Chapter 1
Shaina’s Point of View
I sat beside my mother’s hospital bed, gripping her cold hand as silent tears ran down my cheeks. The steady beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound in the room, but even that couldn’t drown out the storm raging inside me.
"Ma… please," my voice broke as I held her hand tighter. "I didn’t mean for this to happen. I never wanted you to get hurt."
Her eyes, once filled with warmth, looked distant—tired. "Shaina, I don’t know what to believe anymore," she said weakly. "The accident… everything is a mess now. Your stepfather is barely holding the company together. And now, this marriage is the only way to fix it."
I shook my head, sobs escaping my lips. "Please, Ma! Don’t make me do this. I don’t even know him. I’ll find another way—I’ll work, I’ll do anything. Just don’t force me into this marriage."
Before my mother could answer, a sharp voice cut through the room.
"Oh, stop the drama, Shaina," Sofia scoffed from the doorway, arms crossed as she leaned against the frame. "You should be grateful. Marrying into the Whitley family is the only useful thing you’ll ever do for us."
I turned to glare at her, my chest tightening at the sight of her smug expression. My half-sister had always made it clear—I was nothing but an outsider in this family.
"This isn’t your decision to make, Sofia," I spat, standing up. "I have a right to choose—"
She let out a cold laugh. "No, you don’t. You think anyone cares about what you want? After everything you’ve done?" She stepped closer, lowering her voice. "You owe us, Shaina. If it weren’t for you, Mom wouldn’t be lying in this bed."
Her words sliced through me like a knife. "That’s not true," I whispered, but my voice was weak, even to my own ears.
Sofia smirked, satisfied with my silence. "Face it—you ruined everything. The least you can do is fix it."
I turned to my mother, hoping—praying—that she would defend me. But she only closed her eyes, as if too tired to argue. "Shaina, just do as you’re told," she murmured.
And just like that, my last hope crumbled.
I had no choice.
I was getting married.
