I'M JUST A TROPHY WIFE

She ran down the halls like she had done every other day of her life. Except today wasn't like every other day. Today was her birthday. A smile stretched across her face as her footsteps echoed against the polished floor. Her dress swayed around her legs as she hurried down the corridor, barely paying attention to where she was going. She was happy. Genuinely happy. Foolishly happy. For once, she didn't care about walking properly. She didn't care about keeping her back straight or making sure her steps were quiet and graceful. She simply wanted to get downstairs. She wanted to see what her family had prepared for her. She had spent the entire morning imagining it. A beautiful cake, candles, perhaps flowers. Maybe even a gift waiting for her. She didn't know that her family had very different plans for her birthday. In the Kane household, birthdays are not merely celebrations. They were milestones. And hers marked the beginning of a tradition she had never been told about. The day she turned 8 was the day her training would begin. Training to become the perfect daughter. The perfect lady. Elegant, graceful, well-spoken, proper. A girl who never ran through the hallways. A girl who never laughed too loudly. A girl who never made mistakes. But she didn't know any of that yet. All she knew was that she was happy. And perhaps, that was why she didn't see the plate. Her foot caught the edge of it, CRASH! The plate slipped from her hand and struck the floor. Her heartbeat ever seemed to stop. Then, CRACK! The plate shattered. Pieces of porcelain scattered across the hallway, scattering in every direction. One fragment beneath the sunlight forgot to stop. She froze. Her smile disappeared. She stared at the broken pieces surrounding her feet. Her heart suddenly pounded against her chest. A sound behind her as the footsteps approaching. Slow, measured, unhurried. She swallowed. She already knew who it was. And somehow, in that moment, her birthday didn't quite feel so happy anymore.She knew she was in trouble before she even turned around. Her nanny stood behind her, the woman's expression was cold. Her eyes fixed on broken pieces scattered across the floor. The girl's heart sank. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Her nanny didn't answer. Instead, she seized her by the hand and pulled her sharply down the hallway. "Please," she began, tears already glistening through her eyes. "Enough!," the single word silenced her. Her nanny pushed open the door to the bedroom and ushered her inside. "Stay here," she said sternly, "and don't come out till you are told." The girl stared at her, frightened. "Think about what you have done. you have to remember, how a proper lady is meant to behave." The door shut. She stood there for a moment, staring at it. Her lip began to tremble. She began to cry. It had been a long time since she had been punished like this. Long enough that she had almost forgotten how frightening it was to disappoint them. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. But, she didn't understand. It was her birthday. Why was everyone so angry? She sat quietly in the room for hours. No one came. No one checked on her. Outside, she could hear the faint footsteps and distant voices. But no one came to tell her what was happening. by evening her stomach was aching with hunger. Then finally, the door opened. A maid entered carrying a beautiful dress. "Put this on." The girl looked at it, still terrified. She didn't ask further or agreed. She simply obeyed. When she finally stepped out of her room, the atmosphere had completely changed. Music floated through the halls. Warm golden lights filled from the grand staircase. Voices filled the house. She reached the balcony and looked down. Her eyes widened. The entire downstairs had been transformed. Flowers decorated the walls. Tables were covered with food and sparkling glasses. Guests filled the room, dressed in their finest clothes. A party. Her party. For a moment, she forgot everything that happened earlier. Her stumps memory returned to her face. Maybe her birthday wasn't ruined after all. Then she heard her mother's voice. "Come here, darling." She walked over to her parents. Her father stood beside a young boy she had never seen before. The boy turned towards her. She stopped. He was handsome. Most impossibly so. His dark hair was neatly styled, his clothes perfectly fitted, and his expression calm in a way that made him almost completely untouched by the noise surrounding them. Her mother smiled. "There is someone we want you to meet." The girl looked at them curiously. "This is him." The boy gave her a polite nod. Her father continued, "He will be your husband." She blinked. For a moment, she wasn't sure if she had heard correctly. "My husband?" Her parents nodded. "This is the young man you will marry." She looked at him again. He was still calm, still composed. And to her surprise, she felt a strange fluttering excitement in her chest. She smiled. He was handsome. He seemed kind and behaved most impatiently. He didn't look frightening. She didn't question it. She didn't think about what marriage really meant. She was still too young to understand the weight of the promise her parents had just placed before her. So she simply smiled at him, allowing herself to believe it was something beautiful. Perhaps just another fleeting dream. She had no idea that this boy would become the center of a story that would change her life completely. And she certainly didn't know that one day she would look back on this birthday and realize this was the day it all began.