Vows Made In Ash

Chapter Five: Vows Made in Ash

The morning after their fight, the twins were gone…

Isabelle didn't have to panic... Reign had told her hours earlier, without much emotion, that he'd taken them to a private hospital. 

One of his own with high-security, full staff, all under fake names.

"They'll be safe there," Reign stated.

"Safe…" Isabelle had repeated that word in her mind until it lost meaning.

She didn't know if she believed him. But she didn't have a better plan.

And now, it was her wedding day.

The idea made her sick…

She sat in front of a small mirror in a plain dressing room, her fingers twisted in her lap. 

Her dress was simply made of silk, off-white, almost too plain for a wedding. But she didn't seem to care…

She hadn't picked it…Someone from Reign's side had. Probably his assistant, or maybe someone who thought they were doing her a favor.

No makeup artist or flowers, and there was no music…

Just some cold light, pale skin, and a name Isabelle didn't want to say...

The ceremony wasn't public, but it was full of people that were really important. Mostly on Reign's side. 

People from the corporate world who hated her family. Who'd watched the Munro empire burn and poured the gasoline while they smiled. She knew the faces. 

They'd laughed at the headlines. They gossiped about her father's arrest. Her mother's sudden disappearance, and Isaballe's sister's death…

They stared at her like she didn't belong here. Like she was the final rotten piece of a fallen legacy.

And maybe she was...who knew?

She didn't speak to anyone about this. Reign hadn't spoken to her either. Well, not since yesterday…

He kept his distance while being polite, cold, silently evil. 

But she felt his eyes on her. Always. Like a clock ticking behind her back.

Isabelle was standing still as the doors opened.

It wasn't a church like how she'd imagined it when she was a child... Just a tall white room with too much space and not enough light. 

Everyone turned their low and strict gazes at her...

And there he was…

Reign Kraus…

He was in a black suit without any smile. 

He didn't want to wait with warmth. Reign was just standing there like he had no choice in this either.

But Isabelle wasn't stupid…

There was something suspicious in his face. Something beneath that perfectly tanned skin... 

Reign looked too calm, making her question him even more. It looked like he already knew the next ten moves and she was still stuck on step one.

Isabelle finally walked toward him slowly.

One step…Another…

It felt like walking into a trap.

When she reached Reign, he didn't take her hand.

And Isabelle also didn't offer it…

The officiant cleared his throat and began.

The words this man was saying meant nothing, and Isabelle could barely hear them.

"Do you, Isabelle Munro, take this man—"

"I do," she said quickly, like tearing off a bandage.

"Do you, Reign Kraus—"

"I do," he answered flatly like it was just business.

They signed the paper, and there was no kiss or applause. 

All Isabelle could feel and see were pens and cold stares from her enemies.

And it was done…

Husband and wife, but that was in title only with so little meaning that it actually hurt how low she fell. 

Isabelle walked off before he could speak. She needed more air, as if needing a moment to scream but couldn't yet.

She found a small room near the back, some kind of office. 

Shutting off the door and leaned against it, staring at her reflection in the glass frame on the wall.

"What the hell is happening?" she whispered.

Nothing made sense right now...

Charlotte had dated Reign. Yes. But they had broken up. Years ago. 

Their breakup was made quietly, without explanation. 

No one ever dared to talk about it. Then Charlotte disappeared from the family. She left everything…She never said why.

And now she was dead...

And now Isabelle was married to the man she left behind.

She couldn't get rid of the feeling that none of this was random.

Reign had agreed too easily as well...This marriage, how could she hear the twins communicating, how her father was jailed out of nowhere..

Reign had a lot of power. But this felt different. This was planned. Steps made long before anyone died.

She heard the door open behind her, and she immediately turned to see Reign.

'Of course.'

"You ran off," he said.

"You got what you wanted," she snapped. "Why are you still following me?"

He stepped inside and closed the door.

She backed away, heart started kicking in her chest faster and more forcefully. 

"You really think this is what I wanted?" Reign asked her, staring directly into her eyes as if he was ready to snatch her soul.

"I think you're hiding something."

Reign laughed once, sounding more bitter than he usually was. "We're both hiding things, Isabelle."

"No. You're lying. You know more than you say."

He moved closer towards her, and Isabelle didn't step back, but her fists curled at her sides.

"You want to know what I think?" Reign asked in a lowered and pretty hushed tone. "I think Charlotte never told you because she knew you'd ruin it. She knew you'd drag everything down, like your father did. Like your mother did."

Isabelle slapped him again, but Reign didn't react this time.

"You don't get to speak about them," she hissed at him like a stray - abandoned cat. "You don't get to talk about her like you cared."

"She was my fiancée," Reign raised his voice, sounding stricter. "I knew her better than you ever did."

"No," Isabelle whispered. "You knew how to lie to her. Just like you're lying to me now."

Silence was a bit awkward as Isabelle's answer was unexpected. It stayed between them like some glass that was ready to break…

Then Reign said, "You think I killed her?"

Isabelle didn't answer but just stared at him.

Reign didn't blink also, making sure Isabelle wasn't going to avoid his glaring.

"Say it," he said.

"I think you had a reason to."

Reign didn't deny it. He stepped closer again, but this time he was so close Isabelle could feel the iciness in his voice.

"Then why marry me?" he asked. "Why go through with this?"

"Because she told me to," Isabelle answered, not even believing her own words. "Because I'm going to find out what you did."

They stared at each other for longer than they were supposed to. They were lovers, and now even enemies. But it felt like they were something worse than this…

Like a strong tornado waiting to tear everything down.

They held the reception in the same cold building.

Isabelle barely touched the champagne. She didn't offer any smile, but neither did Reign.

The guests continued hushing, but no one mentioned the twins. 

No one knew about them...They had both agreed to keep them secret for now, but not for trust, but for safety and strategy.

Isabelle and Reign both wanted real answers, and to find who was behind their siblings' death. 

And maybe, they needed each other. But neither would ever admit that... Not even if it killed them…

"Death sounds less painful than this marriage…"