Chapter 51/Under the Same Roof

Chapter 51: 51/Under the Same Roof

Chapter 51

Cedric’s Point of View

I poured another glass of whiskey with a trembling hand, the sound of glass clinking echoing in my head like screams of regret. I swallowed the burning liquid in one gulp, feeling its fire sting my throat, but it didn’t extinguish the blaze raging in my chest. Today, Stephanie is marrying my brother... My God, this is a nightmare I cannot wake up from.

For the past two days, I have been roaming the palace hallways like a madman, trying to convince my grandfather to cancel this farce. But he met my pleas with a lethal coldness, repeating that the matter was closed and that Stephanie now belonged to Alexander. Worse than that, he ordered them to move here, into the palace... under the same roof as me. They will breathe the same air; they will sleep in the same room.

The thought of Alexander touching her, smelling her scent, and being a father to my children who are moving inside her right now, made the glass slip from my hand and shatter against the carpet.

My grandfather suddenly entered my room, his gaze falling on me as I collapsed in the chair. "Cedric, what is this state you’re in?" he asked in a dry tone.

I raised my head slowly, my eyes red from lack of sleep and alcohol, staring at him lost. "I am dying, Grandfather... you are going to kill me today," I said in a hoarse voice.

He exhaled in annoyance and approached me with his steady strides. "Stop acting like a woman! You are a man; how can you collapse like this?" he said sharply.

I let out a hysterical laugh and stood up with difficulty, my body swaying slightly. "Really, Grandfather? The girl I love is marrying my brother, and she is pregnant with my child, yet my brother will be their father! How do you want me to remain standing? Tell me, how?" I shouted with a muffled cry.

I gripped the edge of the table to steady my body as my balance betrayed me. He approached me coldly and snatched the fresh glass of whiskey from my hand before I could raise it to my lips. "Get up! Go shower. You cannot stay like this... the guests will arrive soon," he commanded.

I looked at him with one last plea, a lump choking me as my body trembled from within. "Grandfather... isn’t there any other solution? Any solution at all?" I whispered brokenly.

He slammed the glass onto the table with force, looking at me with a definitive, irreversible gaze. "There is none, Cedric... it is over."

He left me and walked out, while I remained standing in the middle of the room, feeling as if the walls were closing in on me. My hand reached out subconsciously to wipe a single tear that had escaped my eye. Today, I will watch with my own eyes as my brother steals my entire life.

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Stephanie’s Point of View

My hands were completely cold despite the warmth of the room, and I was pressing them together tightly to prevent their obvious trembling. Today is the day of my wedding to Alexander... the man who was once my hero and has now become part of an endless deception.

How will I endure living under one roof with both Cedric and Alexander? Every corner of that palace will remind me of my sin with one of them, and of my love for the other Alexander, which was tainted by my sister’s presence in his bed. For the past two days, Valentina has been like a black shadow, appearing in every corner to whisper her threats. Her eyes burned with madness as she vowed to snatch Alexander from me, as if I were the one chasing this cursed marriage.

Kira was standing behind me. I felt her fingers pressing gently on my shoulders when she noticed the tension in my neck muscles. "Breathe, Steph... your body is completely rigid," she whispered.

I took a deep breath that felt like a choke, and at that moment, the door opened and my father entered. He was wearing his formal suit and looked satisfied in a way that provoked every fiber of my being. He looked at the watch on his wrist and said in a commanding tone:

"Stephanie, let’s go. We’ll be late... the car is waiting outside."

I rose slowly, feeling a slight dizziness that made me grab the edge of the table. I didn’t look at him; I kept staring into the void. "I’m coming," I said in a faint, dry voice.

I turned toward Kira and grabbed her hand tightly, as if clinging to a straw in a drowning ocean. She shook her head encouragingly, but deep down, I felt that every step I took toward that palace was a step toward the graveyard of my dreams.

I hadn’t put on the wedding dress yet; I was wearing simple clothes, as the final preparations and formal rituals would take place there, at the Volkov palace. Just the thought of wearing that white dress gave me a feeling of suffocation, as if it were a shroud that would be wrapped around my body to announce the end of the old Stephanie.

I clenched my small bag, feeling my nails dig into my skin. I didn’t want to go; my whole body was resisting, and my feet felt as if they were glued to the ground. I looked at my father who was standing at the threshold, his stern features leaving no room for discussion.

"Steph, you have to go... be strong. Remember why you are doing this," Kira said, touching my arm gently, trying to instill some warmth into my trembling body.

I took a deep, shaky breath and raised my head slowly. I felt the cold air hit my face as I took the first step out of the room. I turned toward my father and said in a dry voice devoid of any emotion:

"I am ready."

I pulled on my light coat and walked out behind my father with a body like a machine no life in it, no soul. The black car was waiting in front of the door like a beast ready to swallow me. I sat in the back with Kira, who held my hand throughout the journey, while I pressed my hand against my stomach, as if trying to protect my children from this world that had begun to collapse before they could even see it.

We arrived at the "Volkov" palace.

It was a palace in every sense of the word, explaining the extent of the wealth they possessed, but now it appeared in my eyes as an eternal prison. As soon as I stepped out of the car, the cold air hit me, sending a shiver down my spine.

The maids received us with stony faces and immediately led me to the suite designated for my preparation. The room was spacious, cold, and in the middle of it stood the white dress on a wooden mannequin. I froze in my place, feeling an overwhelming urge to vomit; it wasn’t a dress it was a shackle made of lace and silk.

Kira and my stepmother entered and began removing my clothes with mechanical movements. I stood there, soul-naked, feeling the coldness of their fingers on my skin. Kira tried to distract me by talking about the details of the ceremony, but her voice sounded very far away, as if I were underwater.

When they pulled the corset around my waist, I felt a tightness in my breathing. "Not so tight... please, the babies," I said in a choked voice.

Celine looked at me through the room’s mirror and said coldly, "You must look perfect, Stephanie. The Volkovs do not accept half-measures of beauty." Kira replied, "We can avoid tightening it too much," but when she tried to loosen it, my stepmother stopped her. I said, "It’s okay, Kira, I’m fine."

They finished styling my hair and placed the long veil that weighed down my head, forcing me to keep my back straight. At that moment, there was a loud knock on the door. Everyone froze, and Alexander entered.

He was in full elegance, wearing a jet-black suit that highlighted his height and broad shoulders. His blue eyes carried a mysterious glint a mixture of possession and guilt. His gaze fixed on me, and I felt my body trembling beneath the layers of white fabric.

"Leave us alone for a moment," he said in his husky voice that made my heart flutter despite my hatred for him.