Chapter 136 The Bride prepares
Sophia's POV
I couldn't stop laughing.
The sound echoed through my chambers, bouncing off the ornate walls, filling every corner of the space with my joy.
"Miss sophia?" My maid stood in the corner, her hands clasped nervously. "Are you quite alright?"
I waved her off, still laughing. "I'm perfect. Absolutely perfect."
I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to catch my breath. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw it again.
Gavin's face. That beautiful, broken expression when he heard her scream.
The way all the fight just... drained out of him. Like someone had cut his strings.
Twenty years. Twenty years I'd waited for him. Been promised to him. Dreamed about the day he'd finally be mine.
And now, finally...finally...it was happening.
Fresh laughter bubbled up. I couldn't help it.
"Finally," I breathed. "Finally we can get to the fun part."
Seeing Gavin broken like that had been... God, it had been intoxicating.
The raw devastation in his eyes. The way his voice cracked when he begged Zeus to stop. The moment he surrendered completely. I'd never seen anything so beautiful in my life.
"How can someone be that attractive?" I asked the empty room. "Even in complete despair, he's..."
I trailed off, biting my lip.
My maid shifted uncomfortably but said nothing.
I stood and walked to the massive wardrobe that dominated one wall of my chamber. I opened the door and there it was.My wedding dress.Custom designed. I spent months making it .
White silk that seemed to glow in the afternoon light. Lace so delicate it looked like frost. Pearls hand-sewn into intricate patterns across the bodice.
It was a masterpiece.
And tonight, I would wear it.
Tonight, I would finally marry Gavin Cross.
I ran my fingers over the fabric, a smile playing at my lips.
"The wedding is finally today," I murmured.
And Gavin would be mine. All mine.
"Maybe I should make him sad more often," I mused. "That look was absolutely to die for."
I could do it, too. Keep the girl just damaged enough that Gavin never quite recovered from seeing her hurt. Never quite got his strength back.
It would be delicious. Having him dependent on me. Needing me. Still mourning her.
"Stephan?" I called out. "Are you listening?"
No response.
I walked toward the bathroom, my silk robe trailing behind me.
The door was slightly ajar. Steam escaped through the crack.
I pushed it open.
Stephan stood by the large bathtub. And in his arms was Melissa.
She was Unconscious. Her arm wrapped and secured against her chest. Her face pale. So pale.
He hummed softly under his breath ... some old lullaby ... while his free hand traced slow circles over her exposed skin, as if mapping every bruise and break like a cherished collection. His eyes were half-lidded, almost dreamy, the way a man might look at a favorite painting he planned to ruin just to see how the colors ran.
"Why are you guys so obsessed with her?" I wrinkled my nose, genuine disgust curling my lip. She looked even smaller like this, limp and broken, nothing but a rag doll in his grip. This nobody who'd wormed her way into Gavin's heart.
She wasn't even that pretty. Not really.
Certainly not worth everything Gavin had risked for her.
Stephan looked up at me, his expression unreadable ... calm, almost affectionate in that empty way of his. "That's not your problem anymore, mia cara."
He shifted Melissa's weight in his arms with disturbing ease, like she weighed nothing. Like she was already his forever.
"You're getting married this evening. Focus on looking pretty and leave my toy to me."
Then he leaned over and kissed me. Licking my tongue.
He pulled back, that faint, satisfied smile still ghosting his lips, and adjusted Melissa higher against his chest. One of her arms slipped slightly; he caught it gently ... almost tenderly ... before it could dangle too far.
He carried her past me without another word, her bare feet brushing the doorframe, head lolling against his shoulder like a sleeping child. I watched them disappear down the corridor toward whatever private room he'd claimed for his... games.
My maid appeared in the doorway. "Miss? We should begin preparing you for the ceremony. There's much to do and..."
"Yes, yes." I turned back to the mirror.
My reflection smiled back, wide and radiant.
Tonight, I would become Sophia Cross. Tonight, I would win.
And that broken girl Stephan was carrying away?
She would watch it all happen. The thought made me smile wider.
"Let's begin," I told my maid. "I want to look absolutely perfect."
After all, this was the most important day of my life. The day I finally got everything I'd been promised.
Everything I deserved.
And if Gavin looked at me with even a fraction of the passion he'd shown when begging for that girl's safety...
Well.
I'd find ways to make him desperate again.
I had the rest of our lives to break him properly.