HELLO CHERRY
961 Words
The cathedral bells rang twice before Sophia Vale stopped hearing them.
She stood at the doors in her white gown, her bouquet trembling against her waist, and told herself the shaking would pass.
It always passed.
For two years, she had been running. New cities. New locks on every door. Two years since she had pressed a gun to the chest of the most dangerous man in the underworld and pulled the trigger twice.
She had watched his blood pool on the marble floor.
She had watched his eyes go empty.
She had not seen him breathe since.
“Soph.”
Ellie touched her arm. Twelve years old in a lavender dress, she held a basket of rose petals like it weighed a hundred pounds.
Her sister's eyes were fixed on the altar, and they were not happy.
“I still don't think you should marry Adrian.”
Sophia sighed. “We've been over this.”
“He pretends a lot, Soph.” Her voice raising slightly
The words landed somewhere cold in Sophia's chest.
“What does that mean?”
“He smiles like he has to remember how.”
Ellie's voice dropped to a whisper.
“And he checks who's watching before he kisses you.”
Sophia forced a laugh and squeezed her sister's hands.
“You're nervous. Everything is changing today. But Adrian is good to us. He loves me.”
Ellie said nothing.
That was worse than arguing.
“Miss Vale.”
The wedding coordinator appeared at her elbow, beaming.
“It's time.”
Sophia took a slow breath and stepped through the doors.
White roses lined the aisle. Candles burned beneath the stained-glass windows.
Guests rose to their feet. Cameras lifted.
Aria waved from the third pew, mouthing something that looked like finally.
Sophia smiled at her. Aria was Sophia's best friend. she had been there for soph at the worst phase of her life. If no one would take a bullet for her , Sophia believes Aria would.
she continued down the aisle with Ellie by her side.
At the end of the aisle stood Adrian Ashford in a black tuxedo, a white rose pinned to his lapel.
He smiled when he saw her. For half a second, Sophia almost heard Ellie's voice.
*He pretends*.
she waved the thought off, then smiled back at him . she was done being afraid.
Today was the first day of a new beginning—The new life. The safe one.
Adrian took her hands when she reached the altar.
“You look…” He shook his head. “There isn't a word.”
“Beautiful usually works.”
“Beautiful doesn't come close.”
A few guests chuckled.
Sophia laughed softly, and for one whole minute, she believed it.
She believed all of it.
Ellie stared at Adrian for a while, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Not a flicker of emotion crossed her face.
Then she looked away, walked to the front pew, and sat down without a word.
The priest opened his Bible.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”
Sophia barely heard the words.
Trust. Patience. Sacrifice.
That was all she heard.
Her heart hammered like it knew something just wasn't right.
“Do you, Adrian Ashford, take Sophia Vale to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do,” he said without hesitation.
Applause filled the room.
There were sniffles. Smiles. Aria dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.
“And do you, Sophia Vale, take Adrian Ashford to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Sophia looked into Adrian's eyes and drew a breath.
“I—”
BANG!!!.
The cathedral doors flew open, and the sound cracked through the hall like a gunshot.
Screams erupted throughout the room.
The priest froze.
Some guests lurched to their feet as six men in black suits filed through the entrance, rifles held across their chests and faces hidden behind masks.
Two went left.
Two went right.
Two stayed at the doors, sealing them.
No one ran.
There was nowhere to run.
Adrian's hand clamped around Sophia's wrist.
“What the hell is this?”
She couldn't answer.
Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard she could taste copper.
Then the six men moved aside.
And he walked in.
He wore a black suit beneath a long coat, with black gloves covering his hands.
He moved slowly and without a hint of hurry, the way a man moved when he already owned the room.
He stopped a few feet from the altar and looked at Sophia.
Only at Sophia.
Her fingers loosened around the bouquet.
White roses spilled onto the floor, one after another, but she didn't notice.
Something about the way he looked at her sent chills down her spine.
Her palms grew sweaty.
No.
This couldn't be.
His hand rose to his face. He removed the mask. Gasps swept through the cathedral.
Sophia felt as if the air had been knocked out of her.
She knew that face.
She had kissed that face more times than she could remember.
She had pressed a gun against that chest and pulled the trigger twice.
And the last thing that face had ever said to her was a promise.
*If there is a next life, I will come f
or you.*
“Hello, Cherry.”
His voice was low and familiar, a faint lilt curling around the words.
“Sorry I'm late.”
“You're—”
The word came out broken.
“You're dead.”
Lorenzo tilted his head, almost gentle.
“You of all people, should know the devil doesn't die that easy.”
Then his eyes drifted past her, to Adrian.
His expression hardened. “Step away from my woman.”
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