Eleanor POV / James POV
Eleanor's hands won't stop shaking.
Three weeks. That's how long she's had to transform from a girl who cleans houses into a girl who marries billionaires. Three weeks of Victoria teaching her which fork goes where. Three weeks of learning how to walk in shoes that cost more than her old monthly rent. Three weeks of looking in the mirror and wondering when Eleanor Nash would finally start feeling like her name.
The answer is never.
She's standing in a bridal room at a cathedral that seats two hundred people and she still feels like she's trespassing. The dress is white and expensive and it doesn't feel like it belongs to her. Her hair has been styled into something elaborate. Her makeup is perfect. She looks like a bride.
She looks like someone who belongs in this world.
The woman helping her adjust the veil looks nervous. Everyone has been nervous since James called his uncle and rejected the marriage three weeks ago. Everyone has been holding their breath waiting to see if he would show up to the altar or if he would send a message saying this was all a mistake.
Eleanor's mother Victoria appears in the doorway.
"It's time," she says.
Eleanor stands and the weight of the dress nearly pulls her under.
They walk toward the cathedral doors and Eleanor can hear the organ playing. Two hundred people standing. Two hundred people waiting to see if this marriage will happen. Two hundred people who don't know that the groom has already rejected the bride.
Eleanor takes a breath and the doors open.
The cathedral is massive and full of light and terrifying. Eleanor walks forward and keeps her eyes on the altar where James is standing.
He's wearing a custom suit that looks like it was made for a man who owns the world. He's beautiful and cold and furious. His jaw is clenched so tight Eleanor thinks it might break. His blue eyes are tracking her like she's a threat.
When their eyes meet, Eleanor sees the exact moment James realizes she's not who he expected.
His expression doesn't change but something behind his eyes goes darker.
James has been waiting for this moment his entire life.
He's been prepared since childhood. The girl from the Nash family. That's the deal. That's the contract. That's the only relationship that makes sense because it's based on logic instead of emotion. He's spent thirty-two years preparing to marry a stranger because marriage to a stranger is safer than marriage to someone he might actually love.
He's dressed in a suit that costs more than most cars. He's standing at an altar in front of two hundred people. He's ready to sign his life away to the Nash heiress.
Then the doors open and a girl walks toward him and James knows immediately that something is catastrophically wrong.
This is not Eleanor Nash.
This is not the girl he's been promised. This is not a girl who was raised in wealth and privilege. This is a girl who walks like she's apologizing for taking up space. This is a girl who looks like she's about to faint. This is a girl with brown eyes and tired hands and absolutely no right to be walking down this aisle.
James understands in that moment what his uncle did.
His uncle lied to him.
James feels anger rise in his chest like a wave that's going to drown him. This girl is a fraud. This girl is some desperate woman his family hired to play the part of Eleanor Nash. This girl is the reason his uncle has been acting strange for three weeks.
Eleanor reaches the altar and James has to force himself to breathe.
The priest begins speaking but James doesn't hear any of it. He's looking at the girl in front of him trying to figure out who she is and what her family stands to gain from this deception.
She's shaking so badly that her flowers are trembling.
When the priest asks if James takes this woman, James hesitates. Long enough that Eleanor's entire body goes rigid. Long enough that two hundred people shift in their seats wondering if the groom is about to walk away.
James says yes because walking away now would cause more chaos than staying.
He says yes because he wants to know what this is. Who this is. Why his family would betray him like this.
He says yes to the girl with brown eyes and shaking hands and absolutely no business being married to him.
When the priest tells them to kiss, Eleanor closes her eyes and braces herself.
James's lips touch hers and it's not a kiss. It's a message. It's cold and quick and angry. It's a man kissing a woman he believes is trying to trap him. Eleanor feels electricity and revulsion at the same time. She feels his contempt like a physical thing.
He pulls away immediately.
In front of two hundred people, in front of her parents, in front of everyone who matters, James leans close and whispers so quietly that only Eleanor can hear.
"I hope your plan works out whatever it is."
Eleanor's heart shatters.
He knows. He knows she's not who she's supposed to be. He knows this is a fraud. He thinks she's some kind of con artist trying to marry her way into his fortune.
Eleanor realizes she is married to a man who despises her.
The walk back down the aisle feels like walking to her execution. James holds her arm but his grip is hard. Possessive but not affectionate. He's holding her like she might try to escape and he won't allow it.
They reach the reception area and James immediately turns to Marcus.
"I'm taking Eleanor to the penthouse," James says. "We're leaving now."
It's not a request. It's a statement. The kind of statement that a man makes when he owns something and he's moving it to a different location.
Marcus looks panicked but he nods.
Victoria reaches out to squeeze Eleanor's hand but James is already pulling her away.
"James," Eleanor tries to say, "I need to explain something."
"Not now," he says, and his voice is ice. "You can explain whatever elaborate story you've prepared once we're alone."
He walks her to a car that's waiting outside the cathedral. A driver stands by the door but James doesn't wait for him to open it. James opens it himself and practically shoves Eleanor inside.
The car is sleek and expensive and suffocating.
"Who sent you?" James asks.
"What?"
"Who sent you? Did my uncle hire you? Did the Nash family hire you? Are you working with someone to try to take my company?"
Eleanor's voice shakes. "I'm Eleanor Nash. I was switched at birth. I'm the legitimate heiress and the contract marriage was always written for me."
James laughs and it's the most terrifying sound Eleanor has ever heard.
"The legitimate heiress," he repeats. "Of course that's what you'd say. That's a brilliant cover story actually. Much better than I would have expected."
"It's the truth."
"The truth is that I've been lied to by my own family. The truth is that I've just married a woman I've never met. The truth is that you're about to tell me exactly what this scam is or I'm going to call the authorities and have you arrested for fraud."
Eleanor looks at him and sees coldness. She sees anger. She sees a man who has been betrayed by everyone he trusts and is now looking at her like she's the person responsible.
"I didn't choose this," Eleanor whispers. "I didn't ask for this marriage."
"Neither did I," James says. "But here we are. Married. And you're going to explain to me exactly what you want from me."
The car pulls away from the cathedral and Eleanor watches the only world she's ever known disappear behind her. Her parents are still at the reception. Victoria is probably crying. Marcus is probably trying to figure out how to fix this.
Eleanor is now married to a man who hates her.
And she's riding toward a penthouse that looks like it's designed for a prisoner, not a wife.