BETRAYED BY LOVE RUINED BY CHOICE

wear red

The dress was red.

Of course it was.

It clung to me like a second skin. Silk. Low back. The exact shade of blood and lies.

Caelen’s words from this morning: _"Wear red. The color of lies."_

I stared at myself in the mirror. 6 months. That’s all this was.

So why did my hands shake?

A black Rolls stopped in front of my apartment. He didn’t get out. The driver opened the door.

"Miss Vale."

The car smelled like him. Cedar and something darker.

Caelen sat by the window, scrolling through emails. He didn’t look up when I got in.

"Evening, Seren."

"Mr. Drayce."

Finally, he looked. His eyes dragged from my heels up to my face. And stopped.

For half a second his mask slipped.

"Red," he said quietly. "You always looked best in red."

Then the mask was back. Cold.

The gala was at the Drayce Tower. Crystal. Champagne. People who had money to burn and reputations to ruin.

The moment we walked in, whispers started.

"Is that... Seren Vale?"

"The one he cheated on?"

"Guess she took him back."

My cheeks burned. Caelen’s hand settled on the small of my back. Possessive.

"Smile," he murmured in my ear. "You’re my wife now. Act like it."

His touch burned through the silk.

Some ladies were jealous,some where shocked ,some mixed feeling

We did the rounds. Handshakes. Fake laughs.

Then we saw them.

Maya. My ex-best friend.

And Derek. Her new fiancé.

Maya’s face went white. Derek looked like he wanted to die.

"Seren," Maya whispered. "You look—"

"Beautiful?" I finished for her. "Thanks. Caelen picked the dress."

Caelen didn’t say anything. He just pulled me closer.

"Mr. Drayce," Derek stammered. "We didn’t know—"

"You didn’t know a lot of things," Caelen cut him off. Voice like ice. "Like loyalty. Like consequences."

The room went quiet.

Maya started crying.

I should’ve felt bad. I didn’t.

Later, on the balcony, away from everyone, I finally breathed.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. "You could’ve just paid the debt."

Caelen was staring at the city lights.

"Because I need you to hate me, Seren," he said. "It’s safer that way."

"Safer for who?"

He turned. Gray eyes dark.

"For me. Because if you don’t hate me, you might see that the reason I slept with her..."

He stopped.

"What?" My heart pounded.

His phone buzzed. He read it and every muscle in his body went rigid.

"We have to go. Now."

"What is it?"

"Your father." He grabbed my wrist. "He’s been taken. They want you."

And just like that, the contract, the gala, the hate — all of it didn’t matter.

Because the man who betrayed me was the only one who could save my family.