9_The Replacement

Aiden stared at his reflection in the tall mirror, the black suit fitting him perfectly, yet feeling completely foreign on his body. It wasn’t his. None of this was supposed to be his. Just a few hours ago, he had been curled up in his small room, quietly reading a book and trying to stay out of everyone’s way like he always did. That had been his role in this house for as long as he could remember, invisible, unwanted, a shadow no one cared to acknowledge.

His stepmother’s sharp voice still echoed in his head from earlier that morning.

“You should be grateful,” she had hissed, her eyes cold as ice. “Your sister ran away and embarrassed this entire family. The least you can do is fix the mess she left behind.”

Aiden clenched his fists at his sides. Grateful? The word tasted bitter on his tongue. Emily had been the one promised to Alexander King Deluca. She was supposed to walk down the aisle today, smiling like the perfect trophy wife. Instead, she had run away with her secret boyfriend at dawn, leaving nothing but chaos and a handwritten note behind.

And now Aiden was paying the price.

His stepmother had cornered him with that cruel, satisfied smile. “You will marry him instead.”

He had tried to refuse. He had begged, argued, even raised his voice for once. But she wasn’t the type of woman who accepted refusal from anyone, especially not from him.

“You live in this house because of my husband,” she had reminded him coldly. “The least you can do is finally be useful.”

Useful. That was all he had ever been to her. A problem. A mistake. Someone she tolerated only because she had no choice. The unwanted son of her husband’s first wife — a constant reminder of a past she wanted to erase.

Aiden looked away from his reflection, his chest tight. For years he had endured the insults, the cold shoulders, the way Emily and his stepmother treated him like he didn’t truly belong. He had learned to shrink himself, to stay quiet, to disappear into the background. But today was different.

Today he was about to marry the most dangerous man in the city.

Alexander King Deluca.

A soft knock sounded at the door. Before Aiden could even respond, it swung open. His stepmother stepped inside, her expensive dress whispering against the floor. Her eyes scanned him up and down with critical precision.

“You clean up well,” she said, sounding almost surprised.

Aiden remained silent, refusing to give her the satisfaction of a reply. She stepped closer, lowering her voice so no one outside could hear.

“Listen carefully. You will go out there, stand beside Alexander, and you will not embarrass this family. Do you understand?”

Aiden let out a quiet, bitter laugh. “Embarrass the family? That’s funny coming from you.”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “If you think Alexander Deluca will tolerate your attitude, you’re mistaken. That man destroys people for far less.”

Aiden finally met her gaze. “I didn’t ask for this marriage.”

“No,” she replied coldly. “But you’re the only one available. So you will smile, you will say the vows, and you will make this alliance work. Or I swear I’ll make the rest of your life even more miserable than it already is.”

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The silence between them was heavy with years of resentment. Then she turned sharply toward the door.

“The ceremony starts in five minutes. Don’t keep him waiting.”

When she left, the room felt strangely quiet. Aiden took a deep, shaky breath and ran a hand through his brown hair. Five minutes. Five minutes before his entire life changed forever. He wasn’t ready. He doubted he would ever be ready.

---

Across the hall, Alexander King Deluca stood calmly near the altar, hands clasped behind his back. The guests had already begun whispering among themselves. Rumors spread quickly in their world. Everyone had heard that the bride had disappeared. Now something unexpected was about to happen, and the powerful crowd could smell the shift in the air.

Alexander adjusted the cuff of his sleeve, completely unbothered by the murmurs. His mind was elsewhere.

On Aiden.

He remembered the stubborn look in the younger man’s dark eyes that night at dinner. Most people trembled when they faced him. But Aiden hadn’t looked afraid, at least not entirely. That quiet defiance had stayed with Alexander. It made him curious in a way very few things did anymore.

The tall double doors at the end of the hall slowly opened.

The entire ballroom fell into a heavy silence.

All eyes turned.

Aiden stepped inside, dressed in a well fitted black suit, his brown hair slightly tousled despite attempts to tame it. He walked toward the altar with measured steps, his shoulders tense, trying his best to appear composed even though his heart was racing.

He was walking toward Alexander.

Toward a future he had never asked for.

Alexander watched him approach, his expression calm on the surface, but his sharp deep blue eyes studying every small detail, the nervous swallow, the slight tremble in Aiden’s hands, the way he kept his gaze lowered until the last moment.

When Aiden finally stopped beside him, Alexander leaned in slightly, his voice low enough that only Aiden could hear.

“You still have time to run.”

Aiden glanced up at him, those dark eyes meeting Alexander’s blue ones for a brief second. He let out a tired sigh.

“If I run,” he muttered, “my stepmother might actually hunt me down and drag me back herself.”

For the second time that day, the corner of Alexander’s mouth twitched. Not quite a smile, but something close. Something almost amused. This quiet, reluctant boy was proving far more interesting than his runaway sister ever could have been.

The officiant cleared his throat, ready to begin the ceremony. The guests watched with hungry curiosity. Some looked scandalized. Others looked intrigued by the unexpected twist. But Alexander paid them no mind. His attention remained on the young man standing beside him, the one who had been thrust into his life as a replacement.

As the ceremony began, Aiden’s mind raced with a thousand fears. He was eighteen. Barely an adult. And now he was binding himself to one of the most feared men in the underworld. He could feel the weight of every stare in the room pressing down on him. His stepmother watched from the front row with cold satisfaction, while his father looked relieved that their precious alliance had been saved at the last second.

Alexander, on the other hand, felt an unfamiliar spark of anticipation. This marriage had started as a business deal. A necessary alliance. But as he stood beside Aiden, listening to the officiant speak, he couldn’t help but think that fate had handed him something far more intriguing than he had bargained for.

The vows began.

Aiden’s voice was quiet but steady when it was his turn. Alexander’s was calm and commanding, as always. When the officiant pronounced them married, the room erupted into polite applause mixed with whispers.

Alexander turned to Aiden, tilting the younger man’s chin up gently with two fingers, the same way he had done that first night.

“Welcome to your new life… husband,” he murmured, his deep blue eyes intense.

Aiden didn’t pull away, though his pulse raced wildly. This wasn’t the ending he had imagined for himself. It wasn’t even close. But as he stood there beside Alexander King Deluca, surrounded by danger, power, and uncertainty, he realized one thing with startling clarity.

There was no going back now.