Chapter 7: The Wedding Everyone Hates
1244 Words
The internet exploded at exactly 8:03 a.m.
Adrian Vale was getting married.
The headline flashed across every major news outlet.
BILLIONAIRE CEO ADRIAN VALE SECRETLY MARRIES MYSTERY WOMAN
Sophia lowered her phone and sighed.
“That was fast.”
Across from her, Adrian looked completely unimpressed.
“Nothing stays secret when your last name is Vale.”
The private dining room at Vale Manor suddenly felt much smaller.
Sophia glanced at the stack of newspapers that had already been delivered.
Most of them featured her photograph.
Somewhere between the chandelier incident and the marriage license registration, someone had leaked the story.
And judging by the tone of the articles, the city had already decided who she was.
Gold digger.
Social climber.
Mistress.
Con artist.
Sophia folded the newspaper carefully.
“They’re creative.”
Adrian looked up from his coffee.
“They’ll get worse.”
“You sound experienced.”
“I’ve been public property since I was twenty-five.”
Sophia met his gaze.
“You don’t seem bothered.”
Adrian’s expression remained calm.
“I’m not.”
He stood.
“The question is whether you are.”
Sophia looked down at the headlines again.
“I’ve survived worse.”
Something in Adrian’s chest tightened.
He wanted to ask what she’d survived.
Instead, he said, “The wedding is tomorrow.”
Sophia blinked.
“Tomorrow?”
“The longer we wait, the more vulnerable we become.”
“You sound like you’re discussing a merger.”
Adrian picked up his suit jacket.
“Aren’t we?”
Sophia stared at him.
Then, despite herself—
she laughed.
Vale Manor erupted into chaos by noon.
“Absolutely not.”
Eleanor Vale’s voice echoed through the drawing room.
“I refuse to accept this.”
Adrian stood calmly before his grandmother.
“The decision has been made.”
“By whom?” Eleanor snapped. “You?”
“Yes.”
Sophia remained silent.
Observing.
Calculating.
“You expect me to welcome a woman we know nothing about?” Eleanor continued.
Sophia stepped forward.
“You don’t have to welcome me.”
Eleanor’s icy gaze shifted toward her.
“You have manners.”
“Surprising, isn’t it?”
For the first time all morning—
Adrian almost smiled.
Eleanor noticed.
Her expression darkened.
“How long have you known each other?”
“Not long,” Adrian replied.
“Then this is madness.”
“It isn’t.”
“Then explain it to me.”
Silence filled the room.
Sophia couldn’t tell Eleanor the truth.
That killers were hunting Adrian.
That she had been watching over him from the shadows for months.
That marrying him might be the only way to keep him alive.
Instead, she said softly—
“I care about your grandson.”
Eleanor stared at her.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
The older woman studied Sophia carefully.
Then said—
“Hurt him, and you’ll regret it.”
Sophia met her gaze.
“Noted.”
Outside Vale Manor, reporters crowded the gates.
Microphones.
Cameras.
Questions shouted over one another.
“Miss Sophia, are you pregnant?”
“Did you manipulate Mr. Vale into proposing?”
“Were you involved in the chandelier incident?”
“Are you after the Vale fortune?”
Sophia kept walking.
The insults didn’t matter.
She had endured far worse.
Adrian suddenly stepped beside her.
His hand settled lightly against her lower back.
The gesture caught her off guard.
His expression remained cool.
“Keep moving.”
Flashbulbs exploded.
The internet would have a field day.
Inside the car, silence stretched between them.
Then—
“You didn’t have to do that,” Sophia said.
“Do what?”
“Protect me.”
Adrian adjusted his cufflinks.
“I was protecting myself.”
Sophia raised an eyebrow.
“The media loves a scandal.”
“So do billionaires, apparently.”
A pause.
Then Adrian glanced at her.
“Did it bother you?”
“The reporters?”
He nodded.
Sophia looked out the window.
“No.”
It wasn’t entirely true.
Being hated was easy.
Being misunderstood hurt more.
The wedding took place at City Hall.
Simple.
Private.
Efficient.
No flowers.
No orchestra.
No extravagant reception.
Only signatures.
The officiant smiled warmly.
“Marriage is built on trust.”
Sophia nearly choked.
Adrian looked unimpressed.
“Do you, Adrian Vale, take Sophia—”
The officiant paused.
“Actually…”
He frowned at the paperwork.
“Sophia…?”
The room went silent.
Sophia’s pulse accelerated.
Adrian turned toward her slowly.
The officiant cleared his throat.
“It seems there’s an issue with your identification documents.”
Sophia’s blood ran cold.
One of the assistants hurried over.
“There must be a mistake.”
Adrian watched Sophia carefully.
For the first time since meeting her
she looked afraid.
Genuinely afraid.
The assistant returned moments later.
“Everything’s fine.”
Sophia exhaled quietly.
The officiant smiled.
“Shall we continue?”
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
His gaze remained fixed on Sophia.
Who are you?
The question lingered between them.
Unspoken.
Heavy.
Finally, Adrian nodded.
“I do.”
Sophia looked at him.
The billionaire she barely knew.
The man she had sworn to protect.
The man who would hate her if he ever learned the truth.
“I do.”
The officiant beamed.
“Congratulations.”
The sound of applause echoed softly through the room.
Adrian and Sophia exchanged a look.
Neither smiled.
Neither celebrated.
Because both of them understood one thing.
This wasn’t the beginning of a love story.
It was the beginning of a war.
That evening, Sophia stepped into Vale Manor carrying a single suitcase.
The house felt enormous.
Unfamiliar.
Dangerous.
Adrian appeared beside her.
“The guest rooms are on the west wing.”
Sophia blinked.
“We’re not sharing a room?”
“We’re married.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Adrian’s expression remained unreadable.
“I don’t trust you.”
Sophia smiled faintly.
“Good.”
He frowned.
“You keep saying that.”
“You shouldn’t trust people you don’t know.”
Adrian studied her.
“And do I know you?”
Sophia’s smile disappeared.
“No.”
A heavy silence settled between them.
Then—
Sophia noticed something.
An envelope resting neatly on the grand staircase.
She froze.
Adrian followed her gaze.
“What is it?”
Slowly, Sophia approached.
The envelope contained no address.
No stamp.
Only one word written across the front.
WIFE.
Adrian’s expression hardened.
Sophia opened it carefully.
Inside was a photograph.
Taken earlier that day.
At City Hall.
Adrian and Sophia stood side by side.
Watching the camera.
Except neither of them remembered posing for it.
Written across the image in red ink were five chilling words.
TILL DEATH DO US PART.
Sophia’s fingers tightened around the photograph.
Adrian’s voice turned dangerously quiet.
“Someone was at the wedding.”
Sophia met his gaze.
“No.”
Her expression drained of color.
“They weren’t at the wedding.”
Adrian frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Sophia held up the photograph.
“This picture was taken from inside Vale Manor.”
Silence.
Cold and suffocating.
Someone had gotten into Adrian’s home.
Someone had been watching.
Someone knew they were married.
Sophia looked toward the darkened hallways of the mansion.
For the first time since Adrian met her—
fear flashed openly across her face.
Then she whispered—
“They’re already here"
- Writer
