As I sit in this unfamiliar room, I stare at my reflection in the mirror. The walls are painted white and gold, with tall windows covered by thick curtains. Everything around me screams luxury… but it doesn't feel comforting. Just cold.
The maids, his maids, move around me in silence, fixing my hair, adjusting my dress, brushing on makeup like I'm a doll. Not once do they ask how I'm feeling. Maybe they already know it doesn't matter.
My long black hair is tied up into a tight bun, decorated with jewels I've never seen before. My face looks flawless, like a perfect bride. But when I look at myself… I don't recognize the girl in the mirror.
This isn't how I imagined my wedding day. Not like this.
Soon, I'll walk down the aisle and marry a man I've never met. The Duke of Eirenwald. They say he's handsome, but cold, like a statue that doesn't speak. No one wanted to marry him. Until me.
Not because I wanted to… but because my family forced me.
They only see the title. The wealth. The power. Not me.
And now, it's too late to run.
Just as one of the maids adjusts the last pin in my hair, the door swings open.
"Oh my Charlotte, look how gorgeous you look! A total bride who will bring fortune to the family!"
I almost laugh.
"Oh my Charlotte"—how funny. I don't think I've ever heard my name in a sentence like that.
Coming from him, it feels… foreign. Forced.
Last time I checked, I was the family's bad luck charm. My two older brothers made sure I never forgot that.
Father steps closer, eyes glowing, not with emotion, but with pride. Not pride in me, but pride in the deal he made.
He stops in front of me and lifts my chin with two fingers.
"Charlotte, smile a little more, will you? You'll look less unpleasant when you smile."
The room goes silent. Tight.
But I don't flinch. I'm used to it.
Insults are part of his vocabulary when it comes to me. No matter how many strangers call me beautiful, my family's words always sound louder.
Compliments?
In this house, they only come wrapped in thorns.
And even if I'm used to it… smiling still feels unnatural. I don't think I've ever worn a real one before.
Still, I force one. Just enough to please him.
He nods with approval. Then, just as he turns to leave, he pauses at the door.
"Your mother would've been so proud."
And then he's gone.
But that last sentence lingers in the room like perfume I didn't ask for.
Mother.
A woman I've never met.
A ghost I've been blamed for my entire life.
How ironic. I'm marrying a man who's known to be cold and silent
Just like my father.
One thing I could never quite understand… was why I was the one being married off.
Especially to him. The Duke.
Everything happened so quickly. Papers were signed. Dresses were ordered.
And before I knew it, the wedding day arrived, without me ever even meeting the man I was supposed to call my husband.
When I asked why, Father just scoffed and said,
"You should be grateful someone like him even considered you."
That sentence stuck with me.
Not just because of the insult, I'm used to those.
But because something about it felt… wrong. Off.
I know my father is capable of many things.
But even I didn't expect this.
Knock knock.
The door creaked open. One of the maids stepped in, her voice soft but firm.
"My Lady… It's time."
Time.
The word echoed in my head like a bell.
I stood up slowly, brushing invisible dust from the skirt of my gown.
My fingers felt cold. My heart heavier than the dress itself.
But still, I held my head high.
I took one last glance at the mirror.
The girl staring back was no longer just a daughter, or a burden, or a scapegoat.
She was a bride.
And maybe, just maybe, this was her way out.
Her first step toward something new.
A new life. A new name. A new beginning.
"You're leaving one prison," I whispered to myself,
So I decided
If this was going to be my fate, then I would walk into it with grace.
No more begging for love from people who never wanted to give it.
From this moment on, I'd carry myself for me.
The maid led me out of the dressing room, down the grand hallways of Eirenwald Manor, the Duke's ancestral estate turned temporary wedding venue.
The ceremony was being held in the glass garden ballroom, a breathtaking space surrounded by stained glass walls, high arched ceilings, and chandeliers that dripped light like golden stars.
music floated through the air, soft strings and a distant choir.
Guests filled the room, dressed in silk and velvet.
The doors opened.
And suddenly… every head turned.
The soft music continued, but the atmosphere was tight
not warm or welcoming, but heavy. Tense.
Like I had just stepped into a room full of secrets.
Their eyes were sharp, filled with curiosity, judgment, whispers they didn't bother hiding.
Nobles, lords, and ladies watching my every move like I didn't belong.
A wedding is supposed to feel like a celebration.
But this felt more like a trial.
Each step I took felt like walking on eggshells laid over glass.
And then I saw him.
Standing tall at the end of the aisle.
Caelen Vale, The Duke of Eirenwald.
He looked like something out of a painting. No, a sculpture.
Firm posture. Broad shoulders. A body that looked like it had been carved from stone and dressed in elegance.
His black hair, smooth and just long enough to frame his face, fell slightly over his dark brown eyes
eyes that stared straight into me.
Expressionless.
Unmoving.
Perfect.
Like a statue built to be admired, not touched.
And yet… he is about to be my husband.
Our eyes met.
And for a moment, just one
everything else disappeared.