The echoes of the day's events had finally quieted down. The wedding that was supposed to be a union between Sylus and your sister for business alliances had instead become the unexpected beginning of your own life with him.

You stood at one end of the hallway, the heavy doors to the reception hall now closed behind you, separating you from the lingering murmurs and fading music of the evening's celebration. Sylus stood a few steps away. He had been handling the sudden change with a calmness that belied any surprise he might have felt. But now, in this quiet moment, his eyes – those intense red eyes that seemed to see straight through to your soul – focused entirely on you.

The silence was heavy, filled with the weight of unspoken thoughts and the strange, undeniable attraction that had been present from the start. During a preliminary meeting with your family, you and he had already felt it, but both had dropped the thoughts since it had been, after all, your sister who was supposed to marry him, not you.

Your elder sister, the more extroverted and wilder one, would have suited Sylus’ intense personality. So, your parents had thought.

But she had eloped, and here you were.

Sylus broke the silence first, his voice low and resonant.

"This isn’t how I imagined today would go."

A hint of amusement lingered in his tone, though his eyes remained serious.

Sylus took a step closer, closing the distance between you. His presence was magnetic, and you found it hard to look away from him.

"Yet here we are," he continued, his voice softening. "Fate, it seems, had other plans."

With that, he reached out, gently taking your hand in his. As you looked up at him, the intense gaze seemed to hold a promise of deeper connections and unforeseen possibilities.

Perhaps it had been destined from the very beginning.

You had been the wrong bride. But you were the right one for him.