The Price of Sacrifice
The day had come. The wedding day.
Ashley stared at herself in the mirror, adjusting the veil that hung delicately over her face. Her reflection was a stranger—a woman she barely recognized.
She had never imagined herself standing here, preparing to marry Ethan, a man she barely liked, in an extravagant ceremony, all for the sake of saving Demitri.
She could feel the weight of every decision she’d made pressing on her shoulders, but there was no turning back now.
Two days after Ethan’s threat, she had given in. She had agreed to marry him. It wasn’t because she wanted to. It was because she had to. Demitri's life was at risk, and she couldn’t just sit back and let that happen.
The knock at the door snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Emerald, are you ready?" her mother’s voice called from the other side.
Ashley took a deep breath and turned to face the door. The truth was, she wasn’t ready for any of this.
She hadn’t seen Demitri in three months. Worse still, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to answer his mother’s calls in over a month. She had cut herself off from everyone, from everything, just to get through this day.
Her mother’s face appeared in the doorway, her eyes narrowing as she took in the sight of her daughter in the wedding dress.
"Mom, I can't do this," Ashley muttered to herself, her hands trembling slightly as she fidgeted with the dress.
"Emerald..." Her mother’s voice was sharp, but Ashley couldn’t bring herself to care.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Ashley interrupted, her voice cold. “But don’t. Just don’t.”
Her mother’s eyes flashed with something between concern and frustration. "You don’t understand, do you? This is your future. Do you know what you’re throwing away for him?"
Ashley took a step back, her chest tightening with the familiar anger she had been suppressing for weeks. “Throwing away? You think I want this? You think I want to marry Ethan?”
Her mother’s eyes softened, but there was still that familiar disapproval lurking beneath the surface. “Then why? Why are you doing this?”
“Because I have no choice,” Ashley snapped, unable to keep the bitterness from creeping into her voice. “You know why, Mom. You know why I have to do this. I don’t want to hear you lecture me about it.”
Her mother opened her mouth to speak again, but Ashley was already turning away.
“You’re a bad mother,” Ashley spat, her words sharp and final.
Her mother’s hand shot up, and Ashley saw the slap coming just in time. She ducked, stepping backward, her heart pounding.
“Emerald, don’t talk to me like that,” her mother hissed.
“I’m not in the mood to be lectured,” Ashley replied, her voice trembling with the anger she had tried to keep under control. “Not today, not ever.”
Without another word, Ashley pushed past her mother, striding out of the room. Her heart raced as she walked toward the grand hall where the wedding ceremony would take place.
She didn’t care what anyone thought anymore. She didn’t care about her title, her name, or any of the things she had once been taught to value.
As she made her way through the hall, whispers followed her. They were everywhere.
The eyes of guests who had come to witness her forced marriage, the eyes of people who didn’t understand. She could feel their judgment in every glance, but she didn’t care. She was beyond caring.
“Did you hear? She’s marrying Ethan. After everything with Demitri… what a mess.”
“I can’t believe she’s going through with this. She’s a strong woman, but this…”
“Poor Demitri. Can you imagine?”
Ashley tuned them out. She didn’t have the energy to care anymore. Demitri’s life was worth far more than her own pride.
When she entered the altar, Ethan was already there, grinning like a Cheshire cat, waiting for her.
He stood tall and confident, his sharp suit doing nothing to hide the smug satisfaction radiating from him. He had won.
The priest began to chant, his voice echoing through the room, and Ashley tried to keep her composure. She had to get through this. She had to.
But then, Ethan leaned in, his breath hot against her ear.
“I can’t wait for tonight,” he whispered.
Ashley froze. Her stomach churned with disgust, and in a split second, her hand shot out, slapping him across the face.
The sound of the slap reverberated in the silence of the church, and for a moment, everything stopped.
Ethan’s face twisted in surprise, but then he just grinned, wiping the slight sting from his cheek. “You really should learn to control your temper, Emerald Donaldson soon to be Emerald Drey.”
“I don’t have to be nice to you,” she hissed through clenched teeth.
Before he could respond, a wave of dizziness washed over her. Her vision blurred, and she felt her knees buckle beneath her. The world around her seemed to spin.
The priest’s voice was distant, his words muffled as Ashley tried to steady herself. She stumbled, her legs giving way as the dizziness overwhelmed her.
“Emerald?” Ethan’s voice broke through her haze of nausea, but it was too late.
The floor rushed up to meet her as she collapsed in a heap, her body too weak to resist.
With a dull thud, everything went black.