Chapter 5

• The sun shone brightly through the curtain, making Kaia wrinkle her eyes as she tried to adjust to the sunlight. She stirred in bed, loving the way the silky, comfortable sheets felt against her skin.
• As she stretched her body, a smile made its way onto her face. She could honestly say that last night was the best sleep she had had in forever—so much so that she even had a weird dream about today being her wedding day.
• It was only when Kaia opened her blue orbs and took in her surroundings that it sank in: she was not in her room, and last night hadn’t been a dream.
• She was getting married.
• In less than a few hours.
• At once, images of her conversation with Kai flashed before her eyes. She recalled how he had forced her to sign divorce papers yesterday. One thing had led to another, and she had ended up coiled in bed with tears dripping down her face.
• A beautiful white voluminous gown adorned with pearls and sparkles caught Kaia’s attention, and as she took in the dress, she sank back into bed.
• If it hadn’t fully sunk in before, it did now.
• The dress was the only thing she needed to bring her back to reality.
• And if that wasn't enough, the door to her room flew open, and the same woman who had shown her to her room yesterday barged in, standing by the door and allowing more people to walk in.
• Kaia, the brunette, watched as items were placed on her vanity, one after another. The process seemed endless as more girls walked in. Just as she was about to speak up—asking who they were and what they wanted—the woman from yesterday ushered the ladies out and spoke.
• "Hi, Miss Everhart. Excuse my manners, I didn’t introduce myself yesterday. I am Jane Robbins, but Jane is fine. I am what you would normally call a governess," she said, approaching the bed and stretching out her arm to help Kaia get up.
• When Kaia did, Jane began fidgeting with the pile of things that had been brought into the room.
• "Mr. Sorrento asked me to help you get ready. The wedding is scheduled to start at ten a.m.," she added.
• Kaia Everhart stood behind the woman, not knowing what to say.
• Silence filled the room as Kaia awkwardly watched Jane Robbins shuffle around some things on the vanity. When Jane turned, she wore a look of surprise mixed with annoyance.
• "Why are you standing there? Hurry up and take a bath. We need to get you all dolled up," Jane said sharply as she pushed Kaia in the direction of the bathroom.
• It was happening. It was really happening.
• Kaia Everhart was getting married.
• Even after seeing the makeup and the dress laid out before her, she still had doubts.
• Even after sitting through endless hours as one person worked on her hair while another worked on her face, she still had doubts.
• But now, walking down the aisle adorned with pink and white petals, with a few people seated on the benches—people she had never seen in her entire life—it finally sunk in.
• This wasn’t how she had envisaged her wedding.
• As a young girl, she had thought her father would walk her down the aisle. He would fight back tears while wearing the proudest smile on his face. She would look ahead and lock eyes with her mother, who would be a sobbing mess. At the altar, the man of her dreams would wait for her, wearing the love he felt for her in his smile and his eyes. Her father would hand her over to her soon-to-be husband, but not without placing the most sincere kiss on her forehead and warning him not to hurt her.
• But that was far from her childhood fantasy.
• She didn’t know the people who had even bothered to show up. Hell, she even wondered if they knew they were gathered not for a happy occasion.
• No one walked her down the aisle.
• Her soon-to-be husband looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.
• He could have at least tried to mask the fact that he wasn’t pleased about the wedding.
• The closer she got to the altar, the more she wondered what would happen if she just made a U-turn and ran—ran and vanished from the surface of the earth.
• She didn’t owe Kai a dime, but she knew that Kai would make it his life's mission to haunt her. She didn’t know the young man that well, but from the few unpleasant encounters she had had with him, she couldn’t put it past him.
• She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life hiding like a fugitive.
• She was an honest girl who worked hard for whatever she wanted.
• It just so happened that life was once again throwing one of its numerous battles at her face—this time, in the form of an insolent, narcissistic, and godforsaken b*st*rd.
• Kaia wondered what could go wrong throughout the wedding. She had already signed the divorce papers. All that was left was to get through today, and the next few months.
• She could do that. But deep in her heart of hearts, she knew she could not handle being married to Kai.
• After what felt like an eternity, Kaia finally made it to the altar.
• Kai didn’t even bother taking a peek in her direction; if anything, he turned to the wedding officiant, urging him to begin the ceremony.
• The man cleared his throat and said loudly,
• "We are gathered here today to unite two people who love each other—"
• "Skip that part and go right to the vows. I have somewhere I need to be," Kai interrupted brutally, looking at his watch as he spoke. His words, which sounded normal to him, sounded like an abomination to Kaia, the officiant, and the few seated guests.
• Kaia wanted to scold him, to ask him not to be so insolent and disrespectful toward something as sacred as marriage, but she kept her mouth shut.
• How could she say anything? She was seconds away from tying the knot with someone she couldn’t stand.
• "Uh, yes, sure. They're so in love they can’t wait to be husband and wife," the officiant joked, but no one—not even Kai—found his remark funny.
• "Well then," he said after a while, clearing his throat again.
• "Do you, Kai Sorrento, take Kaia Everhart to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to hold, to cherish and to honor—"
• Kai once again cut the officiant off with his abrupt answer.
• "I do."
• Then the officiant turned to Kaia and asked her the same question.
• She was silent.
• She pondered the question over and over in her mind.
• Could she do all that was expected of her? Love, cherish, respect, stand by him in sickness and in health? Could she stand before the sacred altar and vow to do all that?
• Of course she couldn’t.
• Kaia knew she couldn’t.
• But instead of speaking the word that was on her mind, her mouth betrayed her and uttered something else.
• "Yes."
• The moment the word left her mouth, Kaia knew there was no going back.
• She was officially Mrs. Kaia Sorrento.
• Wife to an arrogant man.
• But not for long. That was the only thing that consoled her.
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