Chapter 2 - The Walk Down the Aisle
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The cathedral was a cavern of stained glass, towering marble pillars, and two hundred of the city's most elite socialites. As the heavy wooden doors swung open, the dramatic swell of the pipe organ filled the massive space, vibrating in my chest. I stood at the threshold, my veil pulled over my face, clutching a bouquet of white roses that felt heavier than it looked. Every eye in the room turned to me, their gazes filled with a mixture of pity and condescension. They saw the foster girl who had somehow managed to snare one of the city's most eligible bachelors.
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I began my slow march down the long aisle. The guests were a sea of designer suits and expensive perfumes, but I kept my eyes fixed straight ahead. My father, Julian Ward, sat in the second row. We had agreed he wouldn't walk me down the aisle to maintain the illusion that we were just employer and employee, a ruse to protect my privacy while I learned the family business. He offered me a small, tight smile, his eyes filled with a quiet, protective intensity. He was the only one in the room who knew the truth about my identity, and the only one who had warned me about the man waiting at the altar.
Adrian stood at the end of the aisle, looking like a prince in his tailored tuxedo. From a distance, he was the picture of a loving groom, but as I drew closer, I could see the rigid tension in his jaw and the cold, calculating glint in his dark eyes. He didn't look at me with love; he looked at me with the triumphant satisfaction of a man who was about to close a highly lucrative business deal. He reached out and took my hand, his grip uncomfortably tight, pulling me into the final act of his grand play.
