Chaptertwo
990 Words
The next morning, Eddie stood in front of a lengthy mirror, dressed in a designer cream gown that didn't belong to her. Her reflection stared back at her with sharp lines under her eyes, mouth pressed tight.
She hardly recognized the woman staring back. Eddie looked like someone who belonged to the billionaire's world.A lie wrapped in luxury.
“Mr. Blackwood is waiting for you downstairs,"John,the assistant, said, barely looking at her. The press is already assembling”
The press.?
Her stomach churned.
She had signed a contract in less than twenty-four hours ago.now, she was about to be paraded like some perfectly polished bride to be. No engagement,No courtship, just a change of name,and a photo shoot.
“This is unbelievable,” she muttered.
John glanced at her through the mirror “your brother's surgery will commence as soon as possible the fee has been paid fully” Damon keeps his promises.
That should've made her feel better.
Instead,it felt like shackles were tightening.
She nodded stiffly as she followed John out of the penthouse suite into the private elevator.each floor they passed felt like a countdown to something irreversible.
Damon was downstairs, standing beside a luxurious black Lamborghini.He looked charming, of course. He wore a tailored black suit with an expensive wristwatch.
His expression unreadable, cameras clicked widely the moment they set their eyes on Eddie.
“Smile” he whispered to her as he offered her his arm.
She took it, trying not to flinch.
The flashes felt like gunfire. Reporters attacked them with questions.
“Mr. Blackwood! is this your bride to be?
“Miss Winslow”, how long have you been dating each other?
Is this true love or just a strategy?
Damon slightly pulled her close, just enough for the cameras to catch the illusion.”she is everything I ever asked for”
He said to the reporters,his voice smooth without a c***k.
Eddie's cheeks ached,as she forced a smile.
He was a good lier,too good.
She could hardly tell if he was acting,or if that cool detachment was just his default setting.
…..
Inside the car, the silence there could make someone shiver.
“You lied so smoothly back there”she said flatly.
“I said what they needed to hear.” Damon replied, barely looking at her.
“You said I was everything you ever asked for”
He turned to look at her, slightly narrowing his eyes. “A wife who doesn't ask questions,A face the public trusts,A name that makes my story look clean.yes Eddie you are exactly what I wanted.”
She stared at him, heart pounding, eyes full of anger with the mix of hatred and humiliation.
“You are a monster”
He didn't deny it.
The civil ceremony took place in a private court house downtown away from paparazzi, Damon signed the papers with no emotions as if he was approving another business deal.
When it was Eddie's turn to sign,her hands were shaking.
She stared at the black line beside the words,spouse of Damon Blackwood.
This was not just a signature.
It was a sentence.
Her fingers were numb as she wrote her name, feeling the ink stain her future.
Damon reached out for her hand immediately after signing the paper, and he slid a diamond into her finger.it felt cold,huge and heavy to her.
‘Congratulations’ the clerk said with a joyful smile.Mr. and Mrs.Blackwood.
Eddie didn't feel like a wife,
She felt like she was being used.
….
They arrived at Damon's penthouse that evening, it was a very luxurious house.
It overlooked the city-glass walls, white marble, emotionless perfection.
“This will be your home till the marriage ends” he said casually, setting down his phone.
She slowly walked in, soaking in the sterile silence.No warmth,No family photos, not even a misplaced shoe.it felt more like a luxurious prison.
Where is my room? She asked calmly.
He pointed towards the hallway.” The last door on the left”
“So we are not even pretending behind closed doors?”
He poured himself a drink,neat wine in a crystal tumbler”No need for that” he answered.
Eddie stood still, unsure whether to feel relieved or insulted.
“This is not the first time you are doing this
Isn't it?”
His hand paused.
“No,” he said, voice getting colder now.”This is my first marriage.”
“Then why does it feel like you have rehearsed every line?”
He didn't answer.
Eddie's room was massive.king size bed, velvet curtains, gold accents but none of them felt like hers.
It felt curated,impersonal, just like everything else in Damon's life.
She collapsed on the bed, staring at the ring. Everything was happening so fast.Yesterday she was a broke girl.Today, she was the wife of a billionaire who despised her family.
And yet…there's something about Damon that doesn't feel quite right.
If he hated her father so much,why hadn't he exposed him? Why this marriage?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the knock on the door.
She opened it and found a tiny pink box
Sitting on the floor,No note, No footsteps, just the box.
Inside the box was a silver bracelet with one word engraved on it.
BELONGS.
She frowned.strange.
It was beautiful but haunting, small,delicate,
but heavy with something unspoken.
She flipped it over and squinted at the underside.
There-barely visible, etched in small letters-were the initials.
M.W
Her breath caught.
Maya Winslow.
Her sister's name.
Her sister who disappeared five years ago without a trace.
Eddie's mind was in turmoil; she couldn't understand what was actually happening,who actually brought this in front of the door, because she didn't see nor hear any footsteps earlier.
She couldn't believe her eyes either, what is her sister's bracelet doing here.her heart was drumming in her ears.Eddie stumbled back heart pounding.why did Damon have her sister's bracelet.?
- Writer
