###Chapter 9
“Butler!” He roared, loud enough to shake the walls. Colin never yelled unless he was spiraling. The poor man probably stumbled out of his quarters in pajamas, wide-eyed and trembling. “Where is she?!” Colin would’ve grabbed him by the collar. “Did she come back? Where the hell is
Annalise?!”
“She said she couldn’t sleep, sir. Said her mind was too chaotic,” the housekeeper would have murmured, voice shaking. “She wanted to go finish preparing a surprise for your wedding tomorrow. Asked me to tell you not to worry.”
A surprise.
That word probably hit him like a hook in the ribs.
Long enough for his grip to loosen.
“Then why is her phone off?” he would’ve snapped. “Why can’t I reach her?”
“She dropped it in the tub. Water damage. It shorted out. She said she’d buy a new one first thing tomorrow. She also made sure I told you not to worry-that she’ll definitely be there on time… fo the wedding…”
He would’ve gone still.
Tight-jawed. Eyes red. Fighting back a storm.
“And her injuries?”
“We took care of them the moment she got home,” the housekeeper said quickly. “We called a doctor. She’s okay now, sir. You don’t need to worry.”
Hearing the certainty in the old man’s voice, Colin finally exhaled. He rubbed at his pounding temples, his voice hoarse.
“Let me know the second she comes back. After the wedding… I’ll go with her to bury her
mother.”
And just like that, he turned and dragged his heavy steps back to that cold, empty bedroom.
“Yes, sir.”
The butler exhaled like a man released from death row.
Only when Colin’s shadow disappeared up the stairs did he dare wipe the cold sweat stinging his
eyes.
His pajama back was drenched.
Colin would never know-just hours ago, a bank card holding enough money to secure the next three generations of the butler’s family had bought his silence.
His lies.
Upstairs, Colin collapsed into the massive bed.
The same one we once shared.
He buried his face in my pillow. The scent of my hair still clung to the fabric, soft and familiar. He clutched it like a life raft, the exhaustion finally overtaking his frantic nerves.
“Annelisse Ward… just you wait. I’ll make you the happiest bride tomorrow…”
But the sun came anyway. It spilled across the bed, harsh and unforgiving. And my side was still untouchedStill cold.
He sat up, stone-faced and gray, phone dead in his palm.
He must’ve tried calling a dozen more times before finally smashing it against the wall.
That stupid marriage certificate-the one he called a “surprise”-was crushed in his other hand, now nothing but paper and irony.
I was still gone.
Then the phone rang.
It was his mother.
“Colin! What’s going on?! The guests are seated, the music’s playing and no one’s seen hide no hair of that Anneliese Ward! Where the hell is she?!”
His voice must’ve scraped like gravel. “Has she… shown up yet?”
‘How should I know? She’s not with you?! Honestly, I warned you, didn’t I? That wild, unculturec girl was not fit for our family. No manners, no class=”
‘Enough!”
That’s when he lost it.
‘She’s my wife,” he growled. “The future Mrs. Marks. From now on, no one-no one, including yo -is allowed to speak of her like that!”
He hung up before she could reply.
Didn’t care.
He still had some small, pathetic sliver of hope left in him.
So he got in the car.
Drove straight to the wedding venue.
To the scene of what should’ve been joy.
But instead felt like punishment.
***
The flowers. The polished marble aisle. Guests murmuring. A string quartet playing something sweet and hollow.
And Colin storming in like a man being hunted by his own guilt.
“Is Anne here yet?!”Colin burst through the church doors, his voice booming across the marble floor.
It was the first thing out of his mouth. His eyes darted across every corner, every dress, every face. Searching. Needing. Coming up empty.
His mother stormed right up to him, voice high and sharp, the powder on her face caked on like
paint. “Late. On her wedding day. That girl has no shame! I told you-”
“She has a name!” he snapped, spinning toward her. “Call her by her name.”
He turned to her like a man who had nothing left to lose. His eyes must’ve been bloodshot, wild enough to make her flinch.
She did flinch.
Even her husband fell quiet for once, sipping wine like it was beneath him to care.
“Let her act like she’s above all this,” Mr. Marks sneered. “She’ll never touch a cent of this family’s fortune if she keeps playing games. A woman like that doesn’t belong in the Marks Family.”
And for a moment, Colin wanted to scream. To say, ‘She never wanted your name. Never wanted your money.”
That I never once cared about any of it.
But in the end, even he swallowed that words. Like he always did.
7:36 pm
10
