I walked down the stairs slowly as if prolonging the time would stop the inevitable. I might buy time, but I wouldn't delude myself into thinking the wedding would stop. I knew that wasn't possible. Some fairy godmother wasn't going to appear and stop this wedding. I secretly hoped the place could catch fire or a big hole could appear in the groom's pants that couldn't be fixed in a month or two.

Luck, in my case, was usually nonexistent. I'd lived with facts and tragedies as they continued to pile up throughout my life. This wasn't any better.

I felt so sorry for Castle.

I'd promised him I'd be with him, but if I was going to be married to Devin, I wouldn't be allowed to spend time with Castle as much as I was used to. I would not be his nanny, but Devin's wife—and that was one big tragedy in itself.

Why had he chosen me?

I didn't even belong to a wealthy family like theirs; in fact, my family was dirt poor. If I stole a spoon from the Montgomery's kitchen, it was likely to make me rich and last a year, so why would Devin marry someone so far beneath him?

Unless he had a motive.

Was it lust? Did he think that marrying me would give him the authority to get me in his bed?

Or was I reading too much into it?

Maybe he found out about my brief fling with Castle, well, if you could even call that a fling—the sneaking around the house and exchanging a few passionate kisses. A servant could have seen something and gossiped around, or maybe Chandler notified Devin, so he decided he'd marry me to teach me a lesson.

That could be right.

There was no other explanation for it. None at all. He was marrying me to put a stop to my secretive meetings with Castle, and he thought that was the only way to do it.

Well, he thought wrong.

Even if I married Devin today, I'd do as I pleased.

My mind was going haywire by the time I reached the courtyard, and I tried my hardest not to dwell on the future and live in the present because that's how I was going to get through this—one step at a time, crossing one hurdle after the other.

I noticed just how beautiful the arrangement was. The archway was decorated with flowers. The sun was already setting, leaving yellow and red hue over the mountains, the shades blending perfectly with the green trees that lined the areas. It was like a gorgeous painting that was about to be grotesque by the current events.

Fancy chairs were lined on the side where a few people who I didn't recognize sat with a curious expression on their faces. I assumed they were the family's distant relatives or friends. It was quite obvious the ceremony was private and only a select few people were invited. Their Grandpa, Hugh, was sitting right in the front, and he stared at me in indifference with his glassy eyes. I hardly think he recognized me or, better yet, knew who I was. Dayana sat beside him, looking prim and proper, dressed in a lovely beige dress, her hair in wavy curls. Theo's girlfriend Madison was also there, and her eyes were only reserved for Theo, and she kept passing him flirty glances.

Theo stepped beside me, smiling kindly at me; I guessed it was my final sacrificial smile. "I'm going to walk you down the aisle to the altar. You're going to be my sister, after all!"

I squeezed his hand. "Theo, please stop this. I don't want to marry—"

"If there was anything that I could do to help you, Millie, I would, but my hands are tied down. I'm sorry. And if I should be honest..." his eyes pierced through mine, "I would love to have you in our family."

I didn't know whether to take that as a compliment since the boy had finally taken a liking to me or if I should be angry that he'd rather see me married off to his monster of a brother than set me free.

The Reverend stood at the end of the archway and my husband to be was waiting there for me, dressed in a tailored gray tux. The bastard was so handsome; one would even think they were lucky to be getting married to him until they discovered the evil that lurked behind those uncanny green eyes.

I walked slowly down the path, my throat forming a lump, my mind shutting down.

I didn't want to do this!

And yet I was forced to do absolutely nothing to stop it!

I had no phone to contact any authorities. No way to escape this place. I had nothing. I was completely at Devin's mercy, but I needed to remember the end goal.

I wanted out.

I had to marry him and then stab him in the back.

That was the only way.

Another thought just kept creeping into my mind—more like an image of my wedding night. It was the horrific imagery of getting naked with Devin and consummating the marriage with him. I just couldn't. Maybe I'd just lie down and let him do as he pleased.

Or I could close my eyes and imagine it was Castle.

The thought was disturbing, to say the least.

When I stopped walking and stopped midway, the anxiety was taking over again. Theo looked at me and pressed my hand in reassurance, as if he understood what I was thinking about. I could tell that he pitied me. He had to literally push me forward to walk ahead. With every step that I took forward, I wanted to take two steps backward.

We halted right beside the groom. Devin flashed me a dazzling smile, one that would have charmed the panties off any other woman who wasn't aware of his usual shenanigans.

Theo kissed my cheek and Devin kissed the other cheek as he whispered in my ear, "You look gorgeous, Millie." and he stepped aside.

Castle was standing there beside him, who came to stand next to me. He was hidden from view all along because Devin had been blocking him until now. Theo chuckled as he placed my small hand in Castle's larger one.

I gasped when I noticed what had happened.

Relief hit me so hard, my knees could have buckled. I would have died right there if it wasn't for Castle holding onto my hand.

Tears started spilling out of my eyes. Tears of sheer and utter relief.

I wasn't being married to Devin.

My groom was Castle.

Reverend Philip was at a loss for words, probably having a weakness for women's tears because he began handing me his napkin, telling me it was normal to become emotional on my wedding day.

I looked at Devin, who was standing at the side, and glared at him. The asshole wore a smug expression on his face, having a blast on my account, gloating on the fact that he'd fooled me into thinking I was marrying him.

I ignored him. I wasn't about to let Devin ruin my day. I concentrated on the man standing with me.

I was at a loss for words when I looked at Castle. He looked so incredibly attractive, with his thick sable hair that was styled unruly, giving him the sexy look and brown eyes that seemed almost hazel. His chiseled face and the strong jawline added to his beauty. He wore the tux similar to his brothers, but Castle, in my opinion, looked the best.

He looked sideways at me with the intense way of his and gave me the heart-melting smile. Not only was he sweet, but wanted me as much as I wanted him. I counted my lucky stars for marrying such a man.

Dayana was standing beside me, holding a ring. I tried not to dampen my mood because I would rather prefer eating glass than having this witch as my sister-in-law. If only murder was legal, it would have solved my problem.

The ceremony began, and I couldn't explain my happiness when Rev Philip asked me, "Millicent May Davis, do you take this man, Castle Montgomery, as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

* ~*

Later on, there was some dancing, which was followed by dinner. Everything turned out to be amazing the moment I realized I was marrying Castle. The dangerous situation had suddenly turned out to be far better than I expected it to be.

After the party was over, Castle was being held back by some guests, so I made my way back inside the mansion.

I went to my room upstairs to change and suddenly remembered since I was now married to Castle, I could share his bedroom, but all my stuff was still in my room. Everything had happened so suddenly, there was no time to move things. I'd been too disturbed to think about anything since I'd assumed I was marrying Devin.

I took a long bubble bath and changed into my nightgown. Thankfully, they'd bought me some nice ones upon request a few weeks back. A baby pink colored nightie that was short and lacy, not to mention transparent, but I covered the scandalous lingerie with the matching satin robe that came with it. I hoped Castle liked it. I smiled to myself, thinking about him. I felt nervous and excited on equal measures.

I was just combing my hair when suddenly the door burst open.

Castle stood there, panting, and the bow on his neck was tilted. I thought he'd ran upstairs to find me.

He sauntered into the room and gave me a quick once over, his eyes lingering over some parts for longer than necessary.

Then he came towards me and grasped my hand in his, pulling me towards himself. "Let's go to my room." 

* * *

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