Chapter 6

“Smile,” Sebastian told me softly. “Today is the happiest day of your life.”

If he only knew.

I stood in front of the mirror while two women hurried around me with shaking hands and fake cheerful voices. Everything had been arranged too fast. The flowers, the makeup, the hair, the endless rushing in and out of the suite. It did not feel like a wedding. It felt like a trap being sealed shut around me, layer by layer, ribbon by ribbon, until there was no air left.

Sebastian had not given me a choice. The second he stepped out of the bathroom with that dress in his hands, my fate had been decided for me. He wanted me at the altar today, before I could think, before I could run, before I could tell anyone what I knew. He wanted me bound to him while the lie was still alive.

So I let him think I was beaten.

That was the only move I had.

I kept my face pale and my voice quiet. I let my hands tremble when anyone spoke to me. When Sebastian came close, I lowered my eyes and looked at him the way a frightened woman would look at the man she believed held her whole world in his hands. He seemed to enjoy that. It made him gentler. It made him careful. It made him certain that I was his.

The suite door opened behind me, and I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

Maureen.

I saw her reflection in the mirror before I faced her. She stepped inside with a bright smile on her face, carrying herself like she belonged there. Like she had every right to stand in my bridal suite on the day my life was being handed over to a monster.

“Oh, Vanessa,” she said, rushing toward me. “You look beautiful.”

Her voice was warm enough to fool anyone listening. It almost made me sick.

She bent to kiss my cheek, and I forced myself not to flinch. Her perfume wrapped around me, familiar and ugly now. I remembered all the times I had cried on her shoulder. All the nights I had trusted her with my secrets. I wanted to slap her so hard her smile broke. Instead, I let my eyes fill with tears.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

She smiled wider, clearly pleased.

The women helping me left a few minutes later to fetch something downstairs. The second the door clicked shut, the air in the room changed. Maureen’s smile vanished. She walked slowly toward me until she stood close enough that I could see the triumph in her eyes.

“You really are pathetic,” she murmured.

I looked at her, letting fear shake across my face.

She leaned closer. “Do you know what today is?” she whispered. “It’s the day you walk into your cage and lock it yourself.”

The words hit me hard, but I did not let the anger show. I swallowed and looked down at my hands. “Why are you doing this to me?”

She gave a soft little laugh. “Because you made it easy.”

My chest tightened. Even then, I made myself sound small. “I trusted you.”

“I know,” she said. “That was the fun part.”

For a second, I thought I might lose control. The hatred inside me was so sharp it felt alive. But I forced a shaky breath through my lips and let my eyes glisten. I even stepped back like she had frightened me. That only fed her cruelty.

“You should be grateful,” she said. “Sebastian wants you. Most women would kill for that kind of obsession.”

I stared at her as if she had just shattered the last piece of me. “Please,” I whispered. “Don’t do this.”

She smiled again, slow and poisonous. “It’s already done.”

Then she reached out and fixed a strand of my hair with mock affection. “Try not to cry before the ceremony. You’ll ruin your face.”

When she walked out, I sat down because my knees almost gave out. I pressed my hands together in my lap until the shaking eased. She thought she had won. Sebastian thought I was trapped. Good. Let them believe it. Let them get careless.

A little later, someone came to tell me it was time.

The music started downstairs while I stood outside the doors with my heart pounding so hard it hurt. My father was already seated in the front row. I had seen him only briefly before the ceremony, but that had been enough. Sweat had clung to his temple. His face was too tight. His eyes kept moving. He looked like a man waiting for something final. Something he believed would set him free.

Poison.

The word came to me like a whisper from the dark. The hitman. The recording. The setup. My father had wanted me dead, and Sebastian had turned that threat into a performance. That was the game. That was the sickness all around me. Every person smiling downstairs had a knife hidden behind their teeth.

The doors opened.

I stepped forward.

The aisle stretched long beneath my feet, covered in flowers and candlelight, dressed up to look holy. Guests rose around me. Their faces blurred together as I forced myself to keep walking. My dress felt heavy. My breath felt thin. At the end of the aisle stood Sebastian, handsome and calm and waiting for me like he had not been stalking me for three years.

When I reached him, he took my hands in his. His touch was warm. My skin wanted to crawl.

The officiant began to speak, but I barely heard a word. I could feel Maureen somewhere behind the crowd. I could feel my father watching me. I could feel the whole room closing in.

Then came the vows.

Sebastian said his first. His voice was low and steady and full of devotion so practiced it might have fooled heaven itself. When it was my turn, every eye fixed on me.

I lifted my chin and looked at him.

“I do,” I said softly.

He smiled like I had given him the world.

The officiant turned to him. “And do you—”

“I do,” Sebastian said without hesitation.

A ripple of warm laughter passed through the guests. The officiant smiled and finished the formal words. My father dabbed at his forehead. His hand was not steady.

Then came the moment.

“You may kiss the bride.”

Sebastian’s hands slid to my waist as he leaned in. I tipped my face up because I had to. But just before his mouth touched mine, I looked past his shoulder toward the sweetheart table.

And my blood froze.

Maureen stood there with her back half turned to the room. Her fingers moved quickly, almost neatly, as she uncapped a tiny vial and emptied it into my champagne glass.