Chapter 2 - THE MAN BEHIND THE DARK GLASSES
My name is Evelyn Whitfield.
I was twenty-seven when I married Adrian Castellano.
Not because I loved him.
Not because I wanted his money.
But because my father had signed an agreement years earlier, and my family had decided I was the daughter they could afford to lose.
The wedding happened three days after Adrian came to our house.
A private ceremony.
No flowers.
No bridesmaids.
No celebration.
I wore a simple cream dress I'd bought secondhand.
Adrian wore a charcoal suit.
He stood beside me with his cane.
When the officiant asked whether I accepted him as my husband, I hesitated.
Adrian turned slightly.
Then whispered:
“You can still say no.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
His voice remained quiet.
“Even now.”
My throat tightened.
Behind us, Petra shifted impatiently.
I looked toward my father.
He wouldn't meet my eyes.
Then I looked at Adrian.
For the first time in my life, someone was offering me a way out.
But I had nowhere to go.
No savings.
No home.
And a baby growing inside me.
I swallowed.
“Yes.”
Adrian's expression didn't change.
But his hand relaxed.
When the ceremony ended, he didn't try to kiss me.
He simply offered his arm.
“Ready?”
I looked at him.
“For what?”
He smiled faintly.
May you like
“To leave.”
And together, we walked out of the house where I'd spent twenty-seven years learning how little I mattered.
