She's Dead, But I'm The One Punished

e towering iron gates had creaked open minutes ago, yet she found herself unable to move forward. The weight of what awaited her inside pressed down on her chest, suffocating

cture of ivory and glass, pristine and untouchable-just like the man she was about to marry. Lucian Arquette. The name alone carried the kind of weight that made people

s to be he

ot because she wanted to. B

who came before her, nor was she foolish enough to believe she could ever hold a place in Lucian's heart. His heart was

e very walls carried the frost of its owner's soul. A butler greeted her with a stif

you," he said, leading he

rmth welcomed her here-no flowers, no gentle touches of color, nothing to soften t

she s

his chiseled features. He was tall, lean, and composed, his dark suit impeccably fitted, his expression unrea

was deep, smooth, yet ut

her chin.

his name aloud, and it tasted forei

measured assessment, as if she were nothing more than another contra

said, forcing steel into her voice, unwilling t

es-approval, perhaps, or something colder. H

acknowledgment of what this m

ll the role expected of her. And yet, standing before this man, she realized how little

he marriage contract has been finalized. Read it, sign it.

we

s

he shock show. She simply nodded and took the documents

eginning of a life

her life as Ale