Don't Hate Me, Don't Love Me

On the third of March, Cecelia Frederick, the fifth daughter of her family, arrives at the Archer estate. Just three days prior, her older sister Elyse, the first wife of Draven Archer, was carried out of the very same house after her death. Now, as servants hastily tear down funeral shrouds to put up wedding decorations, Cecelia enters through the side gate. Her sister is gone, and Cecelia is stepping directly into a sudden marriage with her widowed brother-in-law amidst lingering grief and dark secrets.

Chapters

Chapter 2

The Frederick family had more than just two daughters. I was the youngest, the fifth daughter, and beside me, there was my third sister, Bianca Frederick.

But my father favored Bianca so much that he could not bear to marry her to such a man.

When my father came to me that day, he felt somewhat guilty. He held my hand under the candlelight and spoke for a long time about his helplessness and how he could not bear to part with me.

I just looked at him in confusion. Why couldn't my father admit that he was simply greedy for power and wealth? Why did he need me to believe that he truly cared for me?

We talked until late into the night. I yawned repeatedly before my father finally got straight to the point.

He said that the Archer family's wealth was immense, and no matter how much dowry the Frederick family could give me, it would never be enough. So, instead of returning Elyse's dowry, they would simply use it as mine.

See? That was what he really wanted to say.

So, I had no grand bridal procession, and no friends or family in attendance. I was secretly carried into the Archer's residence in a bright chair.

Even the maid who accompanied me could not help but sigh in pity.

But they did not know the truth. I was willing to become the second wife of Draven.

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