BOUND BY ETERNITY'S DARKNESS

--- The church bells were ringing for me. White dress. Veil. Flowers in my hands. My mom in the front row, oxygen tank hidden under the pew, smiling like she wasn’t dying. And at the altar, Kyle. Sweet Kyle. Kind Kyle. The man who offered to pay for my mom’s surgery without asking for anything in return. "Marry me," he’d said. "Let me help you." I was about to say I do. Then the doors slammed open. He didn’t walk in. He _invaded_. Six feet three of black suit, black eyes, and a storm cloud over his head. Daniel Kingsley. Kyle’s older brother. The CEO. The monster the tabloids called "The Devil of Manhattan." The priest froze. The guests gasped. Kyle turned pale. "Daniel? What are you doing here?" Daniel didn’t look at him. He looked at me. Like I was the only thing in the room. Like he was deciding if I was worth burning it all down for. "Ariel," he said. My name in his mouth sounded like a threat. "Come with me." My hands shook. "The wedding is starting." "It’s over." And then his men moved. Two big guys in suits blocked the doors. No one was leaving. Someone screamed. Daniel walked down the aisle. Slow. Deliberate. Stopped right in front of me. He smelled like expensive cologne and gunpowder. "Sign this," he said. He pulled a piece of paper from inside his jacket. "A contract." I didn’t touch it. "I’m getting married." "Not to him." His voice dropped. Only I could hear. "Kyle had a car accident 20 minutes ago. He’s in surgery. He might not make it." The world tilted. The flowers fell from my hands. "That’s a lie," I whispered. "Call the hospital," he said. "Room 404. St. Mary’s. Ask for Dr. Hale." My phone was already in my hand. Shaking so bad I could barely dial. "Nurse? Kyle Kingsley? ...What do you mean critical condition?" When I hung up, I couldn’t breathe. Daniel caught my elbow. Steady. Cold. "The wedding is off," he said, louder now, for everyone. "My brother is dying. And the deal he made with your family dies with him." My mom stood up. "What deal?" Daniel’s eyes didn’t leave mine. "The $500,000 deal. For your mother’s surgery. Kyle promised it. Kyle’s not here to pay for it." My knees gave out. Daniel caught me. "I’ll pay for it," he said. "But not as a gift." He held the contract up between us. "Marry me. One year. You are my wife. You live in my house. You play the part. And I pay for every treatment, every bill, every drug your mother needs." Gasps from the church. "That’s blackmail," I choked out. "That’s business," he said. "Sign, and your mom lives. Don’t sign, and she dies in 3 months when the insurance runs out." Tears were falling on the white paper. "Why me?" I asked him. "Why not anyone else?" Because you were supposed to be his," he said quietly. Too quietly. "And I don’t let my brother’s things go. Even when he can’t keep them." He pressed a pen into my hand. "12 months, Ariel. That’s all. Then you’re free." I looked at my mom. At her gray face. At the machine keeping her alive. I looked at the doors where Kyle’s casket might come through next week. And I signed. Ariel Bennett. The moment the ink dried, Daniel’s grip on my arm tightened. "Good girl," he murmured. "Now let’s go. You’re coming home with me." "My dress—" "You won’t need it." He tore the veil off my head. Tossed it on the floor. Then he picked me up. Bride and all. And carried me out of the church while 200 people watched. In the car, he finally let go of me. The silence was worse than the yelling. "Why did you do that?" I asked. "Kyle is your brother." Daniel stared out the window. "Kyle was going to ruin you. He’s weak. He gives. He doesn’t take it." He turned to me. Those black eyes. "I take. And I keep." "What if he wakes up?" Daniel smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes. "Then we’ll have a problem, won’t we? Because by the time he does, you’ll already be mine." The car pulled up to a glass tower. His penthouse. My prison. As he got out and came around to open my door, his phone buzzed. He looked at it. And for one second, the devil looked scared. He answered. "What?" Pause. "...He’s awake." My blood went cold. Daniel hung up. Look at me. "Kyle’s awake," he said. "And he’s asking for his bride." He held the car door open. "Welcome to eternity, Mrs. Kingsley." _TO BE CONTINUED..._ ---