The Devil's Ember

Emberline's POV

"I need to get some fresh air" I murmured, my voice wavering. 

Consequences of drinking red wine on your wedding day. I didn't feel good one bit. I wasn't sure if I could walk down the aisle without one in my system, my shyness would probably skyrocket my anxiety which would make me get my vows wrong and I would become a laughing stock.

Well not today, today Emberline would get married without being embarrassed like the way she have been her whole life. If I say so myself.

The wedding starts in an hour, I was too dizzy to stand up straight. My only hope was not to fall down on my face when I walk down the aisle.

In an uncertain movement, I tugged at my wedding dress as I walked down the corridor of the hotel, my steps faltering akin to those of a sailor navigating uncertain seas. 

Along the way, I encountered a doorway that sparked a flicker of recognition—an inkling that it might lead to the chamber Jaxon, my fiancé, occupied. 

Despite the wine's muddling effect on my thoughts, a magnetic pull urged me onward.

They say if someone see their fianceé in their wedding dress it means bad luck, still I didn't mind. I do not believe in such nonsense.

I pushed open the door, a gush of wind blowing against my face, his cologne filled the room like water in a tub.

To my astonishment, the room stood vacant, no sign. of human presence. Jaxon's suit still on the hanger. Untouched. A soft chuckle escaped me. 

I guess maybe it's fate that we do not see before the wedding. 

My delicate fingertip trailed along the fabric, a fond smile gracing my lips in the midst of the solitude.

With a private smile, I felt anticipation send a tingling sensation through my veins. I longed to hear the titles—Mrs. Iron, the Queen of the Northern Isles, or perhaps even His Majesty—addressed to me. 

I would let go of everything about me. About my past. About my beating. I would be free.

I took a deep breath, packed my wedding dress in my hands and turned to leave. I already felt a bit better.

As I turned, ready to leave the room, a sound stopped me in my tracks.

It didn't feel real at first until I heard it again.

The unexpected moan that shattered the silence.

"Yeah...please..." The female voice said. I felt as if cold water had drenched my dress as I stood there, face ashen, gooseflesh all over my skin.

"Turn around, I want to fuck you from behind"

My heart was beating fast against my chest. It couldn't be true, it can't be true. There is no way, right? Please someone tell me I didn't just hear my own fiancé voice.

I wanted to remove the voice from my head and act like I didn't hear them but I couldn't.

The sounds was coming from the separate bedroom, pulling my focus like a magnet. 

A frown tugged at my forehead, and my steps turned deliberate as I traced the source. I prayed silently that it wasn't true.

Guided by the noise, I approached a nearby doorway. It led to a secluded bedroom, the sounds within growing more distinct.

It sounded like the wild mumblings of a man and woman in great pleasure. 

An uneasy ripple coursed through me, it couldn't be…could it?

With caution, I guided my feet towards the door, my fingers wrapping around the cool doorknob. I wrap my fingers around the doorknob. With a deep breath, I turned it, my heart beats frantically within my chest.

The door creaks open as I held my breath.

The scene before me shattered my world, my heart plummeting like a stone. Jaxon and Aurora lay amidst disheveled sheets, his hand pulling her hair back as he ramped into her from behind.

I could hear my my own heartbeat ringing my my chest, I felt as if I was suffocating as I stood there rooted to the spot.

No tears, no anger, just shock.

The room seemed to tighten around me, a grip of betrayal constricting my chest.

My pulse surged, emotions storming within me. There I stood, my hand on the door, suspended between disbelief and the stark truth.

My Fiancé, the man I loved was cheating on me with my stepsister. 

My hands were shaking I couldn't find the words to speak.

I felt dizzy all of a sudden as I stumbled back.

Everything. The wedding. The love. The honeymoon, everything was crashing before my eyes. 

They were so into it that they didn't even notice me there.

"Oh Jaxon, does my sister give it to you like this?" Aurora said in a lewd voice.

"Never, she never...does anything" Jaxon replied between breaths.

As I lingered by the bedroom door, the sting of betrayal still fresh, I pondered how something so beautiful became so tragic.

Have you ever felt that pounding headache of when you want to cry, but just couldn't.

That was what I felt at that very moment.

The pain in me had left me frozen, I didn't want to watch anymore, I needed to leave but I couldn't. My foot felt rooted on the spot. I wanted to say something. To shout out of anger but all I could feel was pain.

The lips I was supposed to kiss was being kissed by her. The hands that were supposed to touch me was on another woman's vagina.

That was suppose to be us tonight. 

But instead it was him and Aurora.

Anger fueled my actions as I turned to leave, I didn't care if they heard me as I banged the door.

I yanked my shoes from my feet, feeling the cool air on my skin as I sprinted through the corridor, my heart racing with urgency.

Reaching my bridal room, I slammed the door shut, the sound reverberating with my frustration. A primal scream welled up within me as I angrily removed the crown from my head, flinging it with a fierce toss. 

It collided with the mirror, shattering the glass into a thousand glimmering fragments— it looked like my shattered dreams. I can already see it happening, me being pushed aside by her.

My dress became my enemy, its layers of delicate lace transformed into restraints that I fought to escape. My blonde hair spilled from its braid as I tugged at the pins, each one a prison that held me captive in a life that had become a mockery. 

 I took a deep breath, embracing the rawness of my emotions.

Aurora took my dad from me. She took my toys. She took my room. Now she is taking my fiancé, my title and my freedom.

I crashed to the floor and wept.