CHAPTER 18
285 Words
SERAPHINA'S POV
The wedding was set for fall — the same day as my birthday. How ironic. I had always imagined my first birthday here to be filled with love and laughter, but instead, I was preparing to marry a stranger.
Worse still, it was a marriage meant for my sister. I was simply the replacement, the sacrifice she refused to be.
I did my research on my future husband out of curiosity and perhaps being desperate.
The news I gathered from the servants gossip and Mrs. Catherine's hesitant tone, apparently he was a Mafia king - Hayden Reynolds known for being heartless and ruthless.
It broke my heart that Mom knew this and still kept the secret from me. She was leading me to my own grave.
How clever! I laughed through the tears slipping from my eyes.
The preparations were suffocating — etiquette lessons, speech training, posture, the art of smiling at the right moment, when to speak, when to eat, when to breathe.
Even cooking lessons and house management were added to the list.
But none of that scared me. What haunted me most… was the thought of my first night.
HAYDEN'S POV
The house was filled with people - Capos, underbosses, and lieutenants — all gathered to celebrate my upcoming wedding. Their congratulations poured in from every direction, each one heavy with expectations I didn’t care to meet.
They seemed even happier than I - the groom.
I’d been groomed for this kind of event since I was twelve, so the rehearsals felt pointless.
I'd already made a silent vow: I would never touch her on our wedding night.
She didn’t deserve it.
And she certainly wasn’t worth it.
- Writer
