Twenty - Four Hours
727 Words
The black card felt heavier than it should.
I stared at the silver letters engraved across it.
Damian Blackwood. Chairman.
My fingers tightened around the card.
"Zara."
My mother's trembling voice pulled me back to reality.
I looked up.
The church had erupted into chaos.
Guests whispered excitedly, reporters who had somehow gotten wind of the scandal crowded outside the entrance, and family members argued in hushed but furious voices.
Everything I had carefully planned for months had turned into the biggest humiliation of my life.
"Let's go home," my mother pleaded.
I nodded numbly.
Without looking back, I walked toward the exit.
"Zara!"
Ethan's voice echoed behind me.
I didn't stop.
"Zara, wait!"
His footsteps quickened until he caught up with me outside the church.
He grabbed my arm.
"I said don't touch me."
I pulled away so forcefully that he stumbled backward.
People nearby immediately turned to watch us.
He lowered his voice.
"Can we talk?"
"What exactly is left to say?"
"I didn't plan for things to happen like this."
I let out a bitter laugh.
"You expect me to believe that?"
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I was going to tell you after the honeymoon bookings were canceled."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"So your plan was to marry me first..."
His silence answered the question.
"...and divorce me later?"
His lips parted, but no words came out.
A wave of disgust washed over me.
"You are unbelievable."
"It wasn't that simple."
"No?"
"You wouldn't understand."
I smiled coldly.
"Try me."
He hesitated before speaking.
"My grandfather wanted me to marry you."
I frowned.
"What?"
"The Bennett and Blackwood families have worked together for years. He believed the marriage would strengthen our business relationship."
My stomach twisted.
"So I was a business deal?"
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to."
His shoulders slumped.
"I did love you once."
Once.
The single word hit harder than every insult Vanessa had thrown at me.
Once.
As though the years we'd spent together were nothing more than a phase.
"As for Vanessa..." he continued.
"I love her."
There it was.
The truth.
Simple.
Cruel.
Final.
I took a slow breath.
"Then why are you standing here?"
His eyes searched mine.
"Because I don't want you making a mistake you'll regret."
"A mistake?"
"My father."
His jaw tightened.
"You don't know him."
"Neither do you."
His expression changed.
"What does that mean?"
"If you knew your father, you wouldn't have looked so terrified when I proposed to him."
For the first time, Ethan had no comeback.
He simply stared at me.
"You won't do it," he finally said.
"You'll calm down by tomorrow."
I looked down at the black card still resting in my hand.
Maybe he was right.
Maybe this was nothing more than anger.
Maybe tomorrow I'd wake up embarrassed by everything I'd said.
But another part of me whispered something different.
What if it wasn't a mistake?
What if this was the first decision I'd made for myself in years?
A sleek black Rolls-Royce suddenly pulled up beside the church.
The chauffeur stepped out and opened the rear door.
Everyone nearby instinctively moved aside.
Damian Blackwood stepped into the sunlight.
His expression remained as unreadable as ever.
He walked past Ethan without saying a word.
"Dad..."
Damian stopped.
"If you've come to convince me she was lying," he said calmly, "don't waste your breath."
Ethan frowned.
"You're actually considering this?"
"I said I would wait twenty-four hours."
"But she's just trying to get revenge!"
Damian slowly turned his head.
"And whose fault is that?"
Ethan fell silent.
For several seconds, father and son simply looked at one another.
The resemblance between them was obvious.
The same sharp features.
The same commanding presence.
The difference was in their eyes.
Ethan looked unsettled.
Damian looked completely in control.
Finally, Damian shifted his attention to me.
"Miss Bennett."
"Mr. Blackwood."
"I meant what I said."
"So did I."
He gave a small nod.
"I'll expect your answer tomorrow."
Without another word, he got into the car.
The Rolls-Royce disappeared down the road, leaving behind nothing but silence.
I looked at the card in my hand once more.
Twenty-four hours.
I had exactly one day to decide whether I was about to make the most reckless decision of my life...
Or the best one.
- Writer
