Chapter 1: The Bride in Disguise
"You're wearing this dress whether you like it or not."
Her mother's voice was cold, sharp like the pins digging into Aria's scalp as the stylist secured her veil. The gown was heavy and suffocating, the same one her sister had custom-ordered from Paris. But it wasn't Selena Greystone standing in front of the full-length mirror.
It was Aria.
Her hands clenched around the edge of the dressing table. "Mom, this is madness. He's not marrying *me.* He's supposed to marry—"
"Selena?" Her mother let out a dry laugh, her perfectly manicured nails tapping impatiently on her phone screen. "Selena ran away three days ago with a man old enough to be her father. Do you want the media to eat us alive? Do you want your father to have a heart attack in that church pew?"
Aria's lips parted, but no sound came out.
This wasn't how weddings were supposed to be.
Not with fake smiles. Not with a fake bride.
The cathedral outside was packed with business elites, politicians, and press representatives, all ready to record the grand wedding between the nation's most ruthless billionaire and the Greystone heiress.
But there would be no Greystone heiress today. Only the family's discarded second daughter in a borrowed dress.
"Leon Valen won't be fooled," Aria whispered. "He'll know I'm not her. He's not stupid."
Her mother's gaze hardened. "You have the same figure, same hair, same eyes. Just smile, walk down the aisle, and say your vows. You're not marrying for love; you're marrying for this family's survival."
Aria's heart thudded in her chest.
This wasn't a marriage.
It was a sacrifice.
The cathedral doors loomed ahead like the gates of a prison.
Aria stood trembling at the end of the aisle, her arm linked with her pale, trembling father. Every camera flashed. Every whisper echoed in her ears.
"She looks different..."
"Is that really Selena Greystone?"
"Why does she look like she's going to faint?"
But all those voices faded when her eyes met his.
Leon Valen.
Tall. Impossibly handsome. And ice-cold.
Dressed in a sharply tailored black suit, he stood at the altar like a king — untouchable and unreadable. His eyes locked on hers with such intensity that Aria's knees nearly gave out.
And then… his jaw clenched.
His lips curled into something between confusion and fury.
He knew.
He already knew.
She stepped forward slowly, each step dragging like she was walking through wet cement. Her heels clicked against the polished marble, echoing louder than her heartbeat.
*Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.*
She reached him.
For a moment, the world stilled.
Leon's voice was low and venomous, his breath brushing her ear as he leaned in, speaking through gritted teeth.
"Where is she?"
Her blood ran cold.
"I... I don't know," she whispered, barely audible.
His fingers closed tightly around hers as the priest began the ceremony, making it look like a gentle touch to the crowd. But behind the elegant façade, his grip was like iron.
"You think you can trick me?" he hissed without turning toward her.
"I didn't want this," Aria whispered, pain slicing through her chest. "I was forced—"
"You stepped into her place," he interrupted, his voice sharper than a blade. "Then you'll suffer her punishment."
The vows came like a blur.
"I do," she whispered, because she had to.
Leon didn't even look at her when he said the same words. His voice was calm, polished, and detached — like he was closing a business deal rather than binding himself to a woman.
When he kissed her, it wasn't gentle.
It was cold.
A punishment in disguise.
The car ride to the mansion was silent and tense. Aria sat like a ghost on one end of the leather seat, staring out the tinted window. Outside, the world cheered the grand wedding of Leon Valen and Selena Greystone.
Inside the car, silence roared louder than thunder.
When they reached his estate — a massive glass-walled fortress overlooking the cliffs — Leon finally spoke.
His voice was calm and dangerous.
"You have two minutes to explain yourself before I throw you out of this house."
Aria turned to him, her throat tightening. "I didn't choose this—"
"You wore her dress."
"I had no choice!"
Leon moved closer. "You *lied.* You stood at that altar knowing you weren't her. Do you think I'm some blind fool?"
"No—"
"Then why do it?"
"Because they threatened to destroy my father's company. My mother said if I didn't marry you, everything would collapse. They would lose everything." Her voice broke. "I only did this to protect my family."
Leon stared at her with burning disgust. "And what about what *I* lose? You think I wanted *you?*"
She flinched like he'd slapped her.
"I never wanted to take her place," Aria whispered.
"But you did. And now, you'll live with the consequences."
He stepped back, tossing his coat onto the leather couch.
"You're not my wife, Aria. You're a *stand-in.* A contract. A shadow. And once I find your sister, I'll make sure you regret ever walking down that aisle."
Aria's breath hitched.
So that was it.
She wasn't a bride.
She was a placeholder.
That night, Aria sat alone in the guest bedroom — not the master suite — staring at the wedding ring on her finger.
She hadn't cried at the altar.
She hadn't cried in the car.
But now… the tears came.
Slow. Silent. Relentless.
She had married a man who hated her and who saw her as a fraud. A liar.
She had protected her family — and lost herself.
Somewhere across the mansion, Leon Valen was probably planning how to annul this sham marriage.
But Aria knew something he didn't.
This wasn't just a fake wedding.
There was one secret, buried deeper than all the rest.
And when Leon discovered it…
This cold, loveless game would set everything on fire.
To be continued.....
Hey 🦋 butterflies...
Please stay tuned for the next part...