Chapter 209: This Prison Called Marriage.
Chapter 209: This Prison Called Marriage.
Leonardo’s POV
I sat on the edge of my bed, staring blankly at the floor and feeling the silence of my room suffocate me.
My hands trembled, and my throat felt constricted.
"Damn it!"
I screamed, with rage, hitting the wooden bed frame with my fist.
"I can’t stop this.
Not a single thing!"
The walls bounced my words back to me, ridiculing me with echoes of my own fury.
I hid my face among my hands, and my breathing was shallow.
The child... the child is mine. No matter how much I try to deny it, no matter how much I wish it wasn’t so... it’s mine.
And that means I’m stuck.
I wiped my hands over my face and looked for an answer at the ceiling.
"If I hadn’t..." My voice faltered.
I swallowed my pride, shook my head, and mumbled, "If I hadn’t chosen my duty over her.
If I hadn’t lied to her and slept with Lena... I wouldn’t have gotten myself into this mess."
Aurora.
That word pierced my heart like a knife. Her smile. Her love. Everything I had, and everything I threw away.
I reclined with my back against the bed, my regrets weighing upon me like lead.
"It should’ve been me," I whispered to the room, which was not that different from a tomb.
"By her side. Not Alessandro. Not him."
Yet she was of the royal lineage. And Father had finally given his consent for her to marry my brother.
That could’ve been me.
I closed my eyes tightly and the bitterness that flooded me until my chest ached.
If I hadn’t been so goddamn weak... if I had fought for her instead of going after Father’s approval...
Suddenly I sat up, with my hands shaking and my breath uneven.
"No... it’s too late," I said under my breath.
"I’ve lost her. And now I’ve got a woman that I never wanted and a future that I never chose."
The hours went by at a snail’s pace, my tormenting thoughts refusing me sleep. I hadn’t even noticed how late it was until—
RING.
RING.
RING.
The ear-piercing sound of my alarm cut through the silence and startled me to my feet.
My eyes ached. I hadn’t closed them once.
The door creaked open, and one of the maids from the pack entered, bowing slightly.
She was holding my suit, which was neatly ironed and draped over a hanger.
She carefully placed it on the stand in front of me, with her eyes lowered.
"Your wedding attire, Alpha Leonardo," she said softly.
Her words hit me deeper than any blade could.
My wedding attire.
I gazed at it black and gold, majestic, stifling. A noose that came in the form of silk.
"Right," I said bitterly.
"The perfect suit for a man going his own prison."
The maid looked at me anxiously but didn’t say a word. She quietly backed out of the room.
I sat there, staring at the suit, the weight of my choices pressing down on me.
This is it. I thought hollowly.
No more running. No more hoping. Tonight, I marry a woman carrying my child. And Aurora… Aurora belongs to someone else.
I let out a bitter laugh that cracked halfway through.
“That would’ve been me,” I whispered again, my voice raw.
“That should’ve been me.”
****
The big room was covered with red and gold, and whispers were going around every corner, but no one dared to speak out. I stood at the altar, shoulders like a board, and my jaw so tightly clenched it was painful.
Lena was going down the aisle as if she was already the queen, her white dress sparkling under the light.
Teenaged with each step she took, her mouth half-snapped, her head held high.
Along with her, Alpha Maverick was making his way through the crowd with confidence like he had a victory already. Loud and clear, his voice filled the room.
"Today," he announced, throwing his arms wide, "my daughter becomes the first son of Alpha John, her husband.
Today, absolutely no one—" with that cocky look, his eyes went through the room, "—no one can stop this plan. Our pact will be sealed, and the future will be safe."
The people cheered enthusiastically, but there voices were not the only ones I noticed as my eyes scanned the room.
I clenched my fists. My body was here, but my mind… my mind was somewhere else. With Aurora. Always with Aurora.
The officiant’s voice rang out.
“Leonardo, son of Alpha John… do you take Lena, daughter of Alpha Maverick, as your wife?”
The hall grew silent. Everyone stared at me.
My throat tightened. The words wouldn’t come. I could feel my father’s eyes burning into me, Maverick’s smug grin daring me to refuse.
Lena reached for my hand, her smile dripping with triumph.
“Say it, Leonardo,” she whispered, so only I could hear.
“Seal it.”
I opened my mouth—
But then the doors slammed open.
“STOP THIS FARCE!”
Gabriel’s voice thundered across the hall.
Every head turned. He walked in, holding a sealed scroll in one hand.
Alessandro followed behind him, his gaze sharp as a blade.
“What is this interruption?” Maverick snarled.
Gabriel smirked. “The end of your lies, old man.”
The tension snapped like lightning.
I blinked, my heart hammering in my chest.
“Gabriel… Alessandro… what the hell are you doing?”
Alessandro stepped forward, his voice steady.
“We’re ending this trap, brother. And we’re doing it now.”
Maverick scoffed, his laughter echoing.
“You think you can barge into my daughter’s wedding with empty words?!”
Gabriel unrolled the scroll with a flourish.
“Not empty words. Evidence. Proof that the child Lena carries…”
His smirk grew wider. “…is not yours, Leonardo.”
Gasps swept through the hall. My knees nearly buckled.
“What?” I choked out, my voice breaking.
Maverick’s eyes widened. He whirled toward Lena, his face red with fury.
“What is he talking about?!”
Lena’s smugness faltered. She shook her head rapidly, her voice shrill.
“They’re lying, Father! This is nothing but a trick!”
Alessandro stepped forward, his glare pinning her in place. He held out another document—this one marked with the council’s seal.
“Then explain this,” Alessandro said coldly, thrusting it into her trembling hands.
“The council’s own test. Confirming the child you claim as Leonardo’s… belongs to another.”
The hall erupted into chaos.
“No…” I whispered, staggering back. My chest tightened as if the walls were caving in.
“So it’s true?”
Lena’s face contorted with rage, the mask slipping.
“You bastards!
You think this will stop me?! You think this changes anything?!”
Maverick’s voice cracked like thunder.
“ANSWER ME, LENA!
WHOSE CHILD IS IT?!”
She froze, her lips trembling.
The silence that followed was worse than any scream.
And all I could do was stand there at the altar, my fists trembling, my heart hollow.
Alessandro’s voice cut through the storm, calm and merciless.
“This wedding is over.”
The next thing you knew, Lena had already unwrapped a knife from under her dress, and her eyes were so full of despair that they seemed to be on fire.
She made a sudden move, going for Alessandro directly with the knife or at least she was about to do that when Aurora came in with a rush, blocked the way with her body, and caught the knife.
The blade went all the way in.
Alessandro turned quickly, and with a horror-stricken look in his eyes, he caught her before she stumbled.
“AURORA!”
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