Chapter 7
Back in the study, the silence returned, heavier and more oppressive than before. Victoria slowly walked over to the mahogany desk, picking up her fallen phone. The screen was still lit, displaying a barrage of missed calls and urgent text messages from journalists, business associates, and panicked relatives. She swiped past them, her thumb hovering over the contact name of her fiancé.
"Father," Victoria said, her voice trembling slightly as she looked down at the older man. "Julian is still out there. He's going to find out. If he hasn't already."
Arthur closed his eyes, rubbing his temples as if trying to physically erase the migraine splitting his skull. "Let him go," Arthur muttered, his voice defeated. "A Sterling without a fortune is nothing to his family. They care about the merger, not the bride. We both know that."
Victoria felt a sharp pang in her chest, not of heartbreak, but of bitter realization. She had always known her marriage was a strategic alliance, a merger of assets disguised as romance. Julian’s family was as ruthless and transactional as her own. The realization that her entire life was a ledger of transactions rather than genuine human connections hit her with crushing force. She looked down at her elaborate wedding gown, suddenly feeling trapped inside a cage of white lace and silk.
Without a word, Victoria reached behind her back, searching for the hidden zipper of her dress. With a sharp, decisive tug, she pulled it down. The heavy fabric loosened around her shoulders. She stepped out of the pristine white garment, letting it pool on the dark hardwood floor like a discarded pile of snow, revealing a simple slip dress underneath.
Arthur opened his eyes, watching his daughter with quiet bewilderment. "What are you doing?"
"Dropping the act," Victoria replied steadily, her voice devoid of the frantic panic that had defined her earlier. She walked past her father without looking back, bypassing the desk and the leather chairs.
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She opened the heavy mahogany doors and stepped out into the ballroom. The room was now half-empty, the remaining guests huddled near the exits, whispering frantically. Julian stood near the bar, staring down at his phone with a pale, ashen face. When he looked up and saw Victoria walking toward him in a simple slip dress instead of her wedding gown, the color drained entirely from his features.
Julian opened his mouth to speak, but Victoria raised a hand, stopping him before a single word could escape his lips. The power dynamic had irrevocably shifted, and for the first time in her life, she was holding the conversation.
