Jasmine's Pov

“I'm just asking you to marry him in my place, Jasmine. It’s not as though I’m demanding too much. After everything my family has done for you, this is nothing in comparison,” Lisa’s voice carried, smooth and entitled.

“I can’t do that.” My voice trembled. “He’s your fiancé, Lisa. He knows your face. How do you expect me to stand at that altar in your stead?”

“Do you even realize what you’re asking of me?” My throat burned with anger.

“Five million, Jasmine,” she said flatly. “I know you still despise me because your fiancé slept with me but that was his choice, not mine. He showed you himself that he wasn’t worthy of you. Marry Donovan Hayes instead. He’ll give you a better future.”

My lips parted but no words came. My chest felt tight.

“I only seduced Landon so you’d see what kind of man he was,” she continued shamelessly. “I exposed him for you. But Donovan? No, I can’t. I heard he’s hideous with a disability which is why he's been a abroad for years. Why should I, Lisa Bloom, tie myself to someone like that?”

“And I should?” My voice cracked. “The alliance is sealed, Lisa. Tomorrow is your wedding day. Stop running from it.”

I wanted to ask if she had slept with Landon so that I would be broken and vulnerable enough to bend to her request. But.....

“Jasmine…”

The sound of my name pulled me away.

I stirred, realizing I was lying on a bed, soft but much smaller than the wide, king-sized one at the Bloom mansion.

I blinked. The surroundings blurred, then sharpened. My head ached. Lisa’s words replayed mercilessly in my skull. Was it a dream? Or had she truly been here?

“Jasmine,” Echo’s voice came again. I turned, finding her watching me.

“Echo,” I breathed, sitting up in a rush. I was at her house.

“How long have I been here? Was Lisa here?” My eyes darted to the digital clock on the wall, the glowing numbers mocking my disorientation.

A shadow of worry lingered on Echo’s face and it spread into me as I realized I was in her pajamas.

“You’ve been here for a full day,” she said gently. “And first… I need you to know that the man you slapped at the club two nights ago? He wasn’t the culprit. He was trying to protect you from the harraser. He even had him arrested.”

Her words barely registered as my mind still throbbed, heavy and foggy.

“Yes. Lisa was here,” she finally admitted and then hesitated.

The air left my lungs. So it was real and likewise th conversation that kept replaying in my head. She had found me.

“What’s wrong? Why do you still look so worried?” I asked, though a gnawing dread curled in my stomach.

“Your parents are downstairs, Jasmine.”

I froze. Then I scoffed, shaking my head.

“That’s impossible. Today is Lisa’s wedding. Why would they leave the ceremony to come here? I’ll go home and prepare to meet them at the venue.” I rose quickly, assuming Echo would bring my bag to me wherever she’d kept it.

“That’s the problem,” she said softly.

I stopped mid-step. My head whipped to her.

“Lisa ran away, Jasmine,” Echo whispered. “She left with another man. And now your parents are downstairs with her dress and an entourage ready to make you her replacement.”

*****

“You can marry him, stay for a year or less and then find an excuse to divorce him. How many marriages last more than that nowadays? You will go through with this wedding, Jasmine. I will not have my name dragged through the mud because of the foolishness of one daughter!” My father’s voice cracked like a whip.

The words stabbed deep. My knees wobbled and I clung to the bedpost just to remain standing.

“We sacrificed everything to secure this alliance,” my mother chimed in, walking into Echo's room. “Don’t ruin it for us. We’ve done so much for you already. This is the one time we ask for a sacrifice in return.”

“Lisa was the bride, Mother. She disgraced the family, not me. Why drag me into her mess? And to Donovan, of all people? Everyone says he’s chronically ill. Why should I be forced into that?”

“He isn’t!” Father snapped, his tone sharp enough to silence me.

“Oh really?” My voice broke with bitter laughter. “Then why did Lisa run? He’s wealthy, isn’t he? From a powerful family. If he was so perfect, why didn’t she stay for him like you’re demanding I do?”

For the first time in my life, I spoke back. All my life I’d obeyed every word and command of theirs. But this? This was different. I had just lost my fiancé to my own sister’s betrayal and now they wanted to bind me to a stranger. How could they?

“Does Donovan even know Lisa has run off? What happens when he realizes I’m not her?” I asked carefully, hoping fear of exposure might pierce through their greed.

But nothing could have prepared me for Father’s reply.

“Donovan himself sent me the photos of Lisa eloping with that pathetic basketballer. I'm just grateful to God he requested you instead.”

The ground tilted beneath me. My stomach clenched. He… requested me? I had never met him. He had lived abroad to hid away with his illness. Why me? Why now?

Before I could demand answers, footsteps pounded upstairs. The door flung open and women swarmed in, their arms heavy with fabric and powders My parents slipped out, leaving me to them.

I wanted to scream and shred the gown they forced over my head, but no sound left my lips. Hands pinned and brushed my face. Powder kissed my cheeks, rouge burned into my skin, the veil descended, stealing what little clarity I had left.

Then after they were done, they stepped back, admiring their work, whispering about perfection before filing out like shadows.

“You look the part now,” my father’s voice came as he reentered with my mother. “But don’t just look it, Jasmine. Be it.”

I turned my head, eyes meeting Echo’s at the door. Her face mirrored my own—helpless and aching. She knew. She always knew I had no choices of my own. Not when they had raised me from the slums. Not when they claimed I owed them everything.

My fists clenched beneath the silk, trembling. “I never agreed......”

“Enough.” Father’s tone sliced through me. He adjusted my veil like I was a doll. “Lisa may carry my blood but she chose disgrace. You, Jasmine, owe this family. Don’t you ever forget it.”

And I didn’t forget. Not when I was driven to the venue, trapped in a car like a prisoner dressed for sacrifice. Not when I stood at the heavy doors of the church with my heart pounding as the wedding march began to play.

My last sacrifice, I told myself. Just as they demanded. After this, I would reclaim my life even if I had to crawl back to the gutters they plucked me from. I would endure this marriage, bide my time and walk away.

The doors swung open. Music swelled and I stepped forward. Despite having a veil on my face, I still bowed my head trying to hide the redness of my eyes.

How had it come to this? Days ago I had been planning a perfect marriage with the man I loved. Now I was walking blind into the arms of a stranger.

Who was Donovan Hayes? Why had he chosen me as Lisa’s replacement? Did my parents owe his family more than they confessed? None of this made sense. It felt too desperate to be about money alone.

Lost in thought, I barely realized when I stopped at the podium.

“Are you alright, wifey?”

A voice startled me. I raised my head slowly, bracing myself for the monster I had been warned about.

But instead of illness or deformity, I saw him.

A man in a sharp suit, tall and broad with wavy hair brushing against his brow. His face was sculpted, his hazel-brown eyes gleaming with confidence, warmth and danger. His skin tanned and his towering body a temptation wrapped in muscle.

My lips parted as memory slammed into me—Echo’s warning, the mistake at the club, the wrong man I had slapped.

The man I thought was a predator.

The man who had looked at me with a smile when my palm had stung his cheek.

He was Donovan Hayes and the man I was set to be a replacement bride for.