Never Alone An Hour Before the Wedding

Xavier (*Vivian Father)

Are you ready?

My father’s voice cut through the silence, flat and sharp like a blade. Irritation laced every syllable.

Vivian

Yes, Father

I whispered, my eyes fixed on the floor.

Looking him in the eye had never been safe—not today, not ever.

Even on my wedding day, I couldn’t risk the punishment that came with defiance.

He carried himself like royalty, chin high, shoulders squared, every step heavy with authority. In the eyes of others, he was a noble man, incapable of cruelty. But I knew better.

I knew the truth behind the mask he wore so well.

lilith (*Vivian Mother)

Wait!

The door burst open, and in swept my mother—draped in silk and jewels, her lips painted, her hair flawless.

A queen in her own world, with one obsession: her beauty

Xavier (*Vivian Father)

What is it, darling?

My father asked, his tone softening for her in a way it never had for me.

And you must be wondering—if he could speak so gently to his wife, why not to his only daughter?

Trust me, I’ve asked myself the same question a thousand times. I’ve never found an answer.

My mother’s painted lips curved into a smile that chilled me.

lilith (*Vivian Mother)

Before you walk her down the aisle, make sure she signs these papers.

She handed a folder to my father, who barely glanced at it before shoving it into my hands.

Confused, I flipped through the pages. The words swam before my eyes until they cut deep enough to still my breath.

My grip trembled. Slowly, I lifted my gaze to them.

Vivian

What… is this?

My voice cracked

Vivian

You want me to transfer my company into your name?

My mother’s smile widened, greedy satisfaction dripping from every word.

lilith (*Vivian Mother)

Of course. Did you forget who helped you build that firm? It was us.

lilith (*Vivian Mother)

Now that you’re marrying into money, you won’t need it.

lilith (*Vivian Mother)

We can’t let you take it with you.

I stared at her in disbelief. The company is mine.

The one thing in my life I had bled, fought, and sacrificed for.

The one thing I had control over. And now, even that was being ripped from me.

Xavier (*Vivian Father)

Are you going to do it or not?

My father’s eyes narrowed, his voice low but heavy with threat.

I felt the fury rise in me like a storm.

My hands shook—not from fear, but from the sheer force of rage pressing against the walls of my chest.

Without another word, I grabbed the pen, scrawled my name with sharp, angry strokes, and shoved the papers back into my mother’s face.

Her gasp of triumph rang in my ears, but I refused to let her see the tears burning in my eyes.

Let her think she’d won Let her think she’d won.

Let them both believe they’d stripped me of everything.

Because if I had built one empire once, I could build another again.

And maybe—just maybe—when I finally broke free of this place, I could chase the dreams they’d buried inside me.

And the rest? You already know

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I glanced back at my stranger husband. Whose attention never strayed from the glowing screen of his phone, his fingers moving with restless speed as if even in this moment—our first together—he was too occupied for me.

Vivian

(*sigh)

With a sigh, I turned toward the window.

The clouds drifted lazily across the sky, weightless and free, unlike me—trapped in a gilded cage called marriage.

Uncertainty gnawed at me. What path awaited me now?

Would this new chapter of my life be better… or far worse than what I had endured before?

I didn’t know. Perhaps I never would.

But there was one truth carved deep within me, unshakable.

Married or unmarried, there was no one for me. There never had been. And maybe… there never would be.

*If I choose to live in this wide world, then I must summon the courage to stand up for myself, even if the world turns against me.*

This is a mantra I've carried with me since childhood.

In moments like these, the absence of a supportive figure weighs heavily on me.

Everyone else seemed to have someone to lean on. Someone to share their burdens with.

But me? I was destined to carry mine alone.

Always alone.

But deep inside

I'm also someone who yearns to be loved by her own people

Vivian

(*closing eyes)

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Author

That's it for this chapter!

Author

Hope you all are great.... Whenever new person is entering say hi...

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