Chapter 1:The Vow
334 Words
The contract was clear. A Brown daughter must marry Damien Vance, heir to the Vance empire. No substitutions. No delays. No escape clauses.
Yet it was Eliana who stood at the altar, veil hiding the fury in her eyes, wearing her sister’s dress and her sister’s name.
Damien Vance didn’t look at her. He stared straight ahead, jaw carved from ice, hands loose at his sides like this was just another merger.
“Do you, Damien Vance, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do.” Two words. Cold. Final. He didn’t even blink.
The priest turned to her. “Do you, Sophia Brown, take this man—”
“Her name is Eliana,” Damien cut in. His voice was quiet but it sliced through the chapel. Every head turned.
His gaze finally dropped to her. Gray eyes, sharp as broken glass, dragged over the veil like he could see through it. See through *her*.
“The contract says a Brown daughter.” His mouth curved, but it wasn’t a smile. “It never specified which one.”
A murmur rippled through the pews. Eliana’s hands shook under her bouquet. He *knew*.
He leaned in, close enough that only she could hear. His breath brushed her veil. “You wanted to play hero, little Brown? Fine. Let’s see how long you last in my bed.”
Her blood ran cold. This wasn’t the deal her father made. This was war.
“I do,” she whispered. Not to the priest. To him. A challenge.
Damien’s eyes darkened. He reached for her veil.
Her blood ran cold. This wasn’t the deal her father made. This was war.
The chapel air turned to ice. This wasn't a marriage. It was a sentence.
Eliana lifted her chin, meeting his lethal stare. "I do," she said. The war had just begun.
His fingers found the edge of her veil.
[To be continued... The veil is about to lift in Chapter 2 →]
- Writer
