Trapped With Him
631 Words
The dress was stunning.
A midnight-black gown that clung to Aria’s waist and flowed down like ink spilling over marble. It was everything the media would love: elegant, expensive, powerful. Just like the man standing beside her.
But inside the car, she sat stiff, staring at her reflection in the tinted glass.
Tonight was their first appearance as husband and wife.
And it was all for show.
“Fix your posture,” Liam said, not looking at her. He was busy scrolling through his phone, expression unreadable.
Aria didn’t respond.
She was already doing enough pretending.
They arrived at the gala — a charity event hosted by the Carter family’s business partners. The moment the car door opened, camera flashes exploded around them like fireworks.
“Smile,” Liam whispered through gritted teeth, his hand sliding around her waist.
The touch was warm. Familiar.
But the warmth didn’t reach his eyes.
Aria forced a smile as they stepped onto the carpet, photographers shouting their names like they were some kind of royal couple.
“Mr. and Mrs. Carter, this way!”
“Aria, how does it feel being married to New York’s most eligible bachelor?”
“Is it love at first sight or childhood destiny?”
Liam gave his signature cold half-smile and pulled her closer.
Aria wanted to scream.
---
Inside the ballroom, chandeliers glittered and champagne flowed like water. Everyone wore diamonds — in their ears and in their smiles. Aria felt like a mannequin in a window she hadn’t chosen.
A familiar voice interrupted her spiraling thoughts.
“Congratulations, Mr. Carter,” said a tall brunette with too-red lips and too much perfume. She ran a hand lightly down Liam’s arm. “I didn’t expect you to finally settle.”
Aria recognized her. Vanessa Langston. Liam’s ex. Or maybe not-so-ex.
Liam didn’t flinch. “Business decisions require timing.”
Business.
That’s all this marriage was to him — an asset. An arrangement. A signature on a contract.
Aria excused herself before the venom behind her smile spilled out in words.
---
She stood near the bar, holding a glass of champagne she couldn’t taste. Her head buzzed — not from alcohol, but from anger and humiliation.
Someone approached quietly.
“You hide it well,” came a deep, unfamiliar voice. She turned. A man in a sharp navy suit, mid-thirties, warm brown eyes.
“I’m sorry?”
“The pain,” he said gently. “Your eyes say more than your mouth does.”
Aria blinked. “Do I know you?”
“No,” he smiled. “But I know how it feels to stand beside someone and feel completely alone.”
Before she could reply, Liam appeared beside her — fast, quiet, and cold.
His hand wrapped around her wrist. “We’re leaving.”
The stranger raised a brow. “I was just congratulating your wife.”
Liam didn’t even look at him. “She doesn’t need your congratulations.”
Back in the car, the silence was suffocating.
“What was that?” he snapped.
“What was what?” she shot back. “Me talking to someone like a normal human?”
“He was flirting.”
She laughed bitterly. “So what? Should I get your ex’s lipstick print off your suit before we sleep in separate rooms again?”
His jaw tensed, but he didn’t say a word.
Aria turned her head toward the window.
> This is what it means to be married to Liam Carter.
To be dressed in diamonds and drowning in silence.
And yet, somewhere in the pain, something inside her was changing.
She was done being quiet.
Done being obedient.
If this marriage was a performance — then she’d give them all a show they’d never forget.
- Writer
