His Stand-in Bride

It was a cage with its bars rat

ures, black umbrellas blooming against the drizzle, cameras flashing whenever a servant dared open the door. They shout

he railings, eyes sharp, mouths open like beaks tearing at carr

in hushed panic, carrying trays they forgot to set down, dresses slipping from their arms, their footsteps

fist, his other hand clutching the edge as if the wood itself kept hi

ap

rd I flinched. "Do you understand what she's done?" His e

. "We can delay-just fo

Reynolds will wait? Do you think the investors will show mercy?" His voice cracked, a raw edge of despair beneath the fury. "

lows. My chest tightene

nk I don't see the vultures already circling? They

t I can't-Papa, I can't marry him. That's Am

ripped my shoulders hard enough to bruise. "Listen to me, Annie. Would you watch your family lose everything? Would you watch

ried since childhood. Mama's voice rose in my head, soft but heavy as stone: Our

wn hard, tasting salt and coppe

t second, just enough for me to see the cracks-the fe

n my stomach, but above it loomed guilt, thick and suffocating. How could

, trembling. He exhaled, shoulders sagging

ns began almos

aped over her arms. "Stand straight, Miss Annie. No, no-chin higher, shoulders back."

irror, but the woman looking back wasn't me. Her lips were pale, her eyes w

ook, fumbling with the ribbons. "Careful!" the seamstress sn

me, wide with pity, b

sh before they could chain me with vows that weren't mine. But I stood still, sp

k. She adjusted the veil, letting the lace spill

lass, tracing the reflection. The veil blurred my fe

muffled by the lace, the words trembling in

cross the room. My father stood t

was ice. "This