The Cooper mansion blazed with golden light, every chandelier gleaming like captured stars. I stood at the top of the grand staircase, gripping the marble banister until my knuckles went white, watching the pre-wedding celebration unfold below. Dozens of elite guests mingled in the ballroom, their laughter and champagne toasts echoing off the vaulted ceiling.
I hadn't slept. Hadn't eaten. The memory of Ronan feeding my blood to Avayah played on endless repeat behind my eyes, but somehow I'd managed to apply concealer to the dark circles and slip into this emerald silk gown. The fabric felt foreign against my skin, like a costume for a role I no longer wanted to play.
"Lucy, darling!" Mrs. Whitmore's voice cut through my daze as I descended the stairs. "How radiant you look! Tomorrow's the big day!"
I forced my lips into what I hoped resembled a smile. "Yes, tomorrow."
The words tasted like ash. Around me, guests pressed close with congratulations that felt like mockery. Each "How romantic!" and "You're so lucky!" drove the knife deeper into wounds I was still learning to acknowledge.
Ronan appeared at my side with practiced timing, his hand settling possessively on my waist. "There's my beautiful bride," he murmured, loud enough for nearby guests to hear. His fingers pressed into my ribs—not painful, but firm. Claiming.
The photographer's flash exploded in my face. I blinked away the white spots, feeling Ronan's thumb trace small circles against my hip bone. To everyone watching, it looked tender. Intimate. I knew better now. His touch was as calculated as everything else.
"Smile, love," he whispered against my ear, his breath warm but his voice empty of any real affection.
I smiled. The cameras clicked. The crowd murmured approval.
Ronan's eyes remained cold as winter glass.
Across the ballroom, Avayah held court near the champagne fountain, resplendent in a blood-red gown that hugged every curve. The color suited her—predatory, dangerous, beautiful. She threw her head back and laughed at something an elderly gentleman said, but her gaze kept finding mine across the crowd. Each time our eyes met, her smile sharpened.
I moved through the party like a sleepwalker, accepting kisses on both cheeks from society matrons, nodding at business associates' jokes about marriage and ball-and-chains. My body went through the motions while my mind replayed last night's revelation over and over. *My love. Drink slowly. Let it warm you from within.*
The champagne fountain caught the light like liquid diamonds, bubbles rising endlessly toward the crystal rim. I found myself drawn to it, perhaps seeking something—anything—to wash the bitter taste from my mouth. As I reached for a flute, my shoulder brushed against silk.
"Oh!" Avayah's gasp was sharp, theatrical. She stumbled backward, one hand flying to her arm as if I'd struck her. "Lucy!"
I turned, confused. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"
"You pushed me!" Her voice rose, carrying across the ballroom like a bell. Conversations died. Heads turned. "You deliberately tried to hurt me!"
"What? No, I—" The words died in my throat as tears began streaming down Avayah's perfect cheeks.
"I know you resent me," she continued, her voice breaking with practiced emotion. "I know you've always hated how close Ronan and I are, but I never thought you'd actually—" She pressed her hand to her chest, breathing hard. "I'm family. How could you?"
The crowd pressed closer, their faces a blur of shock and judgment. Someone whispered, "The bride attacked her." Another voice: "Jealousy is such an ugly thing."
"Avayah, please," I tried to explain, my voice barely audible over the growing murmur. "It was an accident. I barely touched—"
Her hand moved faster than thought. The champagne glass shattered against the fountain's marble edge with a sound like breaking bones. Before I could react, she brought the jagged remains across my forehead in a vicious arc.
Pain exploded through my skull. The broken glass bit deep, carving a path from my temple down to my neck. Blood—hot and immediate—poured down my face, soaking into my dress, dripping onto the pristine marble floor.
I screamed.
The sound tore from my throat as I fell to my knees, one hand pressed desperately against the gaping wound on my neck. Blood seeped between my fingers, warm and thick. Through the haze of shock and pain, I looked up at Avayah.
She stood over me like an avenging angel in red silk, the broken glass still clutched in her fist. Her tears had vanished. In their place was something savage and satisfied, a predator's smile that revealed her true nature to anyone brave enough to look.
But no one was looking at her. They were all staring at me—the bleeding bride, the jealous woman who'd supposedly attacked poor, innocent Avayah.
"Someone help her!" a voice shouted.
Footsteps pounded across marble. Through my blurred vision, I saw Ronan pushing through the crowd. Finally. Finally, he would see what she'd done, would protect me, would—
He pulled Avayah into his arms.
"Shh, it's alright," he murmured, stroking her hair while she sobbed against his chest. "You're safe now."
I knelt in my own blood, watching the man I'd loved for three years comfort my attacker. His eyes met mine for one brief moment—not with concern or love, but with cold annoyance, as if I were a problem to be managed.
"Take Miss Thompson to the side room," he told two servants without looking away from Avayah. "Call Dr. Martinez. And please—" His voice carried the weight of practiced authority. "Don't let the guests see this. It's upsetting them."
Hands lifted me from the floor, guided me away from the crowd. As they led me toward a small anteroom, I looked back one last time. Ronan was still holding Avayah, explaining to the gathered guests in soothing tones.
"She's been under tremendous stress lately," his voice carried clearly across the ballroom. "The wedding preparations, the pressure—she didn't mean to react so strongly. You know how sensitive Avayah is."
Nods of understanding. Murmurs of sympathy. For her.
Not one person mentioned that she'd assaulted me with a weapon.
The side room was small and sterile, all white walls and medical supplies. Dr. Martinez worked in silence, his needle pulling my skin back together stitch by careful stitch. Blood soaked through towel after towel, but I barely felt the pain.
I was too busy finally, truly seeing.
Seeing that I had never been the bride. I had only ever been the sacrifice.
