Married To My Sister's Arranged Fiance

Eight

Elena

The walls were breathing. Or maybe it was just the sound of my own frantic heartbeat echoing off the cold marble of my bedroom. Every hour that passed felt like a nail being driven into my coffin. The wedding was no longer a distant threat; it was a looming monster, a shadow that grew longer with every sunrise.

I stood in the center of my room, surrounded by the physical evidence of my impending doom. There were boxes of fine Italian silk, silver platters for the reception, and the dress—the white, shimmering shroud that would mark the end of my life.

I looked at my reflection. I looked healthy to the casual observer, but I could see the cracks. My eyes were sunken, and my skin had a translucent, sickly quality. My stomach felt like it was full of lead. I placed a hand over it, a gesture that had become a constant, desperate habit.

"I can't do this," I whispered to the empty room. "I can't."

The thought of Xavier DeRico touching me made my skin crawl. Not because he was a monster—though the stories said he was—but because every inch of me belonged to Nate. To let Xavier claim me would be a desecration of the only pure thing I had ever known. And the baby... what kind of life would my child have in that house? A child born of a secret, raised by a man who would see it as a stain on his honor the moment the truth came out.

I thought about Nate’s proposal to run. I had rejected it because I was afraid of my father’s reach, but as I looked at the ivory dress, the alternative seemed worse. If I stayed, I would eventually be found out. My father would kill Nate anyway. Xavier would kill me. The baby would be lost.

If the end was the same, why wait for the pain?

I felt a sudden, sharp wave of nausea and stumbled toward the bathroom. After the retching stopped, I sat on the floor, my forehead resting against the cool porcelain. I was a Vanoss. I was supposed to be strong. I was supposed to sacrifice my happiness for the family name. But the family name didn't love me. It didn't care about the life inside me.

I stood up on shaky legs and walked to my nightstand. I opened the small velvet-lined drawer where I kept my jewelry. Tucked beneath a pearl necklace was a small, amber-colored pill bottle. It was a strong sedative my mother used for her migraines. I had swiped it weeks ago, a dark insurance policy I hoped I would never need.

I poured the pills into my palm. They were small and white, looking harmless in the dim light of the lamp.

"If I'm gone, the contract is void," I muttered, my voice sounding hollow and strange. "The DeRicos can't blame Father for a tragedy. Nate can move on. He can be safe."

It was a coward’s logic, fueled by exhaustion and hormones and the crushing weight of a crown I never asked to wear. I walked over to the balcony door, looking out at the gardens. Somewhere out there, Nate was probably looking at my window, hoping for a sign.

I couldn't give him a sign. I could only give him peace.

I picked up a glass of water from the table, my hand trembling so hard the water sloshed over the rim. I put the first pill to my lips. I closed my eyes, picturing the quiet, the darkness, the end of the fear.

"Elena! Stop!"

The bedroom door crashed open. I jumped, the pills spilling from my hand and scattering across the dark rug like tiny white stars.

Kayla stood in the doorway, her chest heaving as if she had run up the stairs. She looked at me, then at the glass of water, and then at the scattered pills on the floor. Her face went from shock to a cold, vibrating fury I had never seen before.

She slammed the door shut and bolted it before lunging at me. She didn't hug me. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me, her fingers digging into my skin.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, her voice a low, dangerous growl. "Are you insane? You think this is the way out?"

"I can't go through with it, Kayla!" I screamed back, finally letting the dam burst. "I'm protecting him! I'm protecting the baby! If I'm dead, they leave Nate alone. If I'm dead, the DeRicos just go find another bride!"

"If you're dead, you've killed the only thing that matters!" Kayla snapped, her eyes flashing with a fierce, terrifying intelligence. "You think Father will just let Nate go? He’ll blame Nate for your 'depression.' He’ll clear the house of anyone who ever looked at you. You aren't saving anyone, Elena. You’re just quitting."

I collapsed onto the bed, burying my face in my hands. "Then what? I marry the Ice King? I let him take me while I’m three months pregnant? He’ll know! He’ll kill us both!"

Kayla stood over me, her silhouette tall and imposing in the moonlight. She looked less like my younger sister and more like a queen preparing for battle. She took a deep breath, and when she spoke, her voice was calm—deadly calm.

"You aren't going to marry him," she said.

I looked up, tears blurring my vision. "The contract is signed. The date is set. How can you stop it?"

"I’m not going to stop the wedding," Kayla said, her eyes fixed on the ivory dress in the corner. "I’m going to change the bride."

I stared at her, my heart stopping for a heartbeat. "What?"

"

Xavier hasn't spent enough time with you to know the difference between a Vanoss daughter and her shadow," Kayla said, her mind clearly working through a thousand different variables. "We’re close enough in height. With the right veil, the right makeup, and the right distraction, I can take your place."

"Kayla, no," I whispered, horrified. "He’s a DeRico. He’s dangerous. You can't sacrifice your life for mine. You don't even love Nate. You don't have a reason to do this."

"I have the only reason that matters," she said, kneeling in front of me and taking my hands. "You’re my sister. And I am tired of watching this family break people for the sake of power. I can handle Xavier. I can play his games. I can buy you the time you need to get away and have that baby in peace."

"He'll kill you when he finds out," I sobbed.

"He won't find out until it’s too late," Kayla replied, a dark, confident smile touching her lips. "And by then, I’ll make sure he’s so entangled with me that he can't afford to let the secret out."

I looked at her, truly looked at her. My little sister, the one who always stayed in the library, the one who never spoke up at dinner. She was proposing the most dangerous deception in the history of the Five Families.

"You'd marry a monster for me?" I asked.

"I'd marry the devil himself to see you safe," she said.

She stood up and began picking up the pills from the floor, one by one, dropping them back into the bottle. She moved with a cold, calculated efficiency that sent a shiver down my spine. She wasn't just my sister anymore. She was a woman who had found her purpose, and it was a purpose forged in fire.

"Tonight, we start the work," Kayla said, looking back at me. "You’re going to teach me everything. Your mannerisms, your voice, the way you walk. And I’m going to start making Elena Vanoss look like the most undesirable, fragile woman in the world so that when I finally step into the light, Xavier will be relieved to find something else."

I felt a spark of hope—tiny, fragile, and terrifying. The abyss was still there, but now there was a bridge.

"But what about Father?" I asked. "He’ll know. He’s the one walking me down the aisle."

"By the time we reach the altar, it won't matter what Father knows," Kayla said. "He wants an alliance. I’ll give him one. He just doesn't know which daughter is going to be holding the leash.

She walked over to the window and looked out toward the city, toward the DeRico estate on the cliffs. I followed her gaze, feeling the weight of the secret shifting from my shoulders to hers. It was a heavy burden, but as I looked at the set of her jaw, I realized for the first time that Kayla wasn't just a Vanoss. She was the best of us.

The plan was insane. It was treason. It was a death warrant. But as we stood together in the dark, I knew it was the only way we were both getting out of this alive.

"One thing, Kayla," I whispered. "Xavier... he’s not just a name on a contract. He’s a man. What if he notices? What if he looks at you and sees the truth?"

Kayla didn't turn around. "Then I’ll make sure the truth is the only thing he wants."