Her Good Fortune

"Pain isn't dark. Hopelessness is."

•••

Kaylee's POV:

I was in a bridal room. It was my wedding day, and I was quite nervous. It wasn't a love marriage. It was an arranged marriage to some billionaire named Erthan Salvatore.

He was a young billionaire. I had seen him just once in my life.

There was an age gap between us. I was 21 and was studying business. I would've been applying for a job if my brother wasn't forcing me to marry someone I didn't know.

But that's life. That is how it always goes. It never goes the way you think it will. Never.

I was 21, and Erthan was 30, so there was a nine-year gap between us—but I didn't mind that. As I said, life never goes the way you think it will.

He was handsome, and I didn't think he was happy with this whole arranged marriage thing either. I could feel it: he hated me. Actually, he never smiled at all—at anybody.

Speaking of this whole marriage thing, I didn't know why my mum and brother had decided to marry me off to someone I had never met, let alone liked, in my entire life.

I had never had a boyfriend. I was never allowed to have one, nor had I ever felt a pull towards someone.

This husband-to-be of mine looked very dangerous, but I hoped he wasn't. I hoped everything would go smoothly—this marriage and everything else. I hoped we would fall in love after being married for a short time, and everything would go smoothly. But I had a bad feeling about it.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Honey, are you ready?" My mom came in and stood before me. She pulled her hands up to cover her open mouth. "Oh my God, look at you… You look so pretty/ The prettiest bride I have ever seen," she said with adoration in her eyes.

I smiled. "Thank you, Mom… I'm just nervous," I said, and truly, I was hella nervous. God help me. I didn't want to think about what would happen if things did not go as I thought they would.

"My precious child, that's normal. After all, you are going to start a new chapter of your life." She smiled and kissed my forehead. "And don't think too negatively. You know your brother never makes bad decisions."

I forced a smile at that. Hell, everybody knew he was always getting in trouble. My mother loved him so much. Too much. Blindly, actually. She never saw flaws in him.

"Yeah, sure," I said, mentally rolled my eyes, and put a fake smile on my face.

"Okay, let's go," she said as we made our way to the ceremony. My mum gave my hands to my brother so he could walk me down the aisle. My dad wasn't here to walk me. I was eight years old when he died from a heart attack. To me, he had been the most handsome man in the world. He always used to read me bedtime stories. He loved me the most in the world. He would always stand up for me whenever I made a mistake, but he also used to teach me things and manners.

Honestly, my mum was always too busy with my brother. She never bothered to read me bedtime stories, even after my dad died. He always used to say to me, "Stay strong. You're the strongest and most beautiful baby girl I have ever seen." A tear slipped down my face as I remembered his words and his praise.

"Kaylee, look what good fortune you have here. A billionaire as a husband. You will have everything at the snap of your fingers. Just don't make him angry. He can be dangerous. Don't let your brother down, okay?" my brother whispered into my ear as we walked down the aisle.

He had always been a gold digger. He always thought of money and nothing else. He never treated me well and always used to yell at me for little things. And my mum would always take his side, always saying I was the wrong one in every little conflict. But I didn't hate him. After all, he was my brother.

I didn't even try to look at my husband-to-be's face. I kept my head down.

When we reached the altar, he didn't even offer me his hand…

"Time reveals colors."

•••

Kaylee's POV:

I looked down at my feet, finding them more interesting than ever. The priest cleared his throat and started reading, asking Erthan and me to repeat after him. We both did.

"Do you, Erthan Salvatore, accept Kaylee Jenn as your wife?"

I didn't know if my husband-to-be was looking at me or not. My heart was beating so fast, and there was an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"I do." At the sound of his voice, I closed my eyes tightly. God help me.

"Do you, Kaylee Jenn, accept Erthan Salvatore as your husband?"

Silence. There was a pin-drop silence in the hall. 'C'mon, say something,' I mentally chided myself. I gulped hard. There was no going back now.

"I do," I said. Now was not the time to cry.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." As the priest said the last bit, my eyes widened. I had forgotten about this part.

Erthan pulled my veil up, and that was the first time I really—like, really—saw his eyes. They were blue. Beautiful yet dangerous.

I had never had my first kiss. God, this was gonna be my first kiss! I was excited and nervous at the same time.

He came closer and looked into my eyes. His were so cold, not a simple smile or hint of warmth leaking out of his face. No, it was like he was emotionless.

I closed my eyes, thinking he was going to kiss me on my lips, but he kissed my cheek instead, just for a quick second. You couldn't even really call it a kiss. Hell, no, it was just his lips brushing against my cheek.

A part of me was glad Erthan hadn't kissed me on my lips, but a part of me was disappointed. I could feel his coldness towards me. I could tell he didn't like me at all.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of clapping. Everyone was clapping—some were even hooting. I thought they were more excited about my wedding than I was myself.

After some time, we were asked to dance. We did, but it was not for long.

It was time for us to go back to our home. The car pulled up, and my mother was happy, but as I hugged her, a tear rolled down my face. I would miss my family, even though I knew they would not miss me. Erthan lived in another city, so I would not be able to see them often.

My brother came towards me and hugged me. "Look, you'll be thanking me for marrying you off to a billionaire. If I hadn't, you would not be able to live the lush life you have ahead of you," my brother whispered in my ear, and when I pulled back, he was smirking.

"I don't chase after money, brother. I would've been happy with my husband even if he weren't a billionaire," I said, putting a fake smile on and sitting in the car.

What did my brother think of me? I was not a gold digger like him.

The car started, and we were on our way to the airport. I took a glance at my husband.

He was typing angrily on his phone. 'Poor phone,' I thought.

"Ehem." I cleared my throat just to get his attention. I was looking at him, but he didn't even glance at me. So I tried to grab his attention. "Um, where are we going?" I asked, silently praying he would not get angry at me because he already looked so angry while typing on his poor phone.

He didn't answer—didn't even acknowledge me.

I glanced down at my hands, which were on my lap, and sighed. After some time, I glanced out the window.

We pulled up at the airport and made our way to the plane. Actually, it was a private jet. There was a name written on it, but it wasn't 'Salvatore.' It was someone else's surname. He must have borrowed this jet. Maybe. I didn't know.

As we got in, I was stunned by its beauty. I had never seen or been on a private jet ever in my life.

•••

When we landed, there was a car already waiting for us at the airport. We made our way to it, and I sat silently. I didn't even utter a word.

I had slept for the whole plane ride because I was bored, and my sweet husband had sat on the other side of the plane. He hadn't even wanted to sit with me.

Asshole.

The car pulled up in front of a huge mansion. It was beautiful, and the inside was very pretty, but it wasn't homey.

Whatever.

"Taniya, show her to the guest room. She'll be staying there."

Whatttt!?!? So he didn't like me.

"But we are married. Aren't we supposed to share a room?" I asked without even thinking about it.

"I didn't marry you for love. Stay within your limits, and don't ever question me again," Erthan said in a threatening voice, pointing a finger at me.

I felt hurt at this point. I hadn't expected that.

"Come, miss. I'll show you to your room." The maid smiled at me, and I followed her.

What a wonderful start to this new chapter of my life.

NOTE THE SARCASM!