2

2

Annalise

My eyes abruptly snapped open and I was met with the sight of both my parents and sister looking down at me.

“She’s awake!” a voice screamed, and the entire place erupted in cheers.

A stabbing pain shot through my head and I closed my eyes tightly, trying to relieve it. Soon, the hall became quiet and so did the chaos in my head. My mum stretched her hand out to me and I took it. She and my dad pulled me up, before they both enveloped me in a hug.

“I thought I had lost you for good,” my mum mumbled into the group hug.

Lost me? What is she talking about? What happened? I had a lot of questions.

We finally disentangled ourselves from the hug and my dad slowly turned me to face the podium.

On the podium, Spencer stood talk with wide grin plastered on his face. Contrary to normal, butterflies didn’t begin to flutter in my stomach at the smile. Instead, I felt strangely disgusted.

I looked around me, mentally noting how each seat in the fairly large hall was occupied by elegantly dressed royals. My eyes fell to my feet and only at the sight of the white dress did it click in my head that I was the bride.

“Shall we?” I heard my dad’s voice request.

My eyes slowly rose my feet till they met his. He gestured down to his arm and when I looked down, it was angled at forty-five degrees. I smiled as I slipped my hand in and gripped the bouquet in my other hand tightly.

“We shall,” I nodded.

A calming song began to play as my father walked me down the aisle.

This feels too familiar, I thought to myself as I looked around.

Could it be deja vu? I wondered. But it was lasting too long to be mere deja vu. We finally reached the podium, and my dad placed my hand in Spencer’s.

“Take care of my daughter,” he solemnly stated, then he flashed me a smile before he made his way back to his seat.

Spencer softly squeezed my hand, drawing me back to reality. My eyes rose up to meet his and he sent a small smile my way.

He looks evil, a voice whispered in my head. I sent quick glances around the room hoping no one had actually heard me.

“Where did that come from?” I muttered.

“Did you say something?” Spencer asked, leaning in with a smile that showed his white teeth.

I unconsciously took a few steps back. For some reason, he looked like he was baring his fangs at me, not smiling.

I let a small smile reside on my face as I replied him, “No, I didn’t say anything.”

With the way he raised an eyebrow, I knew that I had not imagined the crack in my voice.

Stop it. There’s nothing to be afraid of. This is the man you have loved your whole life, and you finalky get to marry him. This is a happy day, I mentally reasoned.

But surprisingly, it didn’t feel like a happy day. My guts were entangling themselves with each other and despite the cheery decorations of the hall, the air around me was heavy with gloom. It didn’t feel like a beautiful beginning, but the a miserable ending.

Spencer cleared his throat, interrupting my train of thoughts. I looked up at him, and he smiled down at me.

“Annalissa, my beautiful Annalissa,” he began.

It’s already time to say our vows. 

“I can’t believe today is here,” he continued. “I have waited so long to finally address you as my queen and fortunately for me, I have lived long enough to see it happen.”

I held my breath. This isn’t deja vu. I have been here before. I have heard this speech before. I have lived this moment before. 

But how? a voice whispered in my head.

“My girl, my woman, my princess, my queen, my whole world. You alone are worthy of such names,” Spencer was saying.

“And you alone will forever be addressed as such. I have loved you for a long time in silence, but now I can finally love you as loudly as I want to. I am happy you were born, and I am even happier you chose to spend the rest of your life with me. I love you so much and I promise to continue to do so for the rest of our lives, while also supporting you. Cheers, to being my viscountess,” I whispered along with him.

Both my hands flew to cover my mouth as a small gasp escaped. I was sure I had never heard the speech before today, so how had I been able to complete it with him?

I looked around the hall as my stomach turned repeatedly. Everyone was staring at me, waiting for me to recite my vows. I opened her mouth and closed it repeatedly. I tried, but I could not bring myself to recite them. Something is completely off. This wedding should not hold. 

“Well…” I began but trailed off. My stomach turned once more. A reminder.

“I can’t go through with this wedding,” I hurriedly said.

The hall instantly quieted down. Spencer’s eyes were as wide as plates.

“W-What?” he sputtered out.

I took a few steps backwards. “I’m sorry, but I can’t go on with this wedding,” I repeated, slower and more firmly.

Spencer’s eyes seemed to darken. He took a step forward. “Why is that?”

Shit. I didn’t think of a reason. I knew I needed a credible reason for the wedding to be called off.

“I’m pregnant!” I blurted out.

Spencer’s chin jutted out. “We have never shared a bed before.”

I unconsciously took a few more steps back. “Yes, it’s not yours.”

He stared at me with questioning eyes. “Who’s is it?”

My eyes quickly flitted through the crowd before finally settling on one pair. “Adrian. Yes, I’m pregnant for Adrian.”

The crowd let out a collective gasp.

Spencer immediately stormed out with clenched fists, leaving a silent hall behind him.

The priest cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “Well, is the Adrian in question present?”

Adrian stood up. “That’s me.”

“Will you like to wed the mother of your child today?”

The entire hall, with me included, held their breaths in anticipation of his answer.

“Yes,” he finally answered.

A relieved breath escaped me.

“Turns out, there’ll still be a wedding today,” the priest announced.

| | | | |

I am now a wife. Adrian’s wife. I thought to myself as I collapsed on my bed after a long day. I was exhausted, and I just wanted to sleep.

A knock sounded on my door the second I finally began to drift off.

I let out a sigh. “What is it?” I called out.

“You have a visitor, miss,” the maid replied from the other side of the door.

I rolled my eyes as I sat up. “I’ll be there in a bit.”

I pulled on a pink dress and hurried out, wondering who was here to see me this late at night. I opened the door and was met with a stressed looking Spencer.

“Spencer? What happened to you?” I asked.

Spencer reached out and held my hand, triggering a sharp pain in my head.

I staggered then fell. The entire world became black.

I will kill you just like I did to your parents, Mark my words. 

My eyes snapped open and the world was colorful once again. I held my head, a futile effort to calm the throbbing pain.

“Are you okay?” a concerned voice asked from above. I looked up and saw Spencer. It might have been an illusion, but there were two horns sticking out of his head.

Run! Run as far as you can! a voice ordered internally. And I obeyed.

I picked myself up and ran, looking back a few times to make sure the devil wasn’t behind me.