Let Me Protect You (Granite Falls #1)

Chapter 1

Harmony

An earsplitting chime shatters the illusion of my sham of a wedding, throwing my heart into overdrive. I shift my gaze over to the vanity where my phone rests. My entire body begins to tremble. The screen is still lit up.

No more messages, please.

With sweaty palms, I grab my phone and swipe the screen open.

Unknown Number

This is your last reminder. If you marry him, you and your family are dead. Don’t forget what I told you to say when you say no.

There’s no way in hell I’ll utter the words I’m “supposed” to say, even if it puts me on their shit list. But maybe doing the first half of their demand will be enough for them.

I peek out the door, looking for the bodyguard my old boss, Sully, said he’d send when I called him in a panic, but only a crowd of fans waits.

Maybe I was a little hasty in calling him.

Before I called Sully, I went to the police, but they shrugged it off because apparently a lot of famous people get death threats daily. But no one “usually acted on them.” Those were their words, not mine.

My gown tangles around my feet as I turn back around, and my heart jumps when my sister, Serenity, moves in front of me with her bright bouquet hanging at her side and her other hand holding her daughter’s.

Serenity’s watchful eyes take me in as I drop my phone back down.

I throw my mask up or else she’ll figure out something is wrong.

She opens her mouth like she wants to say something but snaps it shut. A long sigh escapes her red painted lips.

We both already know what Serenity wants to say. “Don’t go through with this wedding.” She has already told me fifteen times in the two hours we’ve been getting ready. “You don’t love him. You’ll be miserable for the rest of your life.”

“I know,” I say to her silent pleading.

“For five years in a row, you were a bride for Halloween, and two of those, you made me be your bridesmaid.” She laughs softly. “I don’t know how many ‘wedding ceremonies’ you held for your stuffed animals.”

I give her a sharp look. Being here on the reality TV show, Everlasting Love, is for her and Summer, but I can’t tell her that.

Before I can reply, a producer pops her head inside. I think her name is Clara, but at this point, they all blur together. “Are you ready to go?

I nod.

“Remember to smile.” Clara tsks. “You always frown.”

“Sorry.” The word is forced, but my entire time being here has all been fake. A show, literally.

“You look like you just took a bite out of a lemon.” She shakes her head. “Do you know how many women would kill to marry a billionaire.”

Her words are like a punch straight to my gut but not because of jealousy.

If she’s right … could the person behind the texts be a jealous woman?

Or even a jaded ex? It hasn’t occurred to me until now that I know nothing about Victor’s past relationships.

We always skated around the topic like a couple at a rink.

Clara turns away and says something I can’t hear to someone outside my dressing room. When she turns back to me, she says, “Okay, they’re ready for you. Try to ignore all the flashes. They have extra cameras for your big day!”

“Awesome,” I mutter, low enough for her not to hear.

She dashes off, and Serenity takes her place by my side.

She pulls me in for a three-person hug with my four-year-old niece in the center. Serenity places her hand on my cheek and says, “You know what’s right for you. Now let’s go give them the show of their life.”

When Serenity turns to Summer, I huff out a laugh, and a single tear breaks free, streaming down my cheek. That’s all I can allow for now. I can finally stop pretending after this one last episode. Wiping the wetness away, I take a deep breath.

Serenity finishes positioning Summer so she can go down the aisle before us.

“Mommy, I want to walk with you,” Summer says, clutching to the folds of her mother’s ruffly—almost birdlike—burgundy Maid of Honor dress.

“Once we’re at the end, we’ll be together. And don’t worry, Auntie and I will be right behind you. Can you be my brave girl?”

Summer nods, but tears streak down her cheeks. Clara cues for Summer to go down the aisle, and Serenity gives her daughter an encouraging smile before she takes her first step.

“Take a deep breath,” Serenity whispers.

A small chuckle escapes my lips. “Are you giving me tips on how to stay calm when this is your first time on TV?”

“I’ll always be your big sister.”

My chest squeezes.

Clara pops her head back inside and says, “It’s go time.”

I grab Serenity’s arm, and she leads me out of my bridal suite. An entire nation watches as I enter the mouth of the aisle and begin my march toward Victor, my prize. At least, that’s what everyone has been telling me. His piercing gaze follows me as I cling to my sister’s arm.

I wobble on red-soled heels as I place one foot in front of the other. Cameramen stand on both sides of the vine-wrapped arch, and a drone flies around, attempting to capture every angle possible.

Definitely not how I imagined my fairytale wedding going. And I always had a different guy in mind standing at the end of the aisle… Instead of blue eyes, it was dark brown, and instead of blond hair, it was almost black.

Shove those thoughts right out, girl.

My rhinestone-studded dress trails behind me, adding so much weight I’m sure my knees will buckle before I reach my groom.

Groom. That word never really clicked until now.

Some of the audience reaches out to touch me, and I resist the urge to recoil.

They think they know me because they watch me on Everlasting Love, but no one truly does.

I went through all the same movements as the other contestants during filming, but after a few real laughs and shared stories, Victor chose me.

Summer walks ten feet ahead of us with a woven flower girl basket.

Her white tulle dress makes her strawberry blonde hair pop.

She turns back to face us, tears still overflowing onto her chubby cheeks.

Her pink petals fall out as she rushes to us, jumping into her mother’s arms. Serenity balances Summer in her free arm, and we continue toward Victor.

We pass more of the crowd, and I choke on the strong perfume that wafts through my veil.

A woman with the same icy blue eyes as Victor sits in the front row.

Yes, sits. She doesn’t stand like everyone else.

Where Victor’s eyes hold kindness, hers narrow in on me.

From the few personal questions he answered, he also has a father and one sister, but the two seats beside his mother are empty—just like her soul, apparently.

Behind her, a woman in a bright pink dress and a few men in stuffy, fitted tuxes watch me with idle expressions—Victor’s board of executives. One man with graying hair eyes me like I’m a new soldier on a battlefield he has to defeat, but I look away.

A few of the audience members sniffle as my family and I stop in front of the Justice of the Peace and Victor.

My groom’s black tux hugs his body in all the right places.

His light blue tie mirrors his eyes. He’s strikingly handsome with his blond hair slicked back and a chiseled jaw.

When everyone looks at him, they see the powerful CEO of the multibillion-dollar company, Barlowe Technology.

And I’m … well, I’m just me. A girl from a small town who only just graduated from NYU a month before the show started filming, with no plan beyond this.

Serenity squeezes my hand before she and Summer take their spots on the stage. Their matching bright green eyes follow me as I step carefully up the four stairs. Serenity gives me a small smile.

My train snags on the bottom step, and I tug to free myself. I yank harder and teeter forward. Victor lunges forward and catches me right as I’m about to hit the floor. He pulls me into his arms and then against his heaving chest.

Not even a single flutter at his touch.

“Are you okay?” His voice vibrates against me.

I could never forget that every move is being watched, every word heard.

It’s been glaringly evident ever since threatening text messages started after Victor proposed on live TV.

He doesn’t know it, but his words have a different meaning to me.

Because no, I won’t be okay until my family and I are safe again.

I flutter my fake eyelashes with flaming cheeks, and I never imagined the sense of relief I’d feel for the ability to hide behind my veil. “I think so.”

Victor chuckles. Somehow even his laughter has a masculine beauty to it while I sound like a braying donkey.

“As always, Victor is the sweetest,” Anita, the hostess starts, and I pull away from my fiancé.

Anita sashays her way to the front of the stage and shoots me a sneer—nothing new there—before turning back toward the audience.

Her long, wavy brown hair sways as I stare at the back of her head.

“Welcome back to Everlasting Love! Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. Whether you’re here in person or watching us live, we appreciate all our guests. ”

Something nags at me. I can’t shake the feeling that whoever is trying to control me is here now, and I resist the urge to shrink away. I can’t show any weakness, or they’ll certainly prey on me.

But my heart beats so wildly I’m afraid the microphone will pick up the sound.

I refocus myself. There are literally millions of viewers tuning in as I inhale and turn toward Victor. Whoever thought of going live for this moment must love to torture people.

Bring on the pliers! I have plenty of nails for you to tear off.

Victor grabs both of my clammy hands and squeezes them gently. His skin is soft, so unlike Elias’s, the man I had thought I’d marry one day.

Whoa. Why does my mind keep going back to him?

That was a lifetime ago. I flicker my eyes across the crowd, and someone in the back row catches my eye.

My chest tightens as his dark gaze holds mine, and my heart dives off the deep end of the pool when he raises a single brow at me like he’s asking, “Am I not allowed to be here?”

I tear my gaze away from him and glue my eyes to Victor’s feet, where the fluorescent lights glare off his dress shoes.

How dare he show up now?