02

LILY

I shifted back, my body trembling. My throat sandpaper.

“Maddy…she would never let you do this,” I whispered hoarsely but Mr Croft just smirked.

My stomach lurched.

“How can you do this!?” I questioned in fury.

Mr and Mrs Croft looked at each other and shared a sinister smile.

“Your daughter is missing! Does that not mean anything to you? Or is your reputation really worth more than your daughter’s life?” I spat. I saw when Mrs. Croft raised her hand to slap me. I caught it midair, fingers locking around her wrist.

A gasp left her lips and the guards dragged me away from her.

“That money was mine! You have no right!” I screamed as the guards held me down. Mr and Mrs Croft were speaking, his hands were moving fiercely over his phone screen.

I couldn’t agree to this. I had a mother who needed my care and above all else, I had a secret child. I couldn’t leave my little Anna.

As I struggled, Mr Croft brought his phone to my face and my eyes zeroed in on the video. A horrid gasp left my lips.

“All I have to do, is say the word,” he threatened and all form of strength escaped my limbs.

He had my mother followed. I watched her laugh with strangers. Every action captioned on camera.

How long has this been going on!?

I looked up from his phone to see a wicked smile on his lips. He was letting me know that he had all the power here.

“All it takes is one call, Lily and everything you love would drown in debt,” he finished and my guts turned to ice.

How did we get here?

Tears dotted my eyes.

“What is it going to be?” He asked and the tears leaked out of my eyes.

If I didn’t marry the stranger then my mother would be hospitalized. The thought of my Anna’s screams when Nana didn’t come home. The bills that would crush me whole…

If I wore the gown then…

The guards released me but I didn’t move.

What’s it going to be — Mr. Croft’s voice floated around my head.

“I guess you’ve made your choice,” he coldly said. The guards started to file out, my eyes went to the veil on the bed. The soft texture and the glitter catching the morning sun.

Maddy’s help, every sacrifice. Everything would go down the drain…

My lips trembled, the scream stuck in my throat. No. No, I can’t… My mind raced, my chest heaving. Tears burned until one slipped free, hot and humiliating down my cheek.

“I—” The word cracked. I shook my head, gripping my knees so tightly my nails dug in. “I can’t.”

But Mrs. Croft’s glare was merciless. Mr. Croft’s smirk carved deeper. My mother’s face flashed in my mind—fragile, smiling, unaware of the wolves circling.

My breath broke. I swallowed, voice barely audible. “I’ll do it.”

The room held its breath. My legs quivered as I forced myself upright, but I lifted my chin anyway.

“But…” my voice steadied, sharp now. “I want something in return.”

Did he really think I was going to go into this blindly? He just threatened my mother with his power. If we were going to do this then I wanted to know he wouldn’t be able to touch me.

Minutes later, I sat where Maddy had been, now trapped in her ghost.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears, my breath was calm but my mind was in chaos. Was this what it felt being Maddy?

The dressers were done and I was still seated in the chair when Mrs Croft walked into the room without knocking. I sighted her from the veil through the mirror.

Her hand outstretched, a thick folder stamped in gold.

“Everything’s here,” she said and I tried to take it but she moved her hand away for a minute, holding my gaze.

“Just so you know…you are not Maddy. You’re a stand-in, nothing more. Understand?” She questioned but I refused to answer such question as I snatched the envelope from her hands.

She huffed and walked out, just before she closed the door, she looked back and sneered.

“Don’t try anything stupid,” she warned.

I clutched the envelope like it could hold me together.

I hid the envelope and minutes later I was hand in hand with Mr Croft, a small smile on my face as he had ordered me to do.

I walked to the aisle and found out that the groom wasn’t even there yet.

He had to show up for the bargain to hold, if he opted out of the wedding before me then I would know too much and Mr Croft didn’t seem like a man who would let me or my family live with such an information.

I was panicking now, my nails in my teeth before Mrs Croft swapped my hands and I straightened my back. The wedding was private, only the crofts and the priests.

I was about to ask them what the hell we were doing when the door opened. The light caught the shiny sleekness of his hair. His stride was confident.

At first, as he walked towards me, my pulse stopped. The hard tilt of his jaw, the glint of dark hair. Why did Anna’s features echo in him?

As he got closer, his green eyes caught the light. Flat and unreadable. I was taken aback by his beauty, the commanding aura he carried with him.

And yet, something about him was way too familiar. Like my body remembered, though my mind did not.

It wasn’t until he stood in front of me that my eyes widened. Panic clawed at my chest.

It couldn’t be. No.

My gaze snagged on his hand, the long fingers curling around his cuff. My breath stuttered. That grip, that jaw tightening. I’d felt it before. His scent overpowered me, Musk and vanilla. The scent that haunted me. My body knew before my brain did. My chest tightened, my pulse stuttered.

“So glad you could make it, Mr Dominic Sinclair,” Mr.Croft said bowing low. That was the final nail to my coffin.

“Do you, Maddy Croft take Dominic Sinclair as your lawfully wedded husband?” The priest asked but my lips were trembling.

Five years ago, I had met Dominic Sinclair. He had left me with a daughter who carried his eyes.

A single tear streaked down my face and he frowned, his gaze was piercing, narrowing slightly as though he was trying to place a dream he couldn’t grasp.

How was I supposed to marry the man who abandoned me and my child five years ago?