SABRINA ULTRA

Benedict's icy glare felt like a winter storm, chilling Sabrina to her core. Her heart raced with a mix of fear and heartbreak as she faced him. He was Benedict Thompson, the only heir to the Thompson estates, a man known more for his wild ways than for his business brilliance. At a young age, he became a billionaire and led BMX Estates, a huge architectural firm. Now, he paced angrily in his family's luxurious living room, each step echoing the thick tension in the air.

"Last night, you seduced me," he spat, his voice sharp and filled with anger. "What trick did you use to make my mother force me into this marriage?"

Sabrina welled up with tears, trying to find the right words. She had never seen him like this; in pain and disbelief."I... I didn't trick you," she stammered, her voice trembling. "I've liked you since we were kids. That's all."

His harsh laugh cut through her, deepening his rage. "You think I would believe that? The wedding, everything-it's just a trap, isn't it?"

"I'm not acting, Benedict," she cried, her voice breaking. "I've loved you for so long. I could never do something like that."

He moved closer, the heat from his body mixing with the coldness of his words. "Love? Is that what this is? Pathetic."

"I'm telling you the truth. You got drunk last night, and I didn't want to cause you agony. Always, I have cared for you, though you could not see me," she pleaded.

Benedict rolled his eyes, filled with disdain. "I'll give you money for what happened. Name your price, and I'll pay you."

Each word felt like a dagger to her heart. "I don't need your money!" she cried, her voice shaking with a mix of desperation and heartbreak. Tears filled in her eyes and began running over her cheeks, as she poured out her feelings, "Why can't you believe me? Can't you see how much I care? This isn't about wealth or status for me; it's about us! I just want you to understand how deeply I love you!"

His bitter laugh echoed in the room. "Loved me? You think that means anything? I don't love you, Sabrina. I never have, and I never will."

The weight of his words hit her hard, making her feel small and helpless."Please, Benedict," she wailed, collapsing to her knees. "Tell me what I can do to make you love me ? I'll do anything."

His dark eyes looked down at her with contempt. "Even if you died, I still wouldn't love you. I wouldn't care at all. Remember that." He pulled out a bottle of wine, grabbed the cork with a forking noise, and showered it over her. The cold liquid drenched her hair and dress, mixing with her tears.

"Benedict, please-" she begged, but he stepped away, admiring his cruel act. "You are pathetic," he sneered. "I can't believe I am forced to marry someone as weak and miserable as you. desperate and dramatic." Sabrina barely got words through her tears. "I didn't ask any of this," she whispered. "I never wanted it to be this way." "Then walk away," he snapped, crossing his arms. "But you won't. This is what you've always wanted. Admit it." "No!" she cried, wiping the wine from her face. "I wanted you, Benedict. Not your money or your house. Just you." His laugh dripped with disbelief. "You're delusional. You're nothing to me, Sabrina. You'll never be anything to me." As he spoke, her final hope faded. She had sensed this moment was coming, but hearing his words felt like a brutal blow. It pierced through her heart, leaving her feeling hollow and aching with pain. "Benedict, I am sorry for making you feel this way" she whispered, her voice trembling, barely a breath escaping her lips. "Please... don't marry me out of hate. Don't make this worse."

"I have no choice," he growled, pulling her up harshly. "My mother has made that clear. But don't think for a second that this means you've won and you have succeeded! You haven't. You'll regret this!" Tears flowed freely as her world crumbled. "What have I done to deserve this?" she cried. "I just loved you."

"That's your problem," he said, pushing her away. "You loved someone who never cared for you. Now you'll pay the price."

With one last glare, Benedict stormed out, leaving her drenched and broken. Sinking to the floor, Sabrina let her sobs echo in the empty room. She had loved him her whole life, but now she understood: her love was not enough. Benedict had taken her heart and shattered it into pieces.

The next day came, though her feelings had been utterly smashed the night before, the wedding preparations continued on. Sabrina hardly recognised who peered back at her as she sat in the bride's suite: white, pale, tear-rimmed eyes, but still, a beautiful silken cloth hugged her body, soft curls framed her face.Her mother, Leila, entered and sat beside her. Her face etched with despair.

"Sabrina dear," she whispered softly, "do you really want to do this? You don't have to do this."

Sabrina shook her head. New tears formed in her eyes. "Mom, what am I suppose to do?" she whispered in a barely audible voice, her voice barely above a whisper, quivering with uncertainty. "I love him, but he.... He hates me."

The burden of her heart pressure weighed upon her chest so heavily that it became unbearable to breathe. She felt lost and scared, like standing at a crossroads with no signs guiding her.

Then her eyes questioned her mother to seek solace as well as find answers that seemed really too far and unattainable. She stood helpless in the midst of such a moment like this daughter, with a plea for some form of support against confusion and the pain that will sink within themselves.

"I just feel so broken," she added, barely above whisper in her voice.She took his hands in hers and began to massage them with her fingertips. "You want a better life than this, my love. You want someone to love you back."

Sabrina continued, speaking with her heavy voice, "I thought maybe. If I marry him, he will change. But he is angry and I do not know if I can fix it." But Leila could see the agony in Sabrina's eyes.

The pain in her heart for her daughter was overwhelming; she had to tell what she knew to her. "You cannot make someone love you," she whispered her. "No matter how much you want for someone."

She nodded; the words made her feel like carrying the weight of them on her shoulders. The fact is that, no matter what will happen, Benedict will never love her; this is something much harder to remember than the rest.Leila gently kissed her forehead. "Whatever you decide, I'll be here," she said softly. "You don't have to face this alone."

Sabrina smiled weakly, but it barely creased the centers of her face. "Thanks, Mom for being here with me all the time," she cried saying these words. "I don't know what to do without you."The final hour was coming to an end.

The door opened and Teresa Thompson stood in it, looking elegant in her gown, stern but compassionate as she came to Sabrina."I know my son can be tough," Teresa said, her voice softer than usual. "But he will do what's right."Sabrina met her gaze, her voice barely above a whisper. "What if I don't want him to marry me out of obligation?And then it's that Teresa lightly puts her hand on Sabrina's shoulder as she says, "Then you have to find the strength of will for the right decision, Sabrina, because a marriage in vain will bring nothing but more pain."

Sabrina nodded; her heart felt the burden of the coming days. She could not, no matter how much she was in love with Benedict, make him love her back. And she was scared of her inability to spend the entirety of her life with him as he was.As the last minutes of her life bled away, she decided. Her dark gown cascaded to the floor like a curtain. She walked towards the door. This wasn't exactly how she had always imagined the end of a fairytale in her head. Nonetheless, it was time to face facts: what her love cost her.

The Wedding day..

A sunbeam danced through the tall windows of the Thompson mansion, casting a warm, golden glow over the expanse of the elegantly decorated ballroom. The soft laughter, conversation, and sweet fragrance of roses and lilies combined in the gaiety of people mingling there. She stood before the mirror, and staring back at her was a figure that was beyond recognition to herself. The delicate lace of the wedding gown fitted her frame with perfection, and her hair cascaded down in soft curls, so elegantly touched with tiny pearls. Hidden under the layers of silk and lace, she could feel her heart heaved up with pain.

"Are you ready, Sabrina," declared her mother Leila, standing in the doorway, bright smile on her face, assuring a sense of warmth to her voice that snapped Sabrina back to reality forcing her to put up similarly bright smile.

"Of course, Mom," Sabrina said, her voice trembling a little. "I just-"

"You just need to remember that this is a beautiful day," Leila interjected, smoothing her hand across the nape of Sabrina's neck. "You're marrying Benedict. He's a wonderful man."

Sabrina looked down at her hands, twisting them nervously. "I know, but.it's just so sudden. We've been friends for so long,and now he hated me, mom but this."

"Sweetheart, I understand you but he needs to take responsibility what he did to you," Leila said softly. "You two will learn to love one another. It takes time."

Despite nodding, doubts plagued her mind. Sabrina had always fantasized about a love that would drive her heartbeat and paint the world in bright colors. Her childhood sweetheart and first boyfriend, Benedict Thompson, had lost touch lately-a shadow of the boy she used to share intimate secrets with. He is this ideally, stunning handsome yet arrogant billionaire, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of BMX Estates, one of the largest architectural firms in California.

As the music began, Sabrina took her breath and started to walk down the aisle, her heart pounding out beats of anticipation. She saw him, Benedict, in a tailored black suit, standing at the altar, every inch dashing yet intimidatingly aloof. An unreadable mask, a face that hid what he might have felt inside.

She held his eyes for a fleeting instant when it flared again, warmer and softer, but it had vanished when he lowered his gaze to brood over the crowd. Her belly began to knot.

The ceremony had flowed by like a watercolour left to sit in the rain. Words were spoken, vows exchanged, but Sabrina felt as though she were in a dream-one where the man she loved didn't really want her. She struggled, pretending to feel something in his praise as they were pronounced husband and wife, but all he did was nod curtly.Later, at the reception, she caught glimpses of him at a socializing circle of friends: his hand extended with a champagne glass in it; the glint of his teeth when he laughed.

He looked alive, interested, but far from her.

"Is everything alright, dear?"

Leila asked, cluing into Sabrina's dazed look."It's just... I thought we'd be happier," Sabrina whispered almost inaudibly.

"Arranged marriages aren't easy to begin with," Leila replied, attempting to sound reassuring. "But trust me, with time, you will do better. You have a good foundation. Focus on that."But as the night progressed, all hope was drained out of her. Now, the very place where she once danced blissfully had turned to be a playground for Benedict to exhibit his apathy. He danced with gusto, laughing and flirting with other girls. Every chime and twirl came to take a knife from the heart."Benedict, will you dance with me?" she finally gathered the courage to ask him when approaching him who was guffawing with some of his friends.He looked at her, and for a moment, his eyes opened wide in surprise, but then his impassivity came back over them. "No, I have no time for this," he said coldly, and turned back to the group.

Dumbstruck, Sabrina stood there for a moment before turning away to the side. She was crying. It wasn't supposed to be and what she hoped for.

Sabrina's chest tightened. " No, I have no time for this. "The words echoed in her mind, cruel and dismissing. A lump rose in her throat as she fought to keep the tears from spilling out. She had hoped tonight would be different-that maybe, just maybe, he'd remember the boy he once was, the one who'd held her hand, making her feel the most important person in the world.But that was a boy, long gone, replaced by the man standing before her now - a man who looked right through her.She took one step back, falling once again into the shadows where no one could see the cracks beginning to form in her heart. Not like this. That was not supposed to be.But her mind was screaming at her to flee, run away from the ballroom, from the life she was harnessed to with Benedict. Her heart still clung to the hope that somewhere beneath his icy exterior lay the man she had loved long ago as a child.

Locked with fury in her eyes, Teresa gripped Benedict's arm tightly with her fingernails digging deep into his skin. He was in the middle of an idle conversation with his friends, and the force of his mother's yank thrust him back into harsh reality. The smile dropped off his face, replaced by irritation.

"Turn around now and go back to Sabrina!" Teresa hissed to his face, her voice low but full of a venom that brought him up short. "This is your wedding! You're supposed to be with your wife, not out here screwing like some irresponsible idiot! Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is? How much shame you're bringing to our family?fix this Now!"

She snapped her eyes to his with a warning so sharp he felt a jolt of anger-cum-tethers him to the moment. She wasn't letting this slide past. She gave one last withering glare to ensure the point had been wholly impressed, then turned and stormed off, heels clicking impatiently on the marble floor.Benedict clenched his teeth, pinioned and suffocating under the unrelenting grasp of his mother's control. He had not asked for anything of this, certainly not the marriage. His heart was pounding with frustration as he stood there, the weight of her words a cage hanging over him.

With a heavy sigh, he shoved his hands into deep pockets and trudged back toward the grand hall where Sabrina sat waiting for him. His steps dragged, as if less of an inclination than any other to continue, each one boiling up into resentful bubbles he could hardly keep from bursting. When he entered, he saw her immediately. Sabrina was sitting alone, her shoulders hunched, tears streaming down her face as she tried to hide her sobs.It irritated him even further. Always crying, he thought with bitterness. It was as if everything in her irritated him: her softness, her vulnerability, and her constant pleading for his affection.Benedict strode toward her, his footsteps echoing in the otherwise silent room. He yanked her hand out, making her raise her eyes up to him. His grip was harsh; his touch in no way gentle.

"You're such a drama queen," he spat, his voice sprinkled with savage sarcasm. "You got my mom to stand for you! Can't even stop crying for one second?Sabrina gazed at him with her wet eyes, hurt etched on her face. But Benedict did not feel anything for that. As anger had flared into a fire in his bosom, he was bent upon letting it out.

"Actually, I hate you," he went on, as sharp as the blade of a knife with his words. "I never want to be around you. It disgusts me to the bone!Sabrina winced at what he said. Her lip was shaking, and she made a valiant effort to contain her sobs.

"B-Benedict, I-""Don't," he cut in, his eyes blazing with wrath. "Don't try to talk your way out of this. You think I didn't notice the way you played my mother? The way you play the victim all of your life?"

"I never-" Sabrina started, her voice little more than a whisper, but Benedict's rage blotted it out."You never what?" he sneered, his breath cold as he pulled in close until their faces were only inches apart.

"You never tried to snare me? Never engineered tears to make everyone pity you? Spare me. I am sick of it. Sick of you."

It was like all he said was a broken vase, and into the million pieces she fell. Sabrina had never in her wildest dreams imagined to ever be the one who could trap him. She wanted all this for nothing: only his love. And yet now the dream took life, it seemed impossible to hold onto.

"I love you, Benedict," she whispered softly, her voice laced with tears."Love?" he sneered, casting her hand away from him as if it burned him.

"That's not love, Sabrina. It's obsession. And I don't want any part of it."Her chest strained beneath her heaving breaths as his words washed over her cruelly. She tried holding back the tears that fell regardless. There was nothing she could do but to sit there, broken and devastated.

"You're pathetic," Benedict whispered, his tone ice-cold, as he looked down at her, offering her no comfort whatsoever. "And nothing in all the crying you do is going to change how I feel.

There was a freeze in his gaze as he stood over Sabrina, arms crossed in disdain. She wiped at the tears streaking down her cheeks, trying to compose herself. Her makeup was smeared and streaked; it said more than any words could that she'd been crying. He let out an irritated sigh.

"Get yourself together," Benedict snapped, his voice low but dripping with impatience. "Let my mom see you in this condition, and she'll start giving me the side-eye again. I don't need another lecture on how I'm not treating you right either."

She winced at the words but nodded soundlessly, half-supporting herself on her legs as she walked to the rest room. Her hands could shake as she reapplied some makeup in front of the mirror, but no amount of trying would help mask that burning sorrow that poured from behind her eyes.As she exited, Benedict was standing right beside the door, expressionless on his face. No word was spoken to her; he simply stood there until she composed herself enough so she could venture out into the world again. Just as she stretched her hand out towards him, the event coordinator popped out and proceeded with a bright gleam on his face to make some sort of announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome the newlyweds on to the dance floor!" echoed the coordinator in a cheerful, bantering tone of voice, without paying the slightest attention to the thick tension in the air.

Within this chorus of whispering applause, people looked toward the newlyweds. Sabrina could feel her heart racing. She hated this moment-nearly dreading to once again endure Benedict's icy touch, pretend everything is perfect, and to appear perfectly for the sake of appearances, this perfect bride.Benedict came closer to her. His jaw clenched. He caught her hand, not softly but hard enough to make Sabrina flinch. They moved through to the center of the hall. He leaned in, his warm breath on her ear, hissing out his words for her alone.

"Are you happy now?" he sneered, dripping the venom. "You have everything you wanted, didn't you?"

Sabrina's lips tremble but never utter a word. She's in a trap, like a bird trapped with a closed cage. The music played very softly as they move to the center of the dance floor. Everyone around them awaits that romantic moment to come.But there was nothing romantic in the touch of Benedict. His fingers were cold and remote as he pulled her into a slow, practiced dance. Every step was laborious, unfeeling.He leaned in again, speaking in a voice little above a whisper but cruel.

"You will never have my love. Remember that always," he spat, cutting into her like a knife.

"I'll make sure you wish you had never spent a single second on this."While Sabrina's heart bled at his words, she still had her composure to continue following the rhythm of the music. Her legs felt as though they would give way beneath her. Her hands shook so much that she grasped the arms; she knew that every eye in the room was on them.With her eyes brimming with tears she hadn't dared to weep, she lifted her head to his.

"I never wanted it this way, Benedict," she whispered tremulously.He said nothing, but his grip around her waist tightened into a very direct indication that they should continue the farce for the sake of their guests.The song continued: soft and sweet, the opposite to what they had been in each other's throats about. As the music built up, Sabrina's heart broke a little more with every step. To everyone watching them, they appeared as the perfect couple. But beneath all this, there was nothing but a breakdown of heart and hostility.With the ending of the song, Benedict quickly came out from under the disguise. He posed for the crowd with a spurious grin on his face. Sabrina, however could hardly hold the tears leaking once more back.

"Let's give a round of applause for the happy couple!" cried out the event planner, while everyone in the room gave them their accolades, not realizing the storm between them.

The minute the clapping began, Benedict let go of her hand and stepped back as if the very sight of her disgusted him. Without so much as casting a look over his shoulder, he turned and started walking away from Sabrina, leaving her standing alone in the middle of the dance floor-she had no one to respond to amidst the hundreds of people surrounding her.She stood there with the feeling of the crushing weight of the moment. She had dreamed this day for so long, imagining it would be all love and happiness. Now, in reality, it seemed like a nightmare. Every moment dragged on, suffocating her with despair, as if time itself had conspired against her. Her heart ached with the weight of lost hopes, and she wished desperately for it all to be over.