Vows of Vengeance

​Prologue: The Art of War ​The Sterling and Vane families didn’t just live in the same city; they owned it. The Sterlings dressed the elite in silk and secrets, while the Vanes built the skyscrapers those elites lived in.The grandparents have been friends since childhood and dreamed their kids could marry each other one day but they all ended up having three boys each so the boys were raised like brothers and each did their part in growing the family businesses and the elders could just hope that one day their wish would be filled. But the real foundation of the city was the feud between the first-born grandchildren: Sienna and Julian. ​It started at five years old. At the annual Founders' Gala, Julian convinced Sienna that the expensive koi pond was actually a "magic portal." She ended up face-first in the water, her white designer dress ruined, while Julian pointed and laughed from the sidelines. ​Sienna didn’t cry. She waited until his seventh birthday party—the one with the massive, five-tier cake. She had sneaked into the kitchen and replaced the sugar with salt and even added white pepper to the flour mix just that her hands were a little shaky and she almost dropped everything in there. The look on Julian’s face when he took that first big bite in front of the cameras was her first taste of victory. It was salty,spicy and it was glorious. ​By the time they were teens, the pranks turned professional. Julian once "accidentally" leaked that Sienna’s debut fashion sketches were inspired by her grandmother’s drapes. Sienna retaliated by outbidding him on a prime Soho real estate lot using her trust fund, just so she could turn it into a "meditation garden" that blocked the view of his newest hotel. ​They were beautiful, they were rich, and they were dedicated to one another’s destruction. Their grandparents saw "passion." Sienna and Julian saw a scorecard that was currently tied. ​Chapter 1: The Wedding in Black ​Sienna ​"The veil, Maria. It needs to be heavier. I want people to feel the weight of my soul dying as I walk down this aisle," I say to my PA and bestie. Girl are you sure you won't suffocate in that thing and this heat,Maria asks maybe we should have added the big black feather fan so everytime you look about to faint we would have organic wind or is it free range?.I have no idea what you just said I just wish this is just one of my nightmares I have everytime I see his handsome stupid smug face. ​I stared at myself in the full-length mirror. I wasn’t a bride; I was a vision of midnight. My gown was a custom Sterling Atelier masterpiece—layers of obsidian silk, a corset that cinched my waist until I could barely breathe, and not a single hint of white. ​My grandparents wanted a wedding? Fine. I’d give them a funeral. ​The doors to the cathedral swung open. The sunlight hit the black sequins, making me look like a dangerous shadow moving through a field of white lilies. At the end of the aisle stood Julian Vane. ​He looked disgusting. Not because he was ugly—God, no. With that jawline and those broad shoulders in a sharp white tuxedo, he looked like a hero from a storybook. He looked like the kind of man women threw themselves at. But I knew better. I knew the boy who once put a lizard in my ballet slippers. ​As I reached the altar, I made sure to stand exactly four feet away from him. ​"You look like you're about to curse a sleeping princess, Sterling," Julian whispered, his eyes dancing with that infuriating smirk. ​"I’m in mourning, Vane," I hissed back. "This is the death of my freedom. I figured I should dress for the occasion." ​"Well, you’re in luck," he murmured, leaning closer so only I could hear. "Because I’ve got a surprise for the reception that’s going to make that dress look like a celebration." ​I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the church’s air conditioning. Julian Vane was smiling. And when Julian Vane smiled like that, it usually meant I was about to choke on something. ​"Do you, Julian Vane..." the priest began. ​"I do," Julian said instantly, his eyes locked on mine. It wasn't a vow of love. It was a declaration of war. But whatever like I care as far as I know we hate each other so when it was my turn to say I do I chose to go with Ok. Miss Sterling you can’t answer with anything other than a I do,said the priest. But seriously marriage is serious business I don't know if I can even spend thirty minutes in the same room with my new husband before we are at each other's throats and competing for everything. Sure I do I guess,I say and everyone is laughing I am just not sure if they think I am joking but it's not. I think I am lowkey about to panic I hiss from the side of my mouth to my bestie Maria who is currently playing the role of my maid of honor. Girl just think about the fact that some street cats will become heiress if you don't go through with this,I like animals but I am not about to lose my expensive lifestyle to a cat no way,Maria hisses back. Fine you traitor I hiss back at her.