There Is No Paradise Where I Ran Away To (14 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 125

In the end, she had come full circle. No—things were even worse than before; if they’d merely returned to square one, that would’ve been a blessing.

The hastily arranged wedding venue was making a valiant effort to appear respectable. The modest garden, draped in white flowers and pristine fabric, tried to herald the hopeful new beginning of bride and groom—but it was a futile attempt destined to vanish like froth on water.

She never imagined she’d be swept up and made someone’s wife against her will. If she’d foreseen this future, she would’ve chosen from the start to become Mayer’s consort instead.

Sophie cast a sympathetic glance at Vivian, who arrived looking utterly haggard, and gently supported her as she staggered toward the room. Sophie pleaded with Vivian, her voice trembling with tears.

“His Grace will make you—no, my lady—happier than anyone else possibly could. I believe that without a single doubt.”

Vivian, too exhausted even to laugh, merely stared blankly at her reflection buried beneath the blindingly white dress.

Her unwashed, grimy face and disheveled hair stood in stark contrast to the pure white veil. The sight made her appear half-mad, and she let out a hollow, broken laugh.

She had to figure out Edwin’s true motive behind forcing this marriage—the urgent need to hold a ceremony and bind her legally as his wife.

Could the Duke possibly know about the letter she’d sent to Mayer?

If so, his unusually hasty behavior suddenly made sense. Should she become the Duke’s wife, Mayer could never take Vivian Ebelline as his consort—not even if she herself wished it.

She was now a noblewoman of Newway, indeed, the Duchess herself. Taking another nation’s duchess as a consort would ignite an international scandal, so Mayer had no reason to court such unnecessary risk.

Was Edwin truly counting on this? But how could he possibly know?

Her mind grew tangled, her heart more anxious by the moment. Oblivious to Vivian’s turmoil, Sophie focused solely on comforting her, pointing out the beautiful bride reflected in the mirror and even handing her a softly tinted bouquet. Clapping her hands, Sophie added with exaggerated delight that if an angel of unparalleled radiance existed in this world, surely it had just descended right here.

But all Vivian saw in the mirror was a helpless woman trapped within a white prison.

Vivian had staked everything on Theo. Before the wedding could proceed, she had hoped he’d deliver her letter to Mayer and that she and her parents would gain safety under King Preston’s protection.

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