The car door shut with a soft thud, sealing Ava and Damian inside the dimly lit interior. The world outside blurred as the driver pulled away from the reception, but the silence inside the car didn't soften.
It hardened.
Ava sat stiffly on her side of the backseat, staring out the window. Her fingers twisted anxiously into the fabric of her dress, but she forced them still. Damian sat beside her, silent, composed, unreadable. His posture was rigid but elegant, one hand resting against his knee, the other loosely curled.
Not once did he look at her.
But she could feel him, feel the weight of his presence like a dark heat radiating across the small space between them. She knew he was thinking. She could almost hear his thoughts moving behind that calm façade.
Everything between them felt wrong.
They were married now. Legally and publicly, she had signed the paper without taking enough time to think about what she was getting into.
