Chapter 1: Kayden

“So what? I don’t care if Jayden Knight was a coward. I just know that someone has to be there standing to marry my daughter! I will not be insulted in front of all the guests!” Adam Walker yells. 

I clench my fists, trying to control my anger.

“Adam! Let’s not forget that your daughter ran away too! If both of them are gone, how can this marriage take place?” My dad, Alexander Knight, says in an angry tone.

My brother did run away. But he was not a coward. He must have a valid reason for what he did. 

You see, I believe in my brother. He’s a good person. He would’ve thought about everything. 

Maybe whatever is happening is for the best…

But what I don’t understand is what could’ve happened. 

My brother loved the girl he was going to marry. Though the girl’s father turned their love marriage into a business deal, neither of the two were forced to do this. 

So why did they run away?

Both of them just left one note in their rooms. Both the notes had just one small string of words:

I am leaving.

Just these three words written in plain black ink. 

Nothing else.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Alex. I have another daughter. She’ll take her sister’s place.” Adam Walker says with a sickly evil smirk.

This man… 

“Nonsense! Aviana is too young for all this! You can’t expect us to let you do such a crime and spoil that poor girl’s life!” My mother, Veronica Knight, argues.

“We can do anything with her life. After all, she’s our daughter. We can do whatever we want with her life.” Samantha Walker, Adam’s wife, says with a smug smirk matching her husband’s expression.

These two really were meant for each other…

“What can we do? Jayden is not here. Neither is your daughter, Mikaela. Both of them are gone. Even if you replace the bride, who will take Jayden's place?" I say, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.

"You will." Adam says, his smirk still plastered to his face as he looks at me. "The invitations and everything said that the daughter of Adam Walker and the son of Alexander Knight are getting married. My daughter, Aviana and Alexander's son, which is you." Adam explains.

Umm… Yeah, he did that. 

He convinced us to not print the names of the bride and groom mainly because they did not have as big of a media presence as my father and he himself did.

I have no idea as to why my father agreed to it though…

"No." I say, gritting my teeth and clenching my fists to keep my anger in control. 

There was no way in hell that I would be willing to let this man control me like his puppet!

Adam laughs menacingly at me.

"Oh! But you have to. If you don't, I will tell everyone that Jayden Knight ran away from his own marriage which was supposed to happen with my daughter, Aviana.” He informs me. “What the media will do to taint your family's name won't be my fault then." Adam smirks darkly. 

I hear my mother gasping beside my dad as I try to reign my temper in, my nose flaring in anger at his threat. 

He knows that my family is my weakness. 

How low can this bastard go?! His daughter ran away too. And he's ready to ruin his younger daughter's life for his pride. 

I pity the two girls who call him their father. He's a monster! 

But I cannot let him ruin my family's name. My dad worked so hard to set up the reputation of us Knights as noble people. I will not let this selfish man spoil everything my father built and everything I have built during the time I have spent on this earth.

"But Aviana is just a college girl. She's too young. And don't you think that my son, Kayden, is a bit too old for her?" My father reasons. 

Adam chuckles at that.

"I don't care about that as long as I am not insulted.” He waves it off. “And besides, in this modern world, no one sees the age gap of the couple if you use the word 'love' in the story." Adam says. He then turns to look me in the eye. "It's totally up to you. Either be there, or when my daughter walks down to the altar to find no one standing there, I will make sure to ruin the image that your family holds. I will make sure that you can never show your face in public again." Adam threatens.

Adam is about two inches shorter than me and as he looks up at me, it looks comical. But his threats are delivered with perfection. I will have to admit, this man is good at being a total douche.

"Even if we agree to this, how will we get the wedding dress fitted according to Aviana's size in just two hours?" My mother tries to reason.

"Leave that to me, Veronica. I am the world's best fashion designer. I can get the dress ready with just a snap of my fingers. In fact, it's already ready. Aviana is getting ready. And as for Kayden's outfit, I have that ready too." Samantha Walker says as she snaps her fingers. She smirks at my parents.

"So, will you marry my daughter or get destroyed?" Adam asks me.

How much more despicable can this man be?

"I will marry her." I say through my gritted teeth.

I never could have even imagined that I would be getting married like this. In fact, I never even thought that I would ever marry anyone.

But here I am, sitting in the backseat of the car with the girl who is now my wife. 

During the whole ceremony, I didn't even look at her face. I just did whatever I was told. It was when the priest asked me to kiss her that I finally saw her face. 

She looked angry but she was trying not to let it show her face. 

I just gave her a little peck. I couldn't kiss her. 

She's not someone I ever thought I'll marry or even talk to.

When it was time for us to go for the reception, Aviana said something to her father which made his face pale. 

Adam announced that the 'newly married couple' wanted to go and rest and have their first night in peace as they were tired. That helped in avoiding any questions as we skipped our own reception.

Thank the lords above!

During the whole ride to my penthouse, I sat there in my seat looking out of the window and she did the same. 

When we reached, I just gave her a look, telling her to follow me and she understood, following behind me without any questions asked.

We were now at my penthouse. The staff that came to arrange her stuff in her room bowed at us a little before they left for the day. 

It was just me and her now. I clear my throat, awkwardly.

"So, that is the kitchen." I tell her pointing towards the kitchen. "There is your room and my room is over there." I say, pointing in the direction of the rooms. I have specifically given her the room farthest from mine. Our rooms were practically on the opposite ends of the penthouse. "Don't enter my room without my permission and I will do the same. The chef will be here in the morning to make breakfast. You can tell her what you like and at what times you will be eating." I explain.

I just want this day to be over at this point.

"Okay." She says with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders as she turns to give a quick look around the house. 

I stand there in shock as she huffs and takes off her awfully high heels and starts walking towards her room.

"Okay? You have nothing else to say?" I ask in bewilderment, making her stop and turn to look at me. 

Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting her to say but 'okay' surely wasn't what I was expecting. 

I thought that she would tell me stuff like how a married couple was supposed to stay together and stuff like that. I mean, she is still a young girl. 

I remember my parents telling me that she was still in college. Aren't young girls supposed to be a little too over the top about love and stuff like that?

Am I reading too much into this?

"What else am I supposed to say?" She asks with a confused frown on her face. Then, in a few seconds, I see the wheels turning in her head as realization dawns on her about what I was expecting. "Oh! Sorry! Goodnight." She says with a smile on her face. I raise an eyebrow at her.

This girl is weird...

“That’s not what I meant.” I mumbled, shaking my head. "Are you okay with the fact that we have separate rooms?" I ask her.

"Oh! That! Actually, I am happy that you gave me my own room. I am used to having my personal space. Thanks for that." She says with a sweet smile.

Umm… Okay.

"Uh... You're welcome." I say, not knowing what else to say.

"Okay, I am super exhausted so I am going to bed. Goodnight!" She says as she turns and enters her room.

"Goodnight." I say behind her as a smile breaks on my face. I didn't know what I expected but I certainly wasn't this.

She's different…