Married to my enemy's Brother

The Deal

The first time I saw the man I was supposed to marry, I was standing in front of a mirror, trying not to cry.

My wedding dress was beautiful.

Too beautiful for a day that felt like a funeral.

White silk fell from my shoulders to the floor, perfectly fitted to my body. The veil behind me was long enough to trail across the dressing-room floor, and tiny crystals caught the light whenever I moved.

Anyone looking at me would have thought I was a happy bride.

They would have been wrong.

I stared at my reflection and tightened my fingers around the edge of the dressing table.

Today, I was marrying Daniel Carter.

The younger son of the Carter family.

The same family whose name had haunted mine for years.

The same family I had promised myself I would never forgive.

A soft knock came from the door.

“Miss Hayes?”

I quickly wiped beneath my eyes.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and an elderly woman stepped inside. She was one of the wedding coordinators, dressed in a black suit with a small headset around her ear.

She smiled politely.

“The ceremony will begin in ten minutes.”

Ten minutes.

My stomach twisted.

“Thank you.”

She hesitated before leaving.

“Are you all right?”

I looked at myself in the mirror again.

“I’m fine.”

It was the easiest lie I had ever told.

The door closed.

I was alone again.

My eyes returned to the wedding ring sitting on the table.

A simple diamond ring.

A symbol of a marriage that had never been built on love.

I picked it up.

The metal was cold against my fingers.

Three months ago, I never would have imagined that I would be standing here.

Three months ago, Daniel Carter had been a stranger.

Three months ago, I had hated his family from a safe distance.

Then everything changed.

My father’s company collapsed.

Our bank accounts were frozen.

The house I had grown up in was about to be taken from us.

And my mother...

I closed my eyes.

I didn’t want to think about that night.

I didn’t want to remember the hospital corridor, the doctor’s expression, or the way my mother’s fingers had trembled when she asked me if we were going to lose everything.

We had needed money.

A lot of money.

And the Carter family had it.

They had offered us a way out.

But nothing from the Carters came without a price.

They wanted me.

A marriage.

One year.

That was the agreement.

I would marry Daniel Carter and remain his wife for one year.

In return, the Carter family would settle my family’s debts and save what remained of my father’s company.

After one year, Daniel and I would divorce.

Simple.

At least, that was what I had told myself.

A knock sounded again.

This time, it was my father’s voice.

“Sofia?”

I turned.

“Come in, Dad.”

The door opened slowly.

My father stepped inside.

For a moment, he simply looked at me.

His eyes became wet.

“You look beautiful.”

I smiled faintly.

“So do you.”

He laughed under his breath.

“I don’t think fathers are supposed to look beautiful at their daughter’s wedding.”

“Today, you can.”

He walked toward me.

When he reached me, he placed both hands on my shoulders.

“Sofia, you don’t have to do this.”

His voice was gentle.

“Yes, I do.”

“No.”

His voice became firmer.

“You’ve already sacrificed enough.”

“Dad—”

“I can lose the company.”

“You can lose everything.”

He looked away.

I stepped closer.

“You spent your whole life building that company. I’m not going to stand here and watch everything disappear because of me.”

“This isn’t because of you.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you blaming yourself?”

“I’m not.”

He looked at me.

I couldn’t tell him the truth.

I couldn’t tell him that part of me wanted this marriage for another reason.

Revenge.

The Carters had destroyed my family.

At least, that was what I believed.

And now I was walking directly into their home.

Into their family.

Into their secrets.

If marrying Daniel Carter gave me access to the people who had taken everything from us, then perhaps this marriage wasn’t only a sacrifice.

Perhaps it was my opportunity.

My father seemed to understand what I wasn’t saying.

His expression hardened.

“Sofia, promise me something.”

“What?”

“Don’t let revenge destroy you.”

I looked down.

“I can’t promise that.”

He sighed.

Then he pulled me into a hug.

For a few seconds, I allowed myself to be his daughter instead of a bride entering a dangerous bargain.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too.”

When we separated, he kissed my forehead.

“The ceremony is waiting.”

I nodded.

“Then let’s go.”

The church was filled with people.

Businessmen.

Politicians.

Family friends.

Carter family associates.

People who had come to witness the marriage between two powerful families.

I could hear the soft music as the doors opened.

Every face turned toward me.

My father’s arm tightened around mine.

“Ready?” he whispered.

No.

“I’m ready.”

We began walking.

At the end of the aisle stood Daniel Carter.

Twenty-five years old.

Tall.

Impossibly composed.

He wore a black tuxedo that fit him perfectly, but it wasn’t his clothes that caught my attention.

It was his expression.

He wasn’t smiling.

He wasn’t nervous.

He simply watched me.

As I walked closer, our eyes met.

For one strange second, everything else disappeared.

There was something unreadable in his eyes.

Not happiness.

Not excitement.

Something else.

Something I couldn’t identify.

Then I remembered who he was.

A Carter.

My anger returned.

I looked away.

When I reached him, my father placed my hand in Daniel’s.

His fingers were warm.

Mine were cold.

Daniel leaned slightly toward me.

“You don’t have to be afraid.”

I almost laughed.

“I’m not afraid.”

His eyes studied my face.

“You’re angry.”

I looked directly at him.

“Should I be happy?”

A faint expression crossed his face.

“Probably not.”

Before I could respond, the ceremony began.

The words passed over me like distant sounds.

Promises.

Commitment.

Forever.

None of them belonged to us.

Then came the question.

“Daniel Carter, do you take Sofia Hayes to be your wife?”

Daniel looked at me.

For the first time, I saw something different in his expression.

Certainty.

“I do.”

My heart tightened.

The minister turned to me.

“Sofia Hayes, do you take Daniel Carter to be your husband?”

I looked at the man standing beside me.

This was the moment.

If I said no, my family could lose everything.

If I said yes, I would become a Carter.

I swallowed.

“I do.”

The words left my mouth.

And with them, my old life ended.

The reception began immediately after the ceremony.

Champagne glasses filled the room.

Music played.

People laughed.

Photographers surrounded us.

Daniel stood beside me as though we had been married for years.

Every few minutes, someone congratulated us.

“Beautiful couple.”

“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Carter.”

“Such a wonderful match.”

I smiled whenever someone looked at me.

Daniel did the same.

But the moment we were alone, our expressions disappeared.

We stood near a large window overlooking the gardens.

“You handled that well,” he said.

I turned toward him.

“What?”

“The ceremony.”

“I was there, wasn’t I?”

“You looked like you wanted to run.”

“Maybe I did.”

He studied me.

“Why didn’t you?”

I stared at him.

“Because of the agreement.”

Something changed in his face.

“You still think this is only a business arrangement?”

“Isn’t it?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he looked toward the reception hall.

“My family doesn’t know everything about the agreement.”

I frowned.

“What does that mean?”

“Exactly what I said.”

Before I could ask another question, a man’s voice came from behind us.

“Daniel.”

Daniel’s body became completely still.

I turned.

And every breath left my lungs.

The man standing several feet away was dressed in a black suit.

His expression was cold.

His eyes were fixed on me.

I had seen his face before.

Newspaper photographs.

Business magazines.

Old documents.

A face I had spent years trying to forget.

Richard Carter.

Daniel’s older brother.

The man I believed was responsible for destroying my family.

My hands began to tremble.

Daniel noticed.

“Sofia?”

I couldn’t answer.

Richard slowly walked toward us.

His eyes never left mine.

Then he stopped in front of me.

For a long moment, nobody spoke.

Finally, he smiled.

Not warmly.

Not kindly.

It was the kind of smile that made my stomach turn.

“So,” he said quietly.

“You’re Sofia Hayes.”

I forced myself to remain calm.

“Yes.”

Richard’s eyes moved to Daniel.

“You married her.”

Daniel’s jaw tightened.

“Yes.”

Richard looked back at me.

“Interesting.”

I didn’t understand the look in his eyes.

But then he leaned closer and lowered his voice.

“You should have stayed away from the Carter family.”

My heart stopped.

I stared at him.

“What did you say?”

His smile disappeared.

“You heard me.”

Daniel stepped between us.

“Richard, that’s enough.”

Richard looked at his younger brother.

“You have no idea what you’ve done.”

“What are you talking about?”

Richard didn’t answer.

Instead, he looked at me one last time.

Then he walked away.

I watched him disappear into the crowd.

My heart was pounding.

I turned toward Daniel.

“What does your brother know?”

Daniel said nothing.

“Daniel.”

He looked at me.

There was something in his expression that I had never seen before.

Fear.

And that frightened me more than Richard’s warning.

“What?” I demanded.

Daniel lowered his voice.

“We need to leave.”

“Why?”

“Now.”

He reached for my hand.

I pulled away.

“No.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Sofia—”

“You know something.”

He remained silent.

“You knew something before you married me.”

“Sofia, listen to me.”

“No.”

My voice shook.

“You’re going to tell me the truth.”

Daniel looked toward the crowd.

Then back at me.

“The truth isn’t what you think it is.”

My chest tightened.

“What does that mean?”

Before he could answer, the lights suddenly went out.

The entire reception hall fell into darkness.

People gasped.

Someone screamed.

A glass shattered.

Then, from somewhere in the darkness, a man’s voice whispered:

“Ask your husband what really happened to your family.”

The lights came back on.

I turned toward Daniel.

His face had gone pale.

And for the first time since I met him, I knew one thing for certain.

My marriage wasn’t the beginning of a new life.

It was the beginning of a secret.

And I had just married into the family that was hiding it.