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I thought I was marrying for love. Turns out, I was marrying my downfall. On our wedding night, Zayden Knight looked me in the eye... and told me the truth: "I never loved you. I married you to ruin you." He blames me for a tragedy I didn't cause. Every kiss is a punishment. Every touch is a trap. And now, I'm his perfect target - wearing white, sleeping in his bed, and chained to vows that were never real. But hate is a dangerous game. Because the longer he plays with me... the more his lies start to look like love.

Chapter 1 The Wedding That Wasn't Mine

Seraphina Blake sat still beneath the weight of silk, diamonds, and suffocating silence. The grand ballroom echoed with the distant hum of chatter, champagne flutes clinking, and music far too elegant for what this moment truly was.

A wedding.

Her wedding.

But nothing about it belonged to her - not the dress, not the groom, and certainly not the vows she'd just spoken.

Zayden Knight stood beside her, tall, cold, and unreadable in his custom Armani suit. He hadn't so much as glanced at her since they said "I do." His eyes were fixed forward, jaw clenched like he was holding back a storm - or worse, something darker.

Seraphina's heart thudded painfully in her chest.

Was it fear? Nerves? Or simply the weight of realizing she might've just made the biggest mistake of her life?

The ceremony had been beautiful. Lavish. Public.

A spectacle fit for two powerful families binding themselves through tradition, wealth, and whispers of old deals. She had been raised for this - polished, poised, and trained to smile through anything.

But nothing could have prepared her for the cold tension radiating from the man who was now her husband.

As the ballroom crowd faded into applause and photographers snapped the perfect illusion of a happy couple, Zayden finally turned to her.

"Smile," he whispered through gritted teeth. "You're my wife now. Let's not ruin the photo."

His voice sent a chill down her spine. She turned, lifting the corners of her lips as ordered, but inside, her thoughts were spinning.

Why did he sound so angry?

Why hadn't he touched her once since the ceremony?

And why did she feel like she'd been handed over... not to a partner, but to a predator?

Hours later, the bridal suite was quiet. Too quiet.

Seraphina stood in front of the tall mirror, stripped of her jewelry, her veil abandoned on the floor like something dead. The door opened behind her, slow and deliberate.

Zayden.

He didn't look like a groom on his wedding night.

He looked like a man walking into a confrontation.

"Why?" she asked softly, not turning to face him. "Why did you agree to this marriage if you didn't want it?"

There was silence.

Then came the words that cracked the fantasy wide open.

"I didn't marry you for love," Zayden said, his voice low and merciless. "I married you to destroy you."

Seraphina's breath caught.

She turned, heart pounding, confusion flooding her chest.

"What-what are you talking about?"

Zayden stepped closer, not with affection, but with cold calculation.

"You're a Blake," he said. "And Blakes always pay their debts."

His words echoed through her skull like a curse. She stared at him, frozen in place, the layers of her dress suddenly suffocating.

"What does that even mean?" she managed, though her voice wavered.

Zayden walked to the window, pulling back the curtain just enough to peek out. The moonlight slashed across his sharp features. He didn't look at her when he spoke again.

"You're not here because I wanted a wife, Seraphina," he said. "You're here because your father ruined everything my family built. Because your last name drips in legacy stolen from mine."

Her mouth parted, but nothing came out.

She had expected distance, maybe even resentment. But not... this. Not an open declaration of war behind closed doors.

"My father-he made a deal with yours," she said, her voice gaining strength. "This marriage was supposed to settle things. Heal things."

Zayden finally turned, a dry, humorless smile on his face.

"Heal things?" he repeated. "Darling, this marriage is the wound. And you're the blade."

The words hit her harder than any slap. She stumbled a step back, her heel catching on the hem of her gown.

"I don't understand," she whispered.

Zayden stepped toward her now, slow, deliberate, like a hunter closing in on prey. "You will. In time. But here's what you need to know now-" He reached out, brushing her hair off her shoulder with a gentleness that didn't match his tone. "You may carry my name, sleep in my bed, and wear my ring... but don't ever confuse that for love."

Her heart slammed against her ribs.

"I didn't ask for love," she snapped, surprising them both.

Zayden's hand dropped.

"No," he said coolly. "You didn't. But you're going to learn what happens when a Blake steps into my world thinking she's untouchable."

The door slammed behind him seconds later.

Seraphina stood in the silence, her skin prickling, heart racing.

This was supposed to be a new beginning.

Instead, it was a slow-burning war.

And she was already drowning in it.

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Chapters
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Cold Vows
1

Chapter 1 The Wedding That Wasn't Mine

11/07/2025

2

Chapter 2 The Morning After

11/07/2025

3

Chapter 3 The Debt That Made Her Mine

11/07/2025

4

Chapter 4 Red Means War

11/07/2025

5

Chapter 5 The Gala Showdown

11/07/2025

6

Chapter 6 Silent Walls

11/07/2025

7

Chapter 7 The Broken Heirloom

11/07/2025

8

Chapter 8 A Game of Appearance

11/07/2025

9

Chapter 9 Triggers and Temptation

11/07/2025

10

Chapter 10 Shadows Of The Past

11/07/2025

11

Chapter 11 House Of Knives

11/07/2025

12

Chapter 12 Poison in the Garden

11/07/2025

13

Chapter 13 The Lock Beneath the Rosewood

11/07/2025

14

Chapter 14 The First Widow

11/07/2025

15

Chapter 15 Things That Shouldn't Breathe

11/07/2025

16

Chapter 16 Whispers Behind The Walls

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17

Chapter 17 The Voice Beneath the Floor

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18

Chapter 18 What Mara Buried

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19

Chapter 19 The room that shouldn't Exist

11/07/2025

20

Chapter 20 The Night of Ashes

11/07/2025

21

Chapter 21 Her Name in the Walls

14/07/2025

22

Chapter 22 A Name in the Records

14/07/2025

23

Chapter 23 A Crimson Message

05/08/2025

24

Chapter 24 The Red Threads of Secrets

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25

Chapter 25 Shadows At The Gala

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26

Chapter 26 The Woman Behind the Mask

05/08/2025

27

Chapter 27 Where Secrets Sleep

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28

Chapter 28 Shattered Bloodlines

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29

Chapter 29 Beneath Her Silence

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30

Chapter 30 The Room That Shouldn't Exist

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31

Chapter 31 The Unspoken Goodbye

05/08/2025

32

Chapter 32 Shadows in the Capel

05/08/2025

33

Chapter 33 Tangled in Truth

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34

Chapter 34 A Heart Caught Between

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35

Chapter 35 The Calm Before the Ruin

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36

Chapter 36 Beneath the Surface

05/08/2025

37

Chapter 37 The Locked Truth

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38

Chapter 38 Where the Shadows Dwell

05/08/2025

39

Chapter 39 The Whispered Name

05/08/2025

40

Chapter 40 Shattered Portraits

05/08/2025