CHAPTER 2
1240 Words
CHAPTER 2
The Wedding That Felt Like a Funeral
Lucy stood in front of the full-length mirror, staring at the girl in the white dress.
The fabric was expensive—lace and silk that clung to her body like a cage. The veil was pinned to her dark hair, its sheer fabric falling over her face like the bars of a prison cell.
She looked like a bride.
But she felt like a corpse.
Marissa stood behind her, smirking with satisfaction. “You almost look decent.” She adjusted the veil, her fingers digging into Lucy’s scalp. “Try not to embarrass yourself in front of your husband.”
Husband.
The word made Lucy’s stomach churn.
She had never even met Ray Whitmore. She knew only his reputation—a ruthless billionaire, powerful, untouchable. A man who got everything he wanted.
And today, that included her.
Her hands trembled as she clutched the fabric of the dress. “Please,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “Don’t make me do this.”
Marissa’s smile was cruel. “You think you have a choice?”
Leo’s voice cut through the room like a knife. “It’s time.”
Lucy turned, her heart hammering against her ribs. Leo stood in the doorway, his face devoid of any emotion. The man who was supposed to protect her, supposed to love her like a father, was giving her away like a business deal.
Her legs felt heavy as she stepped forward, each movement dragging her closer to the inevitable.
Closer to him.
A Ceremony of Chains
The wedding was small and private—no friends, no family who cared for her. Just business associates, high-profile guests, and a groom who hadn’t even looked at her yet.
Ray stood at the altar, a picture of power and control. He was tall, dressed in an expensive black suit, and his piercing blue eyes locked on the priest. His expression was unreadable, his presence suffocating.
Lucy felt like she was walking toward her executioner.
Every step closer made her chest tighten. She wanted to scream, to run—but Leo’s warning echoed in her mind.
Do you think anyone will save you?
No. No one would.
So she stood beside Ray Whitmore, trembling as the priest spoke words she barely heard.
“Do you, Ray Whitmore, take Lucy Sinclair to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
A pause.
Then, in a voice as cold as steel, Ray said, “I do.”
The priest turned to her. “And do you, Lucy Sinclair, take Ray Whitmore—”
She couldn’t breathe.
Her lungs refused to take in air.
This wasn’t her choice.
Her lips parted, but before she could say anything, she felt Leo’s stare drilling into her, a silent threat.
Slowly, she turned her head. Her uncle sat in the front row, watching her with a warning in his eyes.
Say no, and you’ll regret it.
Lucy’s hands curled into fists. She wanted to fight, to refuse, to run. But where? How?
Her throat tightened.
“I do,” she whispered, the words tasting like poison.
Ray slid the ring onto her finger, a cold band of metal that felt like a shackle.
The moment the ceremony ended, Ray didn’t kiss her. He didn’t even look at her.
He simply turned and walked away.
And just like that, Lucy Sinclair was no longer her own.
She belonged to him now.
A Night of Silence and Fear
The ride to Ray’s estate was silent.
Lucy sat in the back of the limousine, her hands clasped in her lap, her heart pounding so loudly she thought it would burst.
Ray sat beside her, his posture relaxed, his gaze fixed on the window as if she didn’t exist.
She forced herself to speak. “Why did you want to marry me?”
His jaw tightened.
For a moment, she thought he wouldn’t answer. Then, without turning to look at her, he said, “Because I could.”
The words sent a chill down her spine.
She was nothing but a possession to him.
Nothing but something he had taken because he wanted to
The car pulled up to the estate—an enormous mansion with towering pillars and sprawling grounds. It looked more like a fortress than a home.
The driver opened her door, but her body refused to move.
Ray exhaled sharply, irritated. “Get out.”
Lucy’s legs shook as she stepped onto the gravel. The mansion loomed above her, a prison she would never escape.
The staff stood at attention, eyes downcast. No one greeted her. No one smiled.
She was alone.
Ray walked ahead, not sparing her a glance. She followed him into the house, her heartbeat echoing in her ears.
The doors shut behind them with a final, heavy thud.
And she knew.
This wasn’t just a house.
It was a cage.
A Warning and a Door That Locked Behind Her
Ray didn’t take her to their room.
Instead, he led her to a separate bedroom—a grand, beautifully furnished space that felt just as cold as the rest of the house.
“You’ll stay here,” he said. His voice held no emotion. No warmth.
Lucy turned to face him, anger and fear twisting inside her. “Why did you marry me if you didn’t even want a wife?”
Ray’s eyes darkened. He took a step closer, and for the first time, she felt just how dangerous he was.
His voice was low, chilling. “Let’s get something straight, Lucy. You are my wife only in name. Nothing more. You will obey my rules, and you will stay out of my way. Do you understand?”
Her fists clenched. “And if I don’t?”
Ray smirked, but there was nothing kind about it.
“Then you’ll learn very quickly that defying me comes with consequences.”
Lucy’s breath caught in her throat.
She wanted to fight. To argue. To scream.
But Ray turned without another word and walked away, slamming the door behind him.
A loud click followed.
Lucy rushed to the door, her hands shaking as she gripped the handle. She twisted it, pulled—
Locked.
She was locked in.
Her chest tightened as panic clawed its way up her throat.
She banged on the door. “Let me out!”
Silence.
Her heart pounded wildly as realization set in.
This was her life now.
A wife in name only. A prisoner in reality.
Tears burned in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
She would not break.
Not yet.
But as the night stretched on, cold and endless, a single thought took root in her mind.
I had to escape.
Before it’s too late.
The First Act of Defiance
Lucy didn’t sleep that night.
She lay awake, staring at the locked door, her mind racing.
She couldn’t live like that. She wouldn’t.
And so, as the first hints of dawn crept through the windows, she made a decision.
She would find a way out.
Even if it killed her.
But what she didn’t know, what she couldn’t know, was that her first attempt at defiance would set off a chain of events she wouldn’t be able to control.
And the man she had just married?
He was watching her.
Waiting.
Because Ray Whitmore didn’t lose things he owned.
And Lucy?
She belonged to him now.
- Writer
