My wedding day was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. Instead it was the day I discovered my fiancé preferred my step-sister and the kingdom wanted me executed. Looking back, the signs were probably there. I just ignored them.
The cathedral was enormous, the kind of place built to make humans feel small and obedient before the gods. Sunlight poured through the stained glass windows, scattering colored light across the marble floor. Everyone important in the kingdom was here.
Nobles filled the front rows, whispering behind jeweled fans. Royal guards lined the walls in polished armor. Priests stood near the altar, preparing for the ceremony. All of them had gathered to watch me marry Commander Adrian.
Lucky me.
My stepmother fussed with the back of my gown, tugging at the fabric like she was personally offended by it. "Stand straight," she muttered. "You represent this family." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Represent this family. That was funny.
My father remarried when I was sixteen. His new wife arrived with her daughter, Leanna, and suddenly our house transformed into a place where every compliment somehow ended up directed at someone else. Leanna was beautiful. Not the kind of beauty people forgot either. Golden hair. Bright eyes. A smile that could convince people she had never done anything wrong in her entire life. My dad included. Unfortunately, I knew better.
For the past eight years she had made it very clear how unfair it was that I had been chosen to marry Adrian. Not her. But today was supposed to end that argument. Once the ceremony was finished, the title, the status, the future it would all be mine, not that I really asked for it, it was just my birth right.
The cathedral doors began to open. The musicians started playing. That was my signal. I stepped forward. The long aisle stretched before me like a path I couldn't turn back from.
One step.
Two steps.
Then I looked up at the altar. And everything stopped making sense. Adrian stood exactly where he was supposed to be. That part was normal. What wasn't normal …was the woman standing beside him. My step-sister. Leanna.
She wore white.
My white.
My exact wedding dress.
For a moment I genuinely wondered if I had fainted and was dreaming. The whispers started almost immediately. "Isn't Rachel supposed to be the bride?" "Why is her sister standing there?" I stopped walking. My mind struggled to catch up with what my eyes were seeing. Leanna turned slowly. When she saw me standing there in the aisle, her lips curved into a smile. Not a kind smile. A victorious one. "Oh," she said loudly enough for half the cathedral to hear. "You're here already."
Something cold settled in my stomach. I looked at Adrian. The man I had been promised to since I was seventeen. The man who had sworn more than once that he would never choose anyone else. He didn't look surprised. He didn't look guilty either. He simply… avoided my eyes like a coward. That hurt more than anything else in that moment.
Leanna slid her arm through his as if it had always belonged there. "Rachel," she continued sweetly, "you didn't really think Adrian would marry you… did you?"
The whispering grew louder. Shock rippled through the crowd like a wave. "What does she mean?" "This must be a mistake." My ears rang.
I barely heard the cathedral doors slam open behind me. Heavy footsteps echoed across the marble floor. Why are the Royal guards here? Before I could even turn, one of them grabbed my arm.
Hard.
"Rachel Smith," the captain announced coldly, his voice carrying easily through the cathedral. "You are under arrest for treason against the crown." The word barely registered. "Treason?" I whispered. They had to be confused. Gasps erupted around the room. The captain gestured sharply. Another guard stepped forward holding something wrapped in dark cloth. When he unfolded it, my stomach twisted violently. A dagger. Black metal carved with glowing red runes. A cursed blade. "I believe this was discovered in your chambers," the captain said. The whispers turned ugly. I looked around In disbelief not able to make sense of the scene playing out infront of me. "Forbidden magic…" "I knew something was strange about that girl." "She always seemed too quiet." My mind raced desperately. I had never seen that dagger before. "This is insane," I said. My voice sounded distant, even to me. I turned toward Adrian again. "Tell them," I said quietly.
Seven years. Seven years of promises. Seven years of believing I knew the man standing at that altar. He didn't move. Didn't speak. Leanna did.
"Oh Rachel," she sighed, lowering her eyes like she was heartbroken. Her performance was flawless. "You threatened me last night," she said softly. "You said if the wedding went forward… someone might get hurt." The crowd gasped again. I stared at her. And suddenly everything made sense. The dagger. The accusations. The timing. This wasn't chaos. This was a plan. Her plan.
The guards snapped iron cuffs around my wrists. Cold metal bit into my skin. But strangely, I barely felt it. Because in that moment something inside me changed. The heartbreak was still there. The humiliation too. But beneath it…Something darker began to grow. A quiet, dangerous thought.
Fine. If they wanted to ruin my life… I would make sure they regretted it.