All Chapters of Forbidden By Her Sister's Husband : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Aria Hale woke up to that silence, just as she did every morning. She lay still for a moment, her eyes tracing the familiar crack in the ceiling of her bedroom. The room was small, tucked away in the north wing of the house, far from the master suite and far from Cassandra’s sprawling quarters. It was perpetually cold here, the kind of stale, artificial chill that settled into the floorboards—the result of massive stone walls and a house that never seemed to let the summer sun in. It seeped through the thin rug she had bought with her own pocket money three years ago. The light filtering through the sheer curtains was gray and weak, signaling another overcast morning. Aria pushed the duvet back. The cool morning air brushed against her bare skin, raising goosebumps along her arms. She didn't shiver. She had learned a long time ago that reacting to the cold didn't make it warmer; it just made you more aware of your own discomfort. She moved through her morning routine with the effic

The morning after the dinner, the Hale estate felt different.Usually, the house was a tomb of silence, but today it vibrated with a manic, electric energy. It was the frequency of ambition. The merger had gone well. The handshake had happened. And, as Aria learned before she had even brushed her teeth, the wedding date had been set. "Six months," Cassandra announced.She was sitting at the vanity in her bedroom, staring at her own reflection with the intensity of an artist admiring a masterpiece. Aria stood by the door, holding a basket of fresh linens she had been collecting from the hallway."Father says we can't wait longer," Cassandra continued, applying a layer of peach gloss to her lips. "The fiscal year ends in December. We need the stocks to merge before then. So, I have six months to plan the wedding of the century." She turned to look at Aria, her eyes bright with triumph. "Can you imagine it? Mrs. Cassandra Cross. It sounds expensive, doesn’t it?" Aria gripped the wicke

The days following the engagement party did not bring peace. They brought an invasion.The Hale estate, once a mausoleum of cold silence, had been turned into a command center for the "Wedding of the Century." That was what the magazines were calling it. The Union of Empires. The Billion-Dollar Vow.For Aria, it meant her sanctuary was gone.There were florists in the hallway arguing about the shade of hydrangeas. There were caterers in the kitchen testing tartlets. There were dress designers, lighting technicians, and event coordinators swarming every room like an infestation of well-dressed locusts.Aria tried to stay out of the way. She spent her mornings in the library (when it wasn't occupied by her father’s lawyers) and her afternoons in the greenhouse. But she couldn't escape entirely. Cassandra wouldn't let her."Aria, hold this," Cassandra commanded, thrusting a heavy binder of fabric swatches into Aria’s arms.They were in the main drawing room on a Tuesday afternoon. Outsid

Damian caught her.His grip was firm, his fingers digging into the thin beige sweater she wore. For a second, he held her upright, his body shielding her from Cassandra’s view. He was warm—solid and terrifyingly warm."Careful," he murmured, low enough that only she could hear.He released her immediately, stepping back as if he hadn't touched her at all."She’s clumsy," Cassandra said, walking over and looping her arm through Damian’s. She didn't notice the tension. She never noticed anything that wasn't about her. "Always has been. It’s a miracle she hasn't broken her neck yet."Damian looked at his fiancée, then back at Aria. "A miracle," he repeated flatly."Come on," Cassandra said, tugging on his arm. "Father is waiting in the drawing room. The jeweler is here. We have to pick out the wedding gifts. And you need to sign the insurance papers for the ring."Damian didn't move immediately. He looked at Aria one last time. She was standing by the ladder, clutching the feather duster,

“You are weak, Aria,” he said. “Weakness invites trouble.”He reached out.Aria flinched, closing her eyes, expecting him to grab her. Instead, he grabbed the scarf from the bag. He ripped it free with a violent motion.“Damian!” Cassandra called out from the archway. “What are you doing?”Damian ignored her. He didn’t hand the scarf to Aria. He threw it at her. The heavy wool hit her chest and slid down. Aria caught it instinctively.“Wrap it around your neck,” Damian growled. “Or I will leave you here and tell the driver not to come back for you.”Aria fumbled with the scarf, wrapping it quickly around her frozen neck. It smelled of Cassandra’s perfume—cloying and sweet.“Better,” Damian said. “Now stand still. And be silent.”He turned his back on her and walked away, his coat billowing behind him like a dark cape. Aria stood there, buried in the scarf, feeling smaller than she ever had in her life. He hadn’t helped her. He had silenced her.The walk back to the cars was grueling. T