Savoring The Poison At Our Wedding

It took twelve years to get Gavin to say I do.

Twelve years of playing the devoted shadow to a man who ruled the citys underworld with an iron fist. But on the morning of our engagement gala, a single phone call from his childhood friend was all it took. Gavin abandoned me and a ballroom full of elite guests to chase her into the rainy night.

Twelve years of sacrifice, all rendered worthless by a girls whimpering voice on the line: "If you don't care about me, I'll just disappear."

Inside my head, the System let out a cold, metallic sigh. [Host, would you like to switch your target?]

I stood in front of the vanity, my fingers trembling as I tore the silk veil from my hair. The lace snagged on my skin, drawing a thin line of red.

[Switch him,] I whispered.

I cashed in every point I had earned over a decade to pivot to a new target: Dominic Cross, the enigmatic heir to the largest offshore criminal syndicate.

To my surprise, the progress was dizzying.

When I was cornered in a dark alley by Gavins enemies, Dominic deployed his entire security detail to pull me out. When I was hospitalized with a high fever, he stayed by my bed for three days, refusing to eat or sleep.

The day he had to fly back to London to handle family business, he pulled me into his arms, his voice thick with a promise that felt like a lifeline.

"Madeline, wait for me. When I get back, Im giving you the wedding of the century."

I leaned into his chest, closing my eyes, truly believing that my long winter was finally over.

Then, the Systems notification pierced through the fantasy like a shard of ice:

[Target: Dominic Cross. Favorability Rating: -60.]

On this scale, a stranger starts at zero. A negative number... that means loathing.

I didn't want to believe it. Using the passcode he gave me, I let myself into his penthouse and searched every corner. Deep in the back of a mahogany cabinet in his study, I found a heavy iron box.

Inside were forty-four handwritten letters.

Each one was signed by Dominic. And each one was addressed to a single name: Melanie Frost.

It was her again.

A tear hit the parchment, blurring a dried, dark-red stain. It wasn't ink. It was blood.

I traced the jagged handwriting, and all I could think about was the blood Id seen pouring from Dominics side when he took a knife for me. It was the same shade. At the time, I had pressed my hands against his wound, sobbing, while he whispered, "Id bleed a thousand times over just to keep you safe."

But that -60 rating was a serrated blade cutting through the hallucination. The life-saving heroics, the tender whispersit was all a performance.

Desperate for some other explanation, I dug to the bottom of the box. There, I found a photocopied letter in Gavins unmistakable, sharp script. I had spent twelve years memorizing his handwriting; it was etched into my marrow.

"Dominic, Madeline is stubborn. Shell hate Melanie because I left her at the gala. Shes only using you to get back at me. I know you love Melanie, but for her sake, please make Madeline fall for you while shes vulnerable. Keep her occupied so she doesn't use her familys influence to hurt Melanie."

"Melanie is fragile. Its hard for her to be with me, and Im too busy to protect her from every angle. Im counting on you to keep Madeline away from her."

Every word was earnest, stripped of Gavins usual coldness.

The alleyway ambush, the hospital vigil, the airport promiseit was all a scripted play. A grand conspiracy between two powerful men to safeguard their precious Melanie.

I put everything back, my mind a hollow shell. As I walked out of the building, I ran straight into Melanie. She was wearing a custom-made Dior dressa gift from Gavinand her smile was a venomous thing.

"Coming to bring Dominic more 'warmth'?" she asked, her voice sugary and sharp. "He flew back overseas last week. Didn't he tell you?"

I looked at her, my lips twitching into a ghost of a smile. "He only said goodbye to you, then? If hes that devoted, why didn't you go with him?"

Melanies face paled, her eyes instantly welling with tears. "Dominic and I are just old friends. Why do you have to be so cruel? My heart belongs to Gavin."

Before she could finish, a black Bentley screeched to the curb.

Gavin stepped out, his strides long and aggressive as he shielded her behind him. He looked at me, his eyes freezing over.

"Madeline, thats enough."

I watched him stand there like a knight protecting a princess, and I started to laugh until the tears came.

"One word of 'bullying' from her, and my twelve years of devotion become the joke of the town," I said, my voice cracking. "The night of the gala, when you left me to chase her, did it ever cross your mind that I was the victim?"

Gavins brow furrowed, a flicker of somethingguilt, maybepassing through his eyes, but his voice remained hard. "The past is the past. Stop clinging to it."

"You have Dominic now," he added, dismissively. "Be content with that."

Melanie peeked from behind his shoulder, her eyes shimmering. "Madeline, its all my fault. Please don't blame Gavin..."

My phone rang. An international number.

The moment I answered, Dominics voice came through the speaker, warm and honeyed.

"Madeline, Ive just landed. As soon as I settle the family affairs, Im coming back to marry you. Wait for me, okay?"

Dominic came back earlier than expected.

When he walked toward me, his eyes flickered toward Melanie for a split second before settling on my face. He smiled beautifully.

"Madeline, Ive missed you these forty days. Im here to take you home."

If not for that -60 favorability and those forty-four letters written in blood, I might have drowned in his gaze again.

The Systems electronic voice rang out, delivering a cold verdict:

[Host, the mission has failed again. In forty-five days, you will be extracted from this world. 'Madeline' will cease to exist.]

A strange sense of relief washed over me. "How do you define failure?"

[The targets love and their 'first choice' have never been you.]

Twelve years plus forty days. I had hollowed myself out only to be the punchline of two carefully choreographed scams.

Dominic took my hand, his thumb stroking my knuckles. He looked almost pained. "Madeline? You're quiet. I swear, Ill never marry anyone but you."

I caught the flash of jealousy in Melanies eyes and smiled thinly.

"Fine," I said. "In forty-five days. Lets get married."

I looked at Gavin, my voice deliberate. "Mr. Westbrook, I expect you to be there. Bring your assistant, Melanie, with you."

Gavins jaw tightened. He looked conflicted, but finally, he nodded. "Well be there."

Good, I thought. By then, youll see my body, and you can finally be at peace.

Dominics preparations for the wedding were almost frantic.

Within half a day, the ring was chosen and the date was set. He bought a penthouse in the city center with a panoramic view of the skyline.

He wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder. "Madeline, I want the whole world to know youre my only wife."

I leaned back against him, my fingertips touching the cold glass of the window. All this splendor, all this "devotion"it was just a mirage.

I resigned from my position at the research institute and stopped going out. But Melanie began visiting under the guise of "apologizing." I didn't want to see her, but Dominic always let her in. Watching him subconsciously shield her made my eyes ache.

One afternoon, Melanie held my arm, offering a beautiful box of pastries. Her eyes were red. "Madeline, I was so immature before. I made these myself as a peace offering. Please, try one."

A faint, bitter scent of sandalwood wafted from the box.

Sandalwood Toxin.

I had spent years in pharmacology; I knew this poison. At first, it showed no symptoms. Slowly, it would corrode the internal organs. When it finally took hold, the victim would cough up blood and die in agony. There was no cure.

I looked into her eyes and saw the naked calculation. I swiped the box off the table.

The porcelain shattered. Pastries and shards scattered across the floor.

Melanies eyes flashed with hatred before she dropped to her knees, sobbing. "Madeline, even if you hate me, why waste food? I know youre a high-born socialite and Im just a commoner, but I put my heart into this..."

Before she could finish, my wrist was seized in a crushing grip.

Dominics voice roared in my ear. "Madeline! Enough! Melanie went out of her way for you. Youve gone too far!"

I looked into his bloodshot eyes and felt a bone-deep exhaustion.

"Dominic, are you sure you want me to eat this?"

He frowned, his grip softening into a fake tenderness. "Madeline, just eat it. Don't be petty. Shes younger than youjust let it go. Once we move overseas, well never have to see her again."

I looked at him for a long time, then slowly nodded. I bent down, picked up a piece of cake that hadn't touched a shard, and put it in my mouth.

The cloying sweetness of the cream masked the bitter sting as it melted on my tongue.

I only had forty-five days left anyway. I might as well give them a grand finale. I wanted to see Dominics face when he realized he was the one who forced the poison down my throat.

Seeing me swallow, Dominic wiped a bit of cream from the corner of my mouth. He smiled. "Good girl."

After that, Melanie brought sweets every day. Under Dominics watchful, "encouraging" gaze, I ate every single one.

Twenty days passed. The toxin began to take hold. My skin turned a translucent, sickly white, and my lips lost their color. I started wearing heavy makeup to hide the fact that I was dying.

Fifteen days before the wedding, Gavins firm held a New Years Eve gala. I had no choice but to attend.

When Gavin saw me, his brow twitched. "Why are you so thin? You look terrible."

He seemed to regret the question immediately, turning away to leave me with nothing but his cold silhouette.

How could he know? The poison was already mapping out my veins. Every breath felt like a dull blade twisting in my chest.

Feeling faint, I found a quiet spot by the hotels ornamental lake to rest. Melanie found me almost instantly. Seeing my pale face, a look of triumph flickered in her eyes, though she maintained her mask of concern.

"Madeline, why are you all alone? Let me keep you company."

I closed my eyes, ignoring her.

She grabbed my wrist, her voice dropping to a whisper as she pointed toward the black, freezing water.

"Tell me... if we both fell in, who do you think Gavin and Dominic would dive for first?"

I opened my eyes and looked at her. My voice was eerily calm. "Theyd save you. Thats why, if I go down, Im taking you to the bottom with me."

Melanie flinched, stepping back into the old, decorative railing.

The wood groaned and snapped.

She grabbed my wrist as she fell, dragging me into the icy depths of the lake with her.

The winter water hit me like a thousand needles. In my weakened state, I didn't even have the strength to struggle. I just sank.

Through the distorted surface, I saw two figures plunge into the water. Gavin and Dominic.

A stupid, tiny part of my heart skipped a beat. A final, pathetic spark of hope.

A second later, they both swam right past me. They didn't even look. They both reached for Melanie.

Madeline, what were you waiting for?

Twelve years of devotion wasn't enough to wake me up. I guess I needed the freezing water to finally clear my head.

My consciousness faded into the black.

When I woke up, I was in a hotel suite. My assistant was the only one there, her eyes red as she wiped my face with a warm towel.

Across the room, on the sofa, Gavin and Dominic were flanking Melanie like twin gargoyles. She was wrapped in a plush blanket, sobbing into Gavins chest, the picture of a traumatized survivor.

A surge of bitter pain hit my chest, and I began to cough violently.

My assistant handed me a tissue. I pulled it away and saw a splash of warm, dark crimson. Blood.

I balled it up and shoved it into my pocket.

Gavin heard the noise and looked over, his eyes sharp with ice. He walked over and grabbed my wrist so hard I thought the bone would snap.

"Madeline, Melanie almost went into shock. And the first thing she did when she woke up was beg me not to be mad at you. How can you be so malicious? Why did you push her?"

The pain in my wrist radiated through my chest, triggering another coughing fit.

Dominic stepped over and pried Gavins fingers off my bruised skin. He started rubbing my wrist gently, but his next words were a killing blow.

"Madeline, stop the drama. Just apologize, and we can put this behind us."

The tears finally fell, hot against his hand.

They never believed me. They would always choose her.

I nodded slowly, my voice as thin as a reed. "Miss Frost... Im sorry. It was all my fault."

It was just an apology.

In fifteen days, 'Madeline' would be gone. Right and wrong wouldn't matter anymore.

The night before the wedding, Melanie brought a custom couture gown to the penthouse.

It was a stunning champagne-colored silk, encrusted with micro-diamonds. As I ran my fingers over the embroidery, I smelled itthat familiar, bitter scent of sandalwood.

The toxin had been infused into the very fabric.

I tried it on calmly. Melanie watched me in the mirror, her eyes burning with a jealousy she could barely hide. She handed me one last box of pastries, her smile sweet.

"Youre getting married tomorrow. This is the last thing I made for you. I hope you and Dominic are happy forever."

I looked at the pastries and laughed. I took the largest one and swallowed it whole.

The bitterness exploded in my throat. A sharp, agonizing cramp seized my stomach. I gripped the silk of the dress, forcing the metallic taste of blood back down.

Melanie watched me finish, then leaned in, her voice a poisonous hiss in my ear.

"You can't win, Madeline. Gavin is mine. Dominic is mine. You should have died a long time ago."

I closed my eyes as she walked away.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow it all ends.

The day of the wedding was a spectacle. Dominic had rented out the entire top floor of the Grand Hyatt. Red silk draped the crystal chandeliers, and thousands of roses lined the aisle. A hundred-carat diamond crown sat on my head.

The city was buzzing. They said the disgraced socialite had finally found her happy ending.

Only I knew this wasn't a wedding. It was a funeral.

I walked down the aisle in my poisoned dress. The heavy makeup covered my ghostly skin, leaving only my eyes, flat and vacant.

Dominic stood at the end of the carpet, his voice projecting through the speakers.

"Madeline, you look breathtaking. After this, were leaving for Europe. Just us."

I nodded slowly, stepping onto the carpet of crushed roses.

The guests stood on either side. Gavin was there, dressed in a sharp tuxedo, his gaze fixed on me with an unreadable expression. As I passed him, his lips moved.

"Madeline... don't..."

A celebratory cannon went off, the roar drowning out his voice. I didn't hear him, and I didn't care to.

Melanie stood next to him in a soft pink dress, smiling at me like I was a clown in a circus.

I reached Dominic. In my mind, I whispered to the System:

[Extract me when we exchange rings.]

[Understood, Host.]

The officiants voice boomed: "Do you, Dominic Cross, take this woman"

I reached out to take the ring from Dominics hand.

At that moment, the toxin in the dress and the toxin in my blood met. A sensation like ten thousand needles piercing my heart surged through me.

The blood I had been holding back erupted.

I didn't take the ring. I just looked at Dominic.

The cheers and applause felt miles away. All I could hear was my own heart, slowing... stopping. My life was a candle flickering in a gale.

Dominics smile froze. He reached out to steady me. "Madeline? Take the ring."

Gavin stepped forward, his face pale. "Madeline, stop playing games. It's your wedding."

Melanies smile widened, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

I looked at the three of them one last time. I looked at Dominic and forced a bloody, jagged smile.

The next second, a torrent of crimson sprayed from my mouth, splashing across the white silk of the dress like a dying rose.

Blood poured from my nose and mouth, staining the diamond crown.

My strength evaporated. I collapsed onto the red carpet. The crown tumbled away, diamonds scattering like glass shards. My hair spilled out, mingling with the roses and the gore.

Every bone felt crushed. Every breath was a scream.

The last thing I saw was Dominics face turning a horrific, ghostly white.

His smile didn't just fade; it shattered. He lunged for me, his voice finally sounding real for the first time.

"Madeline! Whats happening?! Get a doctor! NOW!"

Gavins face transformed into a mask of pure terror. He shoved Melanie aside and threw himself onto the carpet next to me. His hands shook as he reached for my face.

"Madeline... why are you bleeding? What did you do?"

I turned my head away from his touch. With the last fragment of my soul, I whispered into the silence of the room.

"Gavin... Ill never... bother you again..."

"Dominic... you don't have to write... those letters anymore..."

"Melanie... the sweets... were delicious. You won. Im finally... gone."