Page 46 of Castle

Run, but where?

Part of me wondered if I could slit my wrist and end this, but I imagined the heartache that would cause Castle if he saw me that way, and I’d promised him I’d make him better, that I’d help him remember his past. Even if I married the devil that was Devin, I wouldn’t stop what I started.

I put on my shoes to deal with the ugly reality.

I was looking into the mirror, and although I looked beautiful in the bride’s dress, all I felt inside was dread.

Chandler walked into the room a minute later, dressed in a tux, holding a bridal bouquet that he handed over to me. “Millie, it’s time.”

I stood up and stepped out of the room, walking downstairs towards the fate that awaited me.

EIGHTEEN

I walkeddown the stairs slowly, as if prolonging the time would stop the inevitable.

I could buy time, but I wouldn’t delude myself into thinking the wedding would stop. Only a fairy-god-mother could do that. I secretly hoped that the place would catch fire, or that a big hole would appear in the groom’s pants, a hole that couldn’t be fixed for 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 marrying Devin would prevent me from spending as much time with Castle. I would not be his caregiver, but Devin’s wife—and that was one big tragedy in itself. They would hire someone else for the job.

Why had he chosen me to become his wife?

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 and groping each other. 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 garden, and I tried my hardest not to think about 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. Flowers decorated the archway. 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.

Everything looked enchanting.

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 obvious that only a select few were invited to the private ceremony.

Grandpa Hugh, was sitting right in the front, staring at me with indifference with his glassy eyes. I hardly think herecognized me or, better yet, knew who I was. Dayana sat next to him, looking prim and proper, dressed in a lovely blue dress, her hair in wavy curls. Theo’s girlfriend Ivy was also there, and her eyes were only reserved for Theo as 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. I’m sorry. And if I should be honest...” his eyes pierced through mine, “I would love to have you in our family.”

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