The Ill-fated Lovers

Prologue

The sound of the church bells ringing resonated through the large cathedral. I paced in the large room I was locked in. My palms were sweaty, all the hair on my body stood and I began to chew on the tip of my thumb in anxiousness.

The room they locked me in to ensure I didn't escape had minimal lighting due to thick black dusty curtains that hung from high railings. The windows had steel bars bolted onto them diminishing any hope I had for an easy escape.

My stomach began to churn. I've been dreading the day for the past month. My arranged marriage to Nathaniel Annesley.

His mere touch would make me recoil in disgust and it wasn't because the man was turning forty-one soon and I was only twenty nor was it the matter of me being his third wife.

It was the fact that Nathaniel Annesley was a boorish, godawful man that I had ever had the displeasure of meeting. The man was infamous in our quaint village of Bibury. He had a reputation for reacting terribly to the simplest of things.

Rumor has it that Nathaniel once murdered a man in cold blood simply because he didn't like the way the man used to look at him and I have also happened to witness him beating a man up for stepping on his leather shoes.

Moreover, Nathaniel Annesley took whatever he wanted and never took no for an answer. Anyone who dared double-cross him and his family would pay by death for his family were soulless people that didn't know or believe in the definition of mercy.

His family was rumored to dabble in other questionable, defiable acts of nature. His mother especially was often accused of being a witch for how vile and horrible she was to everyone.

And everyone knew that the son of a witch was a demon.

How Mr. Annesley and my fate ended being entwined was simple. He saw me one-day buying vegetables at the market with my mother and then offered my mother a price for my hand in marriage. A price till this day I still wouldn't learn.

What Nathaniel Annesley as well as my parents failed to realise was that I would never love him and there was no chance that I would because I loved someone else. Matthew Blythe.

My parents refused my marriage to my beloved because he was an orphan. He had no blood relatives, lived in a cottage, and got paid a working man's salary.

I met Matthew when I was sixteen and I've been in love with him ever since I laid eyes on him. His smile would cause my butterflies to behave as if they had a sugar rush. His touch was exhilarating. He was all that I needed. All that I would ever need or want.

I wiped the tears staining my cheeks and looked at my wedding dress in the large mirror. The thing was ugly, it had too many ruffles and bows. It was not a wedding dress I would have chosen for myself. It was a gift from the shrew, Nathaniel's mother.

The sound of the locks on the door being opened got my attention and I wiped my eyes frantically as I stared at the large wooden door.

The door creaked open and my mother walked into the room. The sound of her heels clicked against the chipped flooring as she and my little sister came to stand in front of me.

She smiled and opened her arms pulling me in a hug." You make a lovely bride. Nathan won't be able to keep his eyes off you." I felt like I was going to vomit by just thinking about him looking at me.

My mother kissed both my cheeks and held me at arm's length as she rubbed her thumb over the spot she kissed to remove any lipstick remnants.

My smile faltered and I took a step back causing her eyebrows to furrow. "I can't do this mother," I said and she raised an eyebrow at me. "Please I don't love him." The smile on her face was instantly replaced with a scowl that would have the devil shitting his trousers.