Fifty. Fifty times in the last sixty minutes, Noah’s name had flashed insistently on my phone screen, a relentless tide of unanswered calls. Each time, my thumb hovered hesitantly before crushing the screen, silencing him another time. Every rejection was like a stab to my soul, yet a stranger coldness had settled deep within me, numbing my heart and dulling every pang of regret. The shock was so profound it had robbed me of any semblance of normalcy, leaving me a hollow shell adrift amidst a nightmare I couldn’t wake from.
I leaned my forehead against the chill of the car window, seeking relief from the unforgiving heat that scorched my skin. My body betrayed me—feverish and weak, the thermometer had confirmed a merciless 102 degrees. Yet somehow, I clung to a fragile thread of consciousness, unwilling to surrender entirely to the encroaching darkness. How could I even begin to explain this to Noah? To face him now would be unbearable, a cruel reminder of the shattered fragments of my heart. How had the day slipped so violently from joy into desolation?
I, Arianna Bell, had become the unwilling bride of Zach Price—Zach Price, the man who just hours before had been promised to my sister. The thought churned inside me, sickening and surreal. If this was a dream, I longed for the awakening—imagining Olivia bursting into my room, her voice sharp and demanding, insisting I rise to make her favorite chocolate chip pancakes. But no rescue came; the harsh truth weighed me down: Olivia had forsaken me, abandoned me to this cruel fate.
My gaze avoided him—Zach—because I couldn’t bear to confront the storm I sensed simmering in his grey eyes. Our marriage was a sacrifice; mine had been chosen willingly for family, but his had been forced, carved out of threats and ultimatums from his own parents. I had heard fragments of their bitter negotiations, the cold words laced with disinheritance. Without looking, I already knew the depth of his resentment. It wrapped around me like a suffocating cloak.
The car slowed to a stop outside the towering Price Mansion, its silhouette looming like a fortress shrouded in darkness. I had been here before, but never had the sprawling estate seemed so foreboding, so coldly indifferent. Tonight, the mansion seemed to mark the threshold to my prison, a somber welcome far from the joyous celebrations Olivia would have received. Where her arrival would have sparked lights and laughter, I brought only shadow and despair.
The iron gates groaned open, and as the car rolled inside, I sensed the watchman’s eyes boring into me, his gaze heavy with silent judgment. When we finally halted, Zach was swift to leap from the vehicle, the car door slamming shut behind him with a finality that echoed in my chest.
A sharp migraine curled its fingers around my temples, compounding the fever’s relentless assault. Every movement felt like wading through molasses; my limbs too feeble even to lift a finger. The driver noticed immediately, concern etching his face as he swiftly reached for my door.
“Are you all right, Miss?” His voice was gentle, but I could only shake my head. The pain was a roaring tempest behind my eyes, threatening to consume me entirely. I pressed my palm against my forehead, willing the agony to relent, but dizziness blurred the edges of my vision, tears springing unbidden as the world tilted dangerously.
I heard the driver call out urgently, summoning someone before the darkness claimed me.
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“Will she recover?” a voice asked—a man’s voice—impatient yet veiled under a layer of professional detachment. Even as the haze of near unconsciousness enveloped me, a bitter scoff escaped my lips. Could he truly care? His earlier abandonment in that car said otherwise. Now his performance for whoever stood nearby felt hollow, a facade devoid of genuine concern.
“I’ve prescribed the necessary medications, and a nurse will be attending her shortly, as you requested. Once the fever breaks, she should be more lucid. There’s no cause for alarm, Mr. Price.” The doctor’s assured tone drifted over me, yet I dismissed it. I wished only to remain suspended in this liminal state, away from the crushing weight of reality.
Reality—a cruel tapestry woven with threads of betrayal and sacrifice. I was Zach’s wife now, a role I had never sought. Olivia, my sister, had cast me to the wolves, her selfishness tearing apart the fragile fabric of our family. My parents had bartered my happiness like a commodity on an altar of desperation. And above all, Noah was nowhere to be found in this bleak tableau.
My chest tightened painfully at the thought of him—Noah, my heart’s true home. Would he ever discover the truth? Would he blame me for this shattered destiny? Could he fathom the depth of my love, the torment of my sacrifice? These questions churned relentlessly, intensifying the pounding in my head. The migraine surged anew, merciless and unforgiving, as if my skull were being crushed beneath an invisible weight. Unable to contain it, a low, anguished cry escaped my lips.
Suddenly, footsteps hurried into the room, swift and purposeful. Zach loomed over me, his broad frame casting a shadow I both feared and sought. The dim light obscured his expression, rendering his grey eyes unreadable—was it anger, frustration, or something softer, hidden beneath the surface?
“What’s wrong, Arianna?” His voice was quieter now, threaded with a tentative concern as he knelt beside my bed. The proximity brought with it the scent of his cologne—expensive, sharp, and foreign. It was nothing like Noah’s warm, familiar fragrance, and the contrast twisted my heart painfully. I pushed the thought away, unwilling to let it root.
“My head...” I whispered, voice fragile and broken between the spasms that wracked my body.
“Here, take this.” Zach’s tone softened as he retrieved a small bottle of pills, likely prescribed by the doctor. Helping me sit upright, he noticed how debilitated the pain had rendered me. Gently, he pried my mouth open and placed the pill inside, then offered a glass of water, guiding it to my lips until I swallowed. Such a simple act of kindness unsettled me, stirring the guilt that gnawed relentlessly at my soul.
I had intruded into Zach’s life, an uninvited presence forced upon him by circumstances neither of us chose. My sister had fractured his world with reckless abandon, and I was left to bear the consequences of her selfishness. He didn’t deserve the bitterness that now tainted his days, nor the burden of a marriage born from sacrifice rather than affection.
After ensuring I was settled back on the bed, Zach rose quietly, his footsteps muffled as he moved toward the door. Without a word, he flicked off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into comforting shadows. The darkness swallowed the room, yet it seemed to fit the mood—was this how he viewed his existence now? A life veiled in darkness, barren of light and hope?
As the sleep-inducing medicine began to dull my senses, I lay enveloped in the quiet gloom, grappling with the heavy silence that filled the room. Despite the tension between us, this fragile moment hinted at the complex journey ahead—one where pain, resentment, and perhaps, salvation, would intertwine.