, the head of the Imperial Clan. When I arrived in front of Ashton, I handed him my hand with a smile. He reluctantly took my hand and helped me kneel in front of the priest. "Don't think that I will be loyal to you even if we are married, Meg. I will never love you," he whispered sternly in my ear. "I know that, Ashton. Don't worry because I will follow whatever you want," I answered him in a soft voice. He can't find out yet that I don't really care about him. I still need him to deal with my stepbrother. Ashton just smirked and didn't say anything. The wedding ceremony was boring. I was only able to breathe when the priest announced that the ceremony was over. "You may kiss the bride now," the priest said to Ashton with a smile. I quickly brushed my lips slightly on his cheek. "Hannah is watching us. She will surely be hurt when she sees another woman kissing the man she loves," I explained to him. I was referring to his girlfriend. "I'm glad you know that," he replied with a bad look before looking for that woman inside the church. I just smirked secretly. If he weren't an Imperial, I would never glance at him if we met on the road. After the ceremony, Ashton immediately approached Hannah who was with his friends. Because he invited all of his friends to our wedding although he doesn't like that wedding. Hannah raised an eyebrow at me and gave me a teasing smile as if saying that it doesn't matter if Ashton and I are married because she is still in his heart. I just shrugged at her and walked out of the church. I suddenly stopped walking when I saw a man standing outside the church wearing dark shades looking at me. He was so tall and had broad shoulders, and he also looked mysterious, which is why he caught my attention. His appearance and posture seemed familiar to me but I just couldn't remember where I had seen him. And I don't know what's with him, but I stared at him too. "Meg!" I was interrupted from staring at the man when I heard Cirius's voice calling me. I turned to him but only for a moment because I looked back outside the church again. But the man was no longer there. I couldn't understand why I suddenly felt regret in my chest when I saw that he was gone. "Remember what I told you, Meg. Don't ever let him touch you. Do you understand?" he sternly reminded me while holding my arm tightly. "I will. Don't worry," I just said to him. I told him that nothing really happened between Ashton and me that night. We just slept together because we were both drunk. I'm afraid of what he might do if I lie to him that something happened between Ashton and me. I couldn't do anything when Cirius pulled me out of the church and put me in his car then drove me to the hotel where the wedding reception would be held. At the reception, Cirius was always following me while Ashton was following Hannah. But I secretly thanked God when Cirius was pulled by his mother to introduce him to the daughter of her friend, whom he had invited to my wedding. "Drinks, Ma'am?" the waiter asked me when he passed in front of me while carrying a tray of wine. I took a glass and immediately sipped a little to reduce the dryness of my lips. But after the waiter left, my vision suddenly spun. I think someone spiked the wine that I just drank. I felt drunk and my body suddenly felt so hot. It's impossible for me to get drunk right away because I only drank a little wine from the glass. And my body's tolerance of alcohol is not that weak either. "Oh! You're drunk, Meg. Let me help you find a room and get rest for a while," my stepmother Cora said to me. I couldn't resist when she pulled me and took me upstairs to the hotel room. As soon as we entered the room, she immediately pushed me onto the bed. "Stay here and enjoy your honeymoon, Meg," she said to me with an evil smile before hurrying out of the room. I was left alone in the room with my body feeling hot. My stepmother drugged me!