Cassie’s POV

In the dim lighting of the makeup room, I sat before the mirror, trying to recognize the woman who stared back at me.

My eyes were rimmed with kohl, and my lips painted a vivid red, but the vibrant hues seemed to mock the dull ache in my heart.

‘Is this really me?’ I wondered, looking at my reflection as though it were a stranger.

‘Marrying my boyfriend’s uncle!? Is this what my life has come to?’

I was draped in a wedding gown that felt like a shackle, each layer of lace and silk weighing me down.

My hands trembled as they rested on my lap, clutching the surrogacy contract that had just been brought in.

"This is for the good of the family," I told myself, echoing the words my stepmom and boyfriend had pounded into me.

"You have to save your father’s company! Marry or lose company…” .The words sounded hollow, even in my own head.

The assistant cleared her throat, breaking through my haze of thoughts.

"Ms. Cassie, you need to sign here, and here." She pointed at the dotted lines with a rehearsed professionalism that made my skin crawl.

Grabbing the pen, I hesitated. "So, just to clarify, the sperm donor is anonymous, right?"

The assistant chuckled softly, her smile tinged with a touch of cynicism.

"Oh, it's no ordinary donor, Ms. Cassie. You're marrying into quite a lineage. The Crawfords are not only rich but quite concerned about legacy."

Little did I know then, the man whose legacy I was to carry was not just any man but my soon-to-be husband, Ned Crawford.

A man who laid in a bed, his life tethered to machines, with just three months to live.

A man who, despite his comatose state, had planned ahead, freezing his sperm in the event of...what? An emergency? A tragedy? Was I that emergency, that tragedy?

‘What kind of mess, I am getting myself into..’

As I signed the contract, my hand felt heavy, as if it wasn't just ink I was putting on the paper but the weight of the choices that led me here.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Crawford," the assistant announced, collecting the papers . I was marrying a man I had never met, who couldn't even stand beside me at our wedding.

A man whose life was ebbing away even as we spoke vows of eternal love in a sterile, loveless ceremony.

A man who, even in his unconscious state, had managed to pull the strings of my life, dictating my choices, my future.

The assistant, her smile more calculated than warm, gestured toward the door. "Mrs. Crawford, your wedding awaits."

Scott's words reverberated in my mind, like a haunting refrain. "Just do as you're told, Cassie," he had said, his voice running through my head.

As we walked down the corridor toward what would be the most unconventional wedding ceremony I could have ever envisioned, the assistant rattled off a checklist.

"So, after the ceremony, we've scheduled a quick photoshoot. The family needs it for their records and, of course, for public relations.”

She paused to read more. “Then, the operation is the first thing tomorrow morning. You should have a light dinner; you'll need to fast at midnight onwards."

Each directive chafed at my sense of self, reducing my life to a series of bullet points on someone else's agenda. "Smile for the camera, and sign here.”

I signed and I nodded, allowing the assistant to lead me to my place before the makeshift altar.

"So," the assistant nudged me, handing me a bouquet of white roses, "are you ready?"

"Let's get this over with," I sighed, lifting my bouquet as the music began to play, each note a tolling bell leading me deeper into the labyrinth of my new life.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I finally said, and with that resigned admission, I took my first step down the aisle, towards an uncertain future that I could only hope would someday make sense.

Flashback

3 days ago

:

***************************

The atmosphere in the small café where Scott and I met was already thick with tension.

My phone lay next to my cup of untouched coffee, the screen still displaying the last message from the hospital about my father's worsening condition.

Thephone chimed again and broke through the tension, piercing the air like an unwanted intruder.

My eyes flicked over the screen, reading my stepmom's message, and a wave of nausea rolled through me.

"You look like you just saw a ghost," Scott said, his eyes locking onto mine.

His voice was tinged with a note of curiosity, perhaps even concern.

I placed my phone on the table, screen down, trying to control the tremble in my hands.

"My stepmom," I began, struggling to find the words, "she is forcing me to marry Ned Crawford to save the company. My father's company."

Scott leaned back, his eyes narrowing as though he were weighing the options.

"Well, she has a point, Cassie. Your dad is in a coma, and the company's sinking. It might be your only way out."

"Only way out?" I shot back, incredulous.

Scott glanced around before leaning across the table, his eyes locking onto mine with the intensity that I had once mistaken for love.

"Look, Cassie," he began, his voice tinged with a seriousness that belied the casual setting.

"I know your dad just had an accident and is in bad shape. I get that you want to be there for him. But let's not forget, your dad's company is going under.”

He paused as if finding words,”Your biological mom gave him that company, and it's your duty to save it. You can’t give it up and hand it over to your step mom right?"

My eyes widened in disbelief.

"Scott, are you listening to yourself? My father is dying, and you're talking about his company going bankrupt? And now you want me to marry your uncle? This is absurd!"

He reached across the table, gently patting my hand as if to mollify me. “ Cassie Look I can’t see you under stress you have to calm down first and listen to me. Alright?”

"I know it sounds crazy, Cassie, but listen to me. I've got a plan. You just have to pretend to agree, sign some papers, and that's it. Ned won't be around for long, and once he's gone, we can be together. Just you and me."

I stared into his eyes, searching for a sliver of deceit, but all I found was what seemed like genuine concern.

‘Ofcourse, He loves me. He can’t ditch me.’

I felt myself being pulled in. "Scott, are you sure about this? It sounds like something out of a twisted drama."

He squeezed my hand reassuringly, leaning in closer.

"Cassie, I wouldn't propose this if I didn't care about you. Think of it as a way out, a solution to save your family's legacy.”

And besides," he added, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper,” my uncle is dying. Once he's gone, I'll marry you, and everything will go back to normal."

Tears brimmed at the corners of my eyes as I looked at Scott. In that moment, he was my hero, my savior.

He had given me a way out, a lifeline in the midst of chaos. "Alright," I choked out, my voice tinged with both doubt and desperation. "Let's do it."

Scott leaned back, his face breaking into a smirk. "You won't regret it, Cassie. I promise you, this is for the best."

As Scott unfolded his elaborate scheme, my heart pounded erratically, like a frantic bird trapped inside a cage.

"So what's this plan you're talking about?" I finally mustered the courage to ask, my eyes never leaving his.

He leaned in closer, the low buzz of conversation around us fading into the background.

"They want a heir, Cassie, that's all they care about. What if I told you I could sabotage the surrogacy process?” He spoke with a glint in his eyes.

“No baby means you'd just be waiting for Ned to die, and I'll be next in line for the Crawford inheritance."

I blinked in astonishment, trying to keep up with the flood of information. "Sabotage? Scott, that's risky, isn't it? What if we get caught?"

His eyes sparkled with a confidence that was almost intoxicating.

"Don't worry, I've got everything figured out. All you have to do is play along for a few months.” I nodded, taking everything in.

“Then, once I get my hands on the Crawford fortune, I'll marry you. We can use that money to get your father's company back from your wicked stepmom."

A strange cocktail of emotions swirled within me—apprehension, relief, but most of all, a dizzying love for the man before me.

"Oh, Scott, you're... you're so incredible!" I exclaimed, my voice tinged with both admiration and disbelief.

His lips curved into a self-satisfied smile, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Cassie, this is our ticket to everything we've ever wanted. The life you deserve, the redemption of your family's legacy, it's all within reach now."

As I looked into his eyes, I saw not just the love of my life, but my co-conspirator, my partner in this high-stakes gamble.

Current day

My heart raced as I went to the wedding altar but a sound of laughter caught my attention. The sound was too familiar.

I approached the source of the laughter, each step heavier than the last. It was coming from a room. I heard my name and I opened the door to peek in.

But What I discovered shattered me to my core. Those two jerks!!

Scott and Lindsay were making love on a couch. She was half naked and was riding him moaning in his ears.

My mind swirled in a fog of disbelief, as if trapped in a nightmarish illusion.

"Lindsay, you have no idea how easy this was," Scott's voice dripped with mockery.

"Cassie fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Can you believe she actually thinks I'm going to marry her after all this is done?"

Lindsay chuckled, her eyes shining with malice. "You always did know how to spin a good tale, darling. She is just so dumb ahh. Fuck yess! Right there!” she moans.

“ Yeahh poor Cassie is too naive to think about it..” he groaned in her ear.

“Yeah baby, you are always good at acting.” she spoke in a slurry voice that made me want to throw up.

“Oh baby girl, I am good at many things, you know.” Scott spoke in a lustful voice.

Tears stung my eyes, but I willed myself not to cry.

‘Game over,’ I thought to myself, storming out of the way to my wedding..

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I walked away from the room where my dreams had just been shattered.

As I stepped into the wedding hall, the whispers of the gathered crowd faded into white noise.

I couldn't help but feel that despite everything, I had regained something invaluable: a sense of self that no amount of betrayal could ever take away again.

‘You have no idea what you've unleashed,’ I thought, my mind already racing with a plan to take revenge on Scott.