Chapter 3 - The Morning Of The Wedding

Victoria POV

I wake up gasping. My heart is pounding. My skin is slick with sweat. For a moment, I do not know where I am. The room is dark. The curtains are drawn. The air is heavy with the scent of roses. My roses. Victoria's roses. The roses my mother had delivered to my room every day for the past month because, "A bride should smell like flowers, not like anxiety."

I laugh at that. A bitter, hollow sound that echoes in the empty room.

Anxiety. That is what I feel. It is all I have felt for months. Maybe years. I cannot remember a time when I did not feel like I was drowning.

I sit up. The silk sheets slide off my body. I am wearing a white silk nightgown. It is beautiful. It is expensive. It was a gift from my mother. "For your wedding night," she said with a knowing smile. "It will make Daniel forget his own name."

Daniel.

The name lands in my chest like a stone. Daniel Valmont. My fiancé. The man I am supposed to marry in a few hours. The man I am supposed to love.

I do not love him. I have never loved him. I have tried. God knows I have tried. He is kind. He is handsome. He is everything a woman could want. But he is not Adrian.

Adrian.

The name sends a shiver through my body. Adrian Valmont. Daniel's older brother. The man I have loved for years. The man who has never once looked at me like I was anything more than his brother's fiancée. The man who is so cold, so untouchable, so impossibly out of reach.

I love him anyway.

I have always loved him anyway.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed. My feet touch the cold floor. I stand up.

I am preparing to make the biggest mistake of my life.

I think about the first time I met Adrian. I was twenty-two. He was twenty-six. It was a dinner party at the Valmont estate. My parents had dragged me along, desperate to make connections. I was nervous. I was shy. I was terrified of saying the wrong thing.

Adrian walked into the room and everything stopped.

He was tall. Dark. Intense. He had ice blue eyes that seemed to see straight through me. He looked at me like I was the only person in the room. And then he walked past me without a word.

I have spent five years trying to make him notice me. Five years of attending events he would attend. Five years of dressing in the most expensive gowns, wearing the most beautiful jewelry, smiling at all the right people. Five years of hoping that maybe, one day, he would see me.

He never did.

And now I am engaged to his brother.

I laugh again. It is a broken sound. A sound of pure despair.

A knock on the door. My mother's voice. "Victoria? Are you awake?"

I freeze. I cannot let her see me like this. I cannot let her see the panic in my eyes. I cannot let her see how desperately I want to run.

"Yes, Mother," I say. My voice is steady. I am proud of that. After all these years, I have learned to hide my feelings.

"Can I come in?"

I want to say no. I want to tell her to go away. I want to be alone. But I know she will not accept no. She never does.

"Of course."

The door opens. My mother walks in. She is already dressed. A silk dress the color of champagne. Her hair is perfect. Her makeup is perfect. She is perfect, as always. She looks at me.

"Are you all right?" she asks.

"I am fine."

My mother walks closer. She reaches out and touches my cheek.

"You are doing the right thing, Victoria," she says. "The Valmont family is powerful. Daniel is a good man. This marriage will secure your future. It will secure the Laurent family's future.”

"I know, Mother."

"You will be the perfect bride. You will smile. You will say your vows. You will be beautiful and graceful and everything the Valmont family expects."

"Yes, Mother."

She smiles again. This time, it reaches her eyes.

"I will see you at the ceremony," she says. "The stylist will be here in an hour. Try to relax. Everything will be fine."

She leaves. The door closes behind her. I am alone again.

I walk to the vanity. I sat down. I look at myself in the mirror. My face is pale.

I pick up my brush. I run it through my hair. Long and straight and perfect. Just like my mother wants. Just like everyone wants.

But what do I want?

The door opens again. I do not look up. I assume it is my mother again. Or the stylist. Or someone else who wants to tell me what to do.

"Victoria."

The voice is not my mother's.

I look up. My uncle Sebastian is standing in the doorway. He is wearing a dark suit. His hair is neatly combed. He looks like he cares.

I have always trusted Sebastian. He is the only person in my family who has ever seemed to see me. The only person who has ever seemed to understand.

"Uncle Sebastian," I say. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you." He steps into the room. He closes the door behind him. "Your mother told me you were nervous."

I laugh. It is a hollow sound. "That is one word for it."

Sebastian walks closer. He sits down on the edge of my bed. He looks at me with those kind brown eyes.

"Talk to me," he says. "What is wrong?"

I shake my head. I cannot tell him. If I tell him, it becomes real. If I tell him, I cannot take it back.

"Victoria." His voice is gentle. Patient. "I am your uncle. I have known you since you were a child. I can tell when something is wrong. Please. Talk to me."

I feel something crack inside me. Something I have been holding together for so long. I open my mouth. The words spill out before I can stop them.

"I do not want to marry Daniel."

Sebastian's expression does not change. He does not look surprised. He does not look shocked. He just looks at me with that same patient expression.

"Why not?" he asks.

I hesitate. I should not say it. I should not admit it. But the words are already there. They have been there for years.

"I am in love with Adrian."

The silence stretches between us. I watch Sebastian's face. He does not look angry.

"Adrian," he says slowly. "Daniel's brother."

"Yes."

"And you have loved him for how long?"

I look down at my hands. "Years. I have loved him for years. I have never told anyone. I have never said it out loud. But I love him, Uncle Sebastian. I love him so much it hurts."

Sebastian is quiet for a long moment. Then he stands up. He walks to the window. He looks out at the grey sky.

"I have suspected," he says quietly. "I have seen the way you look at him. The way your face lights up when he walks into a room. The way you shrink when he looks away."

I feel tears sting my eyes. "He never looks at me. He never sees me."

"No," Sebastian says. "He does not. But that does not mean he never will."

I look at him. "What do you mean?"

He turns to face me. His expression is serious. "I have watched you, Victoria. You are a beautiful woman. Intelligent. Talented. You deserve to be loved. You deserve to be chosen. Not because of your family name. Not because of your fortune. Because of who you are."

"Uncle Sebastian.."

"I know you are afraid," he continues. "I know you think you have to go through with this wedding. I know your mother is pressuring you. I know your father expects you to do your duty. But what do you want? What do you truly want?"

I look at him. I feel my heart pounding. My hands are trembling.

"I want Adrian," I whisper. "I have always wanted Adrian."

Sebastian nods slowly. "Then why are you marrying Daniel?"

"Because I do not have a choice. The families have already arranged everything. The contracts have been signed. The press is expecting a wedding. If I cancel…"

"If you cancel, you will be humiliated," Sebastian says. "Your mother will be furious. The board will panic. Laurent Jewels will suffer. But you will be free."

"Free?"

"Free to pursue the man you love." He steps closer. His voice is urgent. "Free to live your life on your own terms. Free to stop being the perfect daughter and start being Victoria."

I feel tears roll down my cheeks. "I cannot. I cannot do that to my family."

Sebastian reaches out. He takes my hand. His grip is warm. Steady.

"Victoria," he says gently. "Your family has used you. They have controlled you. They have turned you into a tool for their own ambitions. Is that what you want? To be a tool forever?"

"No," I whisper. "No, I do not want that."

"Then do not let them do this to you." He squeezes my hand. "Run away, Victoria. Run away before it is too late."

I stare at him. "Run away? Uncle Sebastian, I cannot just…"

"Think about it," he says. "Think about a life with Adrian. Think about the freedom you would have. The happiness you would feel. Is that not worth fighting for?"

"I am terrified," I admit.

"I know." Sebastian's voice is soft. "Being brave does not mean you are not afraid. Being brave means you are afraid, and you do it anyway."

"Uncle Sebastian," I say. "Why are you helping me?"

He smiles. It is a sad smile. "Because I have watched you play a perfect daughter. You deserve better, Victoria."

I feel something shift inside me.

"Thank you," I whisper. "Thank you for believing in me."

Sebastian nods. He releases my hand. He steps back.

"You have an hour," he says. "If you want to run, you need to do it now. Before the stylist arrives. Before your mother comes back. Before it is too late, I have a car waiting for you outside the gate."

I made a decision.

I stand up. I walk to the wardrobe. I pulled out a simple dress. Something that will not draw attention. I pull it on.

I walk to the door. I opened it. I step into the hallway.

"Victoria."

I turn. Sebastian is watching me. His face is unreadable.

"They will take you anywhere you like. Good luck," he says.

I nod. I walk away. I do not look back.

The hallway is empty.

I slip out the side door. The one the staff uses. The one that is always unlocked.

I run. I do not know where I am going. I do not care. I just ran.