The Billionaire's Stand-in Bride.

"Tell me I look better than every other bride you have seen." Katherine spins around, showing off the elegant wedding dress she is wearing.

I smile softly, my lips moving before the rest of my face can catch up. "You do."

She stops, her eyes burning into mine through the ceiling-to-floor mirror. "Say it properly." It doesn't sound like a request; it's a command.

"You are the most beautiful bride," I say, forcing a smile that doesn't reach my eyes.

"You don't sound sure." She raises her hands in a sharp gesture, telling the stylist to stop whatever adjustment she was making on her dress. She tilts her head, wanting to get a proper glance at me.

"I am sure, Katherine." I bite the inside of my cheeks.

My sister makes a beautiful bride. My concern is that she shouldn't be a bride to the man she is getting married to.

"Then why do you look like you are about to attend a funeral?" She folds her arms tightly, turning to face me fully.

A wedding that isn't bound by love is what? I sigh, not wanting to say that out loud to her.

The stylist coughs slightly, and our eyes dart to her. "I'm sorry," she whispers before going back to what she was doing.

Silence.

"Katherine..." I start, lowering my voice, not sure of how this will sound to her. "Don't you think this is too... fast?" I shift my eyes from hers to the floor. "I think he's too old."

"I've been expecting you to say this all day," she snaps, irritation colouring her voice.

"I'm...I'm just worried." I don't have the courage to raise my face up to hers, so I keep it buried there. Something about this whole arrangement just gives me the creeps.

"No, you are not. You are judging."

"What?" I snap my head up in shock. My brows furrow. "I'm not, Kate."

"I don't care. All I'd like from you today is not to ruin things," She pauses significantly. "like you always do."

"All I'm just saying is maybe you should take your time, you know? Think about this." I plead, trying to sound more convincing.

"And you think this is the right time to give me this advice?"

It's never too late to save your sister, is it? "I'm just looking out for you."

"By questioning me on my wedding day?" she narrows her eyes, her posture stiffening.

"I'm not questioning, I'm just-"

"You just can't stand that I am doing something you wouldn't?" She raises an eyebrow, giving me a glassy stare.

Of course, I would never. It's all shades of wrong. Marrying your father's business partner? A man old enough to give birth to you? How can my sister be this...

"I'm just looking out for you," I mutter, defeated.

"Then act like it."

She turns back to the stylist, who continues to adjust the beaded part of the wedding dress. I stand there thinking of what to say to elevate the mood, but nothing that I think of comes out right.

This is Katherine's dream. She has always wanted him.

Roman Kade.

Of all the men to want in this city.

Which is why I should be happy for her, right? She is basically getting what she wants. But three days ago, she didn't even know she would be here. Our father arranged this, and something about it just makes my stomach drop.

"Smile, Daisy. It's the happiest day of my life, whether you like it or not. This wedding will hold, and you will watch me marry him."

Even if I hate to admit it, she is right.

Soon, the stylist finishes, and she starts packing to leave when Katherine calls me to come forward. She is sitting in front of the mirror now with teary eyes.

"What's wrong, Katherine?" I rush to her side. "Those tears can't drop. You'll ruin your makeup."

She closes her eyes and sniffs. "I know. I won't ruin my big day with the tears."

"So, what's wrong?" I search her expression. I've never seen Kate this way before.

"I'm just happy, Daddy made this happen."

Oh- I look at the stylist, and she averts her gaze quickly from us. She hasn't said a word, and truly. I am surprised. All other stylists Kate has are talkative.

She zips her bag ready to leave, but I signal for her to stay. I don't want to be left alone in the room with Katherine.

"Daisy?" Katherine begins. "I want you to stand by my side all through today."

I nod. Not knowing what to say.

"Can you help me with my veil? At least that way I know you are happy for me."

I nod my head again and tell the stylist to pass the veil. She hands it over to me, and I carefully place it on her head before forcing a smile at her.

Katherine gushes in excitement at the sight of us in the mirror-the sight of herself. I mean.

I adjust it properly on her head, and her smile doesn't cease when the door flies open.

We both turn our heads to figure out who would barge into the room that way. It is none other than our father.

Finn Wilson. The man who set all of this up. He has always told us that he would be the one to prepare our grooms, and I fear that I am next in line. Well, except I find a suitor with great influence, someone like Roman Kade or bigger.

"Out!" he commands the stylist, and soon she scurries out of the room.

"Is everything okay, Dad?" Katherine stands up and moves to him. He clenches his jaw as he pulls her into a hug.

I rub my arm nervously, hoping that one day, I'll get all the fatherly love Katherine gets.

For now, I have to earn it, and I'll do anything and everything to get it.

He releases her from the hug and pulls away from her. He looks at me and then back at Kate like he is about to say something.

"I'm ready, let's get the wedding started," Katherine beams, wanting to elevate the mood.

"Katherine, Hand over your wedding dress to Daisy."

The words land like a bomb, and before I can process it and speak, Katherine is already ahead of me.

"What?"

I let out an amused smile, "What do you mean?"

He doesn't smile back.

That sobers me immediately.

Katherine laughs loudly, but the sound is empty. "It's my wedding, Dad, why should I hand my wedding dress to her?" Katherine demands, her mirth morphing into a blank stare.

The room falls silent. Too quiet a knife can cut the tension in the air.

My thoughts are travelling to different places at the same time? What business do I have with taking Kate's dress? Why would he come at this hour of the day and demand this?

"Daisy will be walking down that aisle. Not you."

That was all it took.

"This is a joke, right?" Katherine moves closer to our father. This time, she is fuming. Her breath rises and falls carefully, like she is trying to conceal it, but her fitted wedding dress isn't doing much to help. It gives her away.

She laughs again. Empty again. Then she looks at me. "Okay...okay." Then back to our father. "You want Daisy to marry Roman now? Is that what this is about?" She looks at him.

He looks at her back. He doesn't look at her sadly or with pity. He looks just like whatever this is, is final.

"What has this got to do with me?" I summon the courage to speak. My voice comes out shaky but I don't mind. I can agree to a lot of things but never this. "I will not be doing anything that involves marrying Mr Kade." I affirm, trying to sound stern.

Our father must be insane. No other word for it.

Our father has this thing where whatever he says comes out controlled, no matter the mood he is in. He delivers his words calmly and cruelly. No better way to explain it.

Not ready to continue with whatever this conversation is, I walk towards the door to take my leave.

No one stops me, but as my hands touch the knob, I hear my father's voice.

"Step out of this room and you will never earn my forgiveness."

I halt.

Then I turn back. He hasn't moved from where he is.

"Father, I can't marry Roman. He belongs to Kate." I plead to his back.

"Not anymore."

"You have to be joking, Dad, I'd rather die than watch her marry him instead of me." Katherine adds.

"This was your plan, right?" She faces me this time.

"What plan?" I ask, confused.

"To steal him away from me."

A laugh escapes me, despite the situation, but it is empty.

"I don't want the old man, Kate. He is yours. You can have him."

"Yet you kept finding ways to convince me not to go on with the wedding earlier? You wanted to try your luck, and when you didn't succeed, father comes in to say this?"

"It had nothing to do with this, Katherine," I scream at her. The tears begin to form in my eyes.

"Enough!" He finally speaks again, and both of us look at him.

"Dad, please... I don't want to do this." I drop to my knees and grab his leg, pleading through my sobs.

I look at Katherine, and I see a tear fall from her face.

He jerks my hands free from his legs. "This is the only way you will earn my forgiveness."

"I'll do anything else... not this. I don't love him, I don't want him. Katherine does. Please let her go ahead with the wedding."

The tears fall uncontrollably from my face. I know it is already decided. He doesn't leave room for negotiation.

"You don't have a choice. You will walk down that aisle whether you are pleased with it or not."

"Dad," Katherine whispers. "Are you really going to do this to me?" Her eyes search his. "Are you really going to allow her to ruin my wedding?"

He doesn't answer, instead he says. "You have 20 minutes," and with that, he turns to the door, walking past me.

"Dad?" Katherine calls again, and he stops. He clenches his fist.

He doesn't turn to look at her, like he is avoiding seeing the pain in her eyes.

He loves Katherine like his life depends on it, and so why he is going this extreme to hurt her is what sends shock through my whole body.

I hate my whole existence. It just feels like since I came to this life, I came bearing pain for my family.

He doesn't answer her; instead, he reaches for the doorknob and goes out.

I stand there, not knowing what to say to fix it.

Time passes, and I watch her drown and ruin her makeup in tears. It sends a deep wave of hurt through my heart, and somehow I know I have to make it up to her.

"Katherine-"

"Save it." She shuns me before I can continue. "You want father's forgiveness, don't you?"

She asks like she wants me to say no-no that I wouldn't step into that dress to earn forgiveness from him.

I hate that I can't answer it. "He didn't leave me with any choice, Kate." My chest tightens as the words fall.

"I don't want to do this, Kate."

"Then run," she says. "Run away from all of this if you truly don't want to."

"I have nowhere to go," I mumble.

I wish I could run. I want to run, but I have nowhere-no one to run to.

"Go to Fred. Run to him," she suggests.

Fred.

I can't. He does so much for me already, and running to him feels like I'm carrying all my burdens to him again.

I don't answer her.

"It's fine." She says. "I know the answer already. Come help me with my dress."

I look at her, unsure of what has just happened. She sounds calm now, controlled in fact.

"Are you really doing this?" I ask.

"Don't you want your father's forgiveness?" she retorts. "I said it's fine. We can settle it after the wedding."

I search her eyes looking for answers, but I get nothing.

"I'm sorry Kate," I tell her as I step forward to unzip her dress. The guilt of what I am about to do is gnawing on my conscience.

I pause halfway.

She turns to look at me. "I want you to do it. I want you to earn his forgiveness. C'mon."

"Why? Why now?" I ask, my heart racing.

"I know you need his forgiveness. I can get Roman back."

She is right. He belongs to her. All I have to do is walk down that aisle, and then after the wedding, she will get him back. I will find a way. I will make it possible.

I pull her into a hug, and she smiles at me. She hugs me a little too tightly, and I force myself to breathe through the hug.

"Kate." I try to say through the suffocating hug.

She releases me, turns, and I pull the zipper down finally. She slips out of it aggressively, like she is trying to tear it out of her body.

I enter the dress, and she moves close to me. She uses her palm to wipe the remains of the tears from my eyes. I can't stop the tears from falling, but I smile at her through it, and she smiles back.

"Go without me." She says.

I turn to walk out the door, and as I open the door, Kate's voice stops me. The thoughts of what I am about to do are heavy on my chest.

"Wait."

I turn back to look at her, my hand still on the knob, shaking slightly.

"Don't forget why you are doing this."

As I stand at the door to the hall, I wonder about the look on his face when he finally lifts up my sister's veil from my face and figures out that his bride has been changed.

Two questions echo in my mind repeatedly: Why did he switch us at the last minute? And why is Kate suddenly understanding about this whole plan?

It feels like both of them had planned this. Planned to show me how much my presence in their life is hurting. Or am I overthinking? Katherine has been trying to get close to me lately to put all the hurt behind us, but she loves Roman; she wouldn't stop speaking about him even before our father announced their union. Even after that dinner, she had with him.

Every time I tell myself that I need to get it together, I can't help it. The tears just come pouring down.

My hands shake as the two big doors open slightly. I can't stop thinking about how embarrassed I will feel when he finally sees that it is me and not her.

My father stands in front, his arms akimbo, waiting for me. I can't help but shiver as our bodies make contact-it's the first time for as long as I can remember. The way he holds his breath makes it feel like he has just made contact with a disgusting being.

"It's about time you wipe those ugly tears." I flinch as his words land. "Your muffles are irritating to my ears. Also, smile and stop shivering." He says, his voice sounding more like a warning.

The veil over my eyes blurs my vision, but I can still see that the hall is filled with guests, everyone grinning ear to ear. The sound of the orchestra sounds to me more like a funeral song than a real wedding.

"We are gathered here for the union of these two. Roman Kade, do you take Daisy Wilson to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest asks.

I expect silence. I expect disagreement. I expect, "I should be married to Katherine, not Daisy."

Instead I get a yes. A fucking yes.

I yank my veil off my face to look at him properly.

"Did you choose me to be your bride?" The words fall from my mouth, not caring where we were and who was looking.

"Keep your voice down. You ruin this. You and your family pay," He doesn't look at me; he keeps his gaze forward

Of course, the great Roman Kade. CEO multi-billionaire wouldn't want the media to drop this.

"You value reputation but not humans? I am a human, not a commodity that you can just want and have."

"Daisy!" My father interjects, his voice bold and commanding. My next words get lost in my mouth.

He and Roman exchange looks. "If you don't cooperate and act accordingly, there will be a penalty." My father looks at me as he delivers the words. He smiles, and I feel the blood drain from my body.

"She is yours now." He turns back to Roman.

The priest continues. "Do you, Daisy Wilson, take Roman Kade to be your lawful wedded husband?"

I pause.

Minutes pass and I can't bring myself to say those three words.

"I don't want him," I whisper, my throat coarse as I gulp down the lump in my throat just clear enough for him to hear.

"Finish it!" He growls through a forced smile.

"Ye...yes." The words burn my throat as the tears finally pour down my face again.

Just one normal day is all I have ever asked for.

Maybe Father was right. If I had died instead of her, I wouldn't have been in so much pain.

As soon as the vows were done, I feel his arms grab mine. "Let's go."

"Go where?" I yank my hands off his.

"To your new home." He says flatly.

"That home belongs to Katherine, not me. I won't be going anywhere. You wanted a wedding with me; I obeyed." He look him dead in the eyes, wondering where this courage is coming from. "Forcing me into your house? That I will not do."

"Daisy! You are married to him now. He owns you as much as I do. You will obey him just like you obey me, is that clear?"

Another controlling man in my life? Never.

"The only person I owe is you, not him. He is the one married to me; I am not married to him."

My father walks close to me, and before I can process everything, his hand connects with my face.

"If you lay your hands on her again, this-" Roman makes a sharp gesture with his hand."-all of it is over.

Instead, my father backs off. "You have her to yourself now." And he leaves, no words, no fight.

What has this man got on my father? My father would never back off so easily.

I look up and watch my father walk out of the hall; all the paparazzi that were here at the beginning are nowhere to be found anymore.

He carries me up in bridal style against my will and heads to the door. He squints his face in pain, and soon a man, maybe his PA, carries me from him.

He drops me off in the car, and I watch Roman from the mirror. He clutches his hands to his chest and closes his eyes tightly as he tries to steady himself..

Great. My husband isn't even healthy.

He enters the car, and we drive home quietly. The only sounds in the car are his heavy sighs. His hands still on the left side of his chest, and me crying about how ridiculous my life is.

The car stops, and the man who carried me earlier comes out. Soon, he returns and hands Roman something to take. A few minutes later, his sighs stop.

What did he take? Was this man some kind of drug addict? I push the thoughts away, not wanting to care.

As soon as we get to his house, a large mansion welcomes me. This house looks like 3 of our houses together, and a signboard that says Kade's estate.

I look around, marvelling at the sight. I didn't get much time to admire this whole building because we are inside, and it's even more breathtaking here than it looks outside.

"Follow me." I drag my eyes from taking in the view to his, but his back is already facing me.

I try to walk faster, but the dress restricts me. He opens the door, and I am welcomed into the room.

"The closet is to the left. Take off that dress." I look at him, confused.

The memory of how my father instructed Kate to take off the dress is now similar to how he says it too.

"Is someone else wearing this dress again?" I ask, and he furrows his brows in confusion.

"If you don't take it off, I will tear it apart and take you in it instead."

My eyes go wide as the realisation of what he just said hits me, "What? Are you...you want to..." I look at myself and then at him. The words refusing to fall from my mouth.

"I'm going into the bathroom now, before I get back, I want you out of that dress and on the bed, waiting for me." He doesn't even look back as he walks away.

He turns and walks in a direction which I assume is the bathroom.

Have I said I'm fucked today?

Because I am about to be fucked.