I froze, my mind spinning.
A thousand thoughts collided at once.
How would he...? How could he make me, a woman who had appeared out of nowhere as his bride, take the place of the one originally chosen?
What would happen to her?
Would she be humiliated, displaced, erased?
Or was this some twisted prank, a test of obedience, of power, of control?
I couldn’t breathe properly.
My pulse hammered in my ears.
The room felt smaller, charged with expectation.
“Yes,” I said, without hesitation.
My voice was steady, though my chest thudded like a drum.
I didn’t know how much power he had amassed, how far his influence reached, but one thing I understood—becoming his bride might be the only thing that could buy me some semblance of protection.
Some fragile shield in a world that had spent five long years trying to destroy me.
“Get the ladies to dress her,” he said, turning to the short, angry-looking man in a tailored suit.
Then he looked back at me. “I’ll be waiting at the altar.”
And just like that, he left, his presence lingering like a storm aftershock.
I was left dazed, standing in the lavish dressing room with only two men.
The short man in the suit radiated anger, while the other, an Italian soldier in full uniform, simply waited, tense.
Their eyes pinned me as if I were some kind of intruder, some mistake they hadn’t signed up to witness.
But they didn’t know me.
Did they even have the slightest idea what I’d survived to be here, alive, breathing?
The short man dismissed the soldier, who nodded stiffly and left without another word.
Then the short man stepped closer, his gaze sharpening.
“Who are you?” His hand hovered over his holster, but it was his eyes that were the deadliest—like he wanted to tear me apart with just a look.
“I know nearly everything about Vin... and you... I’ve never seen you anywhere before.”
I let out a slow sigh, letting the edge of my confidence cut through the tension in the room.
My hands flexed at my sides, ready to move if needed, but my voice remained steady.
“Listen,” I said, locking eyes with him, “this isn’t my fault. None of this is familiar to me, and I’m still trying to process it myself.”
I paused, letting the words settle between us.
My chest rose and fell, my pulse quickening as I held his gaze.
