Sophia’s POV
Walking down the aisle with Father at my side, I noticed that save from the press, the decked-out Baxters, and my extended family, there was no one else in attendance for the great Jerry Baxter’s wedding.
I guess the Baxters were about as excited as I was about this wedding.
Jerry Baxter, my groom, stood in the front of the altar in a tailored one of a kind Armani suit with his blond hair slicked back, his diamond ear piercing flickering in the dim light and his lips curved up in a small amused almost annoyed smirk.
I knew what it meant as I had learned to dread that look during my time working as his maid.
Jerry Baxter was pissed.
It was a wonder my voice didn’t shake as I said my vows and my hands didn’t shake as we exchanged rings. It felt like I was outside my body and it wasn’t really me getting married.
It wasn’t until the minister spoke that I came back to myself.
“You may kiss the bride.”
I froze. Somehow I had forgotten this was a part of the marriage ceremony.
Jerry took a step towards me erasing the small distance between us. I couldn’t breathe. Jerry tilted my chin up and leaned in.
Goodness, was he really going to kiss me?
I wasn’t sure if the spike in my heart rate was due to revulsion or anticipation.
Jerry kissed my cheek missing my mouth by a few centimetres but with the way his head was inclined, it seemed like we had actually kissed.
I heard the sounds and saw the flashes of cameras going off then Jerry ended the ‘kiss’ and walked out briskly leaving me alone at the altar.
The press continued taking pictures, Father looked livid while Jerry’s mother spoke to him no doubt doing damage control.
My cheeks burned and when I took a step forward, the world spun around me. My breathing became shallower and my corset seemed tighter than it was a second ago.
I was having a panic attack and my meds were in the car.
I had to get out of here.
I walked fast ignoring Mom calling out to me.
I didn’t know where I was going or what even triggered this attack but I needed somewhere private to break down in peace without the press taking pictures of me.
In my haste to leave, I bumped into someone on one of the narrow corridors leading out of the main hall and only the stranger’s steel grip on my waist stopped me from falling.
I caught a glance of ink-black hair and stormy grey eyes before the stranger shoved me aside abruptly with a curt look.
“Watch it.”
I felt strangely embarrassed despite the fact that I was a second away from a full-on meltdown.
Thankfully at that moment, I saw the sign of the bathroom ahead and I quickly ducked into it.
I flicked on the tap and placed my hands under the running water. The pressure wasn’t nearly enough to center me and I found my nails digging into my palms drawing blood.
Using the pain to center me, I tried to focus on a color. White.
The white porcelain wash basin, my white wedding dress, the white bulb overhead… slowly I felt my control trickle back in until I felt a little like myself again.
It had been a while since I had a panic attack like that, what could-
My thoughts were interrupted by sounds of loud thumps and unmistakable sexual moans. I instantly felt embarrassed on behalf of whoever that was.
They probably had no idea how thin the walls were but did they really have to do it here at a church?
The thumps increased in intensity and I could just barely make out a feminine voice.
“Harder,” She moaned. “Please, Jerry.”
I paused, turning off the tap. Had I misheard or did I just hear that woman moan Jerry’s name?
I must have misheard. Or it might be another Jerry she was referring to. Because even though Jerry was a manwhore, he wouldn’t do that mere minutes after taking the vows to be my husband. Right?
But the voices of doubt in my head refused to be silenced.
So when I left the bathroom even though I knew the wise thing to do would be to return to my parents and my wedding ceremony, I followed the moans.
I didn’t have to go far before I found the room the sounds were coming from and it was just my luck that the door was cracked open just enough so I could see them clearly.
The woman’s pink dress was hiked up around her waist, her slender hands balanced on my husband’s shoulder as he fucked her.
To rub it in, it wasn’t just any woman Jerry was with. It was his ex-girlfriend, Kate, my once-upon-a-time friend, who had never missed a moment to torment me while I was still a maid at the Baxters mansion.
A gasp of shock escaped me involuntarily and Jerry’s baby blue eyes found mine when he heard the sound.
He didn’t seem even a little remorseful when he noticed me watching them. Instead, Jerry smirked at me before kissing Kate deeply while keeping his gaze locked onto mine.
I turned my back to them, shutting my eyes as if it would erase what I had just seen.
It didn’t work, not even when I walked away from that room as fast as I could.
I wasn’t expecting this marriage to be a love marriage but I wasn’t expecting… this either.
My body shook as I moved and I was surprised to realize that I was angry. And at the same time, inexplicably ashamed as if this was somehow my fault.
I felt a steel grip on my arm pulling me to a stop as Father appeared from nowhere.
“Where did you go?” He questioned me harshly. “The Baxters have been looking for you.”
Looking at the anger and suspicion on Father’s face, I couldn’t make myself say anything about Jerry.
“I went to the restroom,” I said instead.
Father’s eyes narrowed with distrust.
“You had better not be planning anything silly, Sophia.”
I shook my head, lowering my gaze.
“I wasn’t, Father.”
After a few more seconds of silence, Father seemed to take my words at face value but not before giving me one last threatening squeeze on my arm and a warning.
“Don’t you dare ruin this deal for me, Sophia.”
I followed him out to the patio outside the church where the wedding pictures were being taken.
No one questioned Jerry’s absence and as I posed for the pictures alone and with different members of my new family, I felt dead inside.
I just wanted to be done with this sham of a wedding.
Just when I thought we were done with the pictures, I felt an arm slide around my waist.
I stiffened as my cheating husband took his place next to me with a charismatic smile that looked so believable that if I hadn’t seen him with Kate a few minutes ago, I would have believed him in love with me.
Just what sort of marriage had I agreed to?
The answer to my question came sooner than I expected on my wedding night.
We had just stepped inside the room after a long exhaustive reception party where I had worn a fake smile all through when Jerry began to take off his suit.
I blinked at first, unable to process what I was seeing. It wasn’t until he began to unbutton his shirt that I found my voice.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice filled with disbelief.
Jerry turned to me, dropping his shirt to the ground before cocking his head curiously to the side.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
He… he actually wanted to… no way.
I began to back away from him but faster than I could blink, Jerry pushed me up against the wall.
His blue eyes sparkled with malice.
“Don’t act shy now, it doesn’t suit you.”
“Shy?” I was confused. “Even if I were to conveniently forget about you and Kate, we don’t know or like each other, how can we have s-”
Jerry gripped my hair tight making me flinch in pain.
“You had no problem fucking my grandfather to become my bride so what’s the problem now?”
“What?!” I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. What was Jerry talking about?
He chuckled darkly, his free hand pushing up my dress. “A maid like you becoming a bride to the Baxters. Unbelievable. Must be some golden pussy you have under this gown to make the old man ask this of me on his deathbed.”
Usually, I wasn’t the most assertive woman on earth but even I had my limits.
I refused to be raped by this lying piece of shit that saw me as a whore.
I kneed Jerry in the nuts and when his hold on me slackened as he cursed in pain, I slapped him right across his face.
For a moment, Jerry stared at me slackjawed as if he had never expected me to fight for myself.
“I never slept with your grandfather. Yes, I took care of him while his own family deserted him but he was like a father to me. I will not let you insult his memory like this.”
I took a deep breath channeling all the anger, frustration and helplessness I felt.
“And by God, I swear if you try to force yourself on me again, I’ll castrate you.”