Chapter 3 The Day Everything Changed

Elsa's heart soared as she waved goodbye to her family. Her wedding day had been nothing short of magical. The ceremony had been perfect, the guests filled with joy, and her new husband, Liam Forbes, looked every bit the prince charming she had dreamed of. As she exchanged one last glance with her parents, they whispered into Liam's ear, their words soft but heavy with meaning.

"Take very good care of my precious diamond," her mother said, her eyes glistening with unspoken emotion.

Liam smiled, his grip on Elsa's hand tightening just slightly. "I will," he promised, his voice low but full of sincerity. There was something in his gaze-something intense-that made Elsa feel both safe and uncertain at the same time.

To Elsa, the wedding was the start of a new chapter in her life, one she had always imagined as a fairy tale. But to her family, this wasn't just a union of love-it was a strategic merger between two of the most powerful families in the country. The Forbes name and the Johnson legacy had just become intertwined, and Elsa, as the sole heiress to the Johnson fortune, was now at the center of it all.

She had dreamed of this moment for years, never imagining the weight of what it truly meant. But today, none of that mattered. Today, she was a bride.

She couldn't wait to leave the wedding reception behind, to step into her new life with Liam. The car was ready, the destination unknown, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to be alone in this unfamiliar world-she had Liam by her side. That was all that mattered.

As the car drove away from the grand venue, Elsa's mind wandered to their wedding night. Her heart fluttered at the thought, her excitement palpable. This was it. The beginning of everything she had hoped for.

The road stretched ahead, the world outside the window slowly fading into a blur as Elsa let herself sink into the luxury of the moment. Liam sat beside her, his hand resting comfortably on hers, a faint smile playing on his lips. She looked at him, her heart swelling with affection.

But just as she was beginning to relax, a sharp ring of her phone shattered the peaceful silence.

"Hello?" Elsa answered, her voice full of warmth, expecting to hear the voice of a close friend or maybe even a wedding guest.

But the voice on the other end was panicked, urgent. "Elsa, it's your parents' driver. There's been an accident. The car... it went off the cliff. It caught fire."

Elsa's world stopped.

Her breath caught in her throat. Her mind refused to comprehend the words. "What?" she whispered, her voice shaking as she gripped the phone tighter.

"They... they didn't survive, Elsa. Your parents-" The words became a blur as Elsa's body went stiff, the blood draining from her face. The phone slipped from her hand, falling to her lap as her mind struggled to process what had just been said.

Her gaze locked onto Liam, but he wasn't smiling anymore. He was watching her intently, his expression unreadable. The warmth in the car seemed to evaporate, replaced by a coldness she couldn't shake. This was not the day she had imagined.

Everything had just changed.

Her chest tightened, her breath shallow as she stared out of the window, barely seeing the road ahead. It was as if the universe had decided that her happiness, her fairy tale, was nothing more than a fleeting illusion. Her family-her parents, the people who had given her everything-were gone. And just like that, the future she had been so eager to embrace had turned into a nightmare.

"Elsa..." Liam's voice was softer now, filled with something she couldn't quite place. It wasn't comfort. It wasn't sympathy. It was something far more complicated.

She turned to him, her eyes filled with confusion and pain. "I... I don't understand. How can this happen? On today of all days?"

Liam's jaw clenched, his hand slowly reaching for hers, but she pulled away, instinctively recoiling from his touch. This wasn't the time for comforting gestures. Not when her world was crumbling around her.

The car continued on, the miles ticking away, but to Elsa, it felt as if everything had come to a standstill. Her body ached from the weight of the news, but her mind refused to let her cry, to let herself break down in front of him. She wasn't sure what she wanted-if she wanted his sympathy, his comfort, or just the silence.

Liam didn't say another word. He didn't need to. He understood that her heart had just shattered, and no words could ever put it back together.

But Elsa couldn't shake the feeling-the gnawing suspicion-that this was only the beginning. That the man she had married, the one who had promised to love her, might be hiding something darker behind his calm, composed exterior.

And deep down, Elsa knew that the life she thought she was stepping into was not the fairy tale she had imagined. It was something far more dangerous.

A quiet resolve settled in her chest. She had to find out the truth. She had to survive whatever was coming next.

But for now, she sat in silence, the weight of her grief pressing down on her, her eyes staring out of the window, as the car sped towards a future she wasn't sure she could face.