Chapter 1
This is a spin-off of the book published on Galatea, titled 'Accidental Brides: Draco's Bride.' This spin-off can be read as a standalone.
Meet the Draco family: three kids, ages around 5, 2, and a baby. This is to orient my readers on where we are starting. I hope I won't break any hearts with the beginning, but I promise it will end with a happily ever after.
Chapter 1.
POV: Jade
“Lily?”
I closed my eyes and pressed the phone to my ear, waiting for her voice. By now, I could usually tell her mood from the first word. We’d been friends a long time, and lately, she felt like my only friend.
“You sound like you didn’t call just to check on me.”
She was right. This was one of the few free days she had this month, which made me hesitate even more.
“I need a favor.”
She paused. “What kind of favor?”
The worst kind, for her. She found kids boring and overstimulating. That was why we spent less time together after my third child; I’d ruined her old dream of us being wild, rich, and young, traveling the world together. I’d tried to explain we could still be wild and travel when the kids were older, but that version of the future didn’t appeal to her.
I opened one eye and scrunched my face, as if she could see me.
“I need you to watch the kids for me.”
“No.”
The speed of her refusal still managed to sting, even though I’d been expecting it.
“Please. I forgot what date it was and already told the nanny she could have three days off.” My finger picked at a spot on the wall. “She and her boyfriend planned a hiking trip. I can’t ruin it.”
Lily snorted. “Maybe I had some plans for today?”
“Do you?”
“No.”
I rolled my eyes.
“The plan was to have no plans,” she added.
I bit my lip. I completely understood the appeal.
“Please?”
You couldn’t push Lily into anything she didn’t want to do. I was the opposite; I had to learn how to stand my ground, and I still hadn’t quite managed it.
Her soft spot was Helena. Lily might not be a “kid person,” but that rule didn’t apply to my children. They adored her. Even ten-month-old Helena, who was super clingy, always reached for Lily whenever she saw her. My grumpy best friend turned to mush around her.
“What important date did you forget?” Lily asked, crunching something. The sound reminded me I hadn’t eaten since noon yesterday. My stomach growled in response.
I took a deep breath, tempted to lie to avoid another lecture about my not-so-deserving husband. Lily was not Ivan’s biggest fan, and she never hid it. To make things worse, Ivan felt the same about her; the difference was that he kept it to himself.
I’d given up hoping they’d ever like each other. At best, I could pray they ignored one another so I could have some peace.
“A wedding anniversary,” I said at last.
She laughed. “Of what? The circus he called a wedding?”
I sank onto the stairs, a wave of dizziness washing over me. It had to be my blood sugar; I’d been trying to lose the weight from my last pregnancy.
“I don’t think you should celebrate it,” she added.
I tipped my head back against the wall and stared at the ceiling. Funny—she hadn’t called it a circus when that wedding had boosted her business. Back then, it was essential that I have a grand wedding and be the bride every woman wanted to look like.
’’Draco’s bride,’’ as she called me.
Now that she was no longer a small-time seamstress but a recognizable brand, my wedding was suddenly an embarrassment.
“Fine, I’ll find someone else.” I pulled the phone away slowly. Just before I could hit the red button, she let out a heavy, resigned sigh.
“Is that a yes?” I brought the phone back to my ear.
“Bring them. But don’t expect me to breastfeed your baby.”
“God forbid.” I turned to the boys on the staircase and gave them a thumbs-up. Their faces lit up; they knew Aunt Lily meant sweets and unlimited video games.
“I still think you should stop breastfeeding a baby with teeth,” Lily said.
I hitched Helena higher on my hip. “She’ll stop when she wants to. And she doesn’t even have all her teeth yet.”
Helena flashed me her half-gummy smile, and my heart melted on cue.
“They’ll only stay a couple of hours,” I said as I ushered the kids toward the door. “They’re fed and freshly changed.” I lifted Helena’s bottom to my nose and sniffed, just to be sure she hadn’t ruined my sales pitch.
“I already said yes,” Lily muttered. “You don’t have to keep campaigning.”
Lily lived only a short drive from the apartment Ivan and I still called home. He’d been pushing for a bigger house on the edge of town, but I couldn’t bring myself to trade our life for something more spacious and remote. Here, everything we needed was close. The apartment was big enough without feeling like a hotel.
By the time I pulled into Lily’s driveway, she was already outside, waiting to collect the kids.
“What are you wearing?” Her eyes swept over my oversized hoodie and baggy pants. They were trendy enough, designer even, but mostly they were comfortable and easy to manage with three kids.
“What? Why?” I asked.
“You look like a homeless woman.”
I bit my lip. Maybe to someone like Lily.
“I look like every mum in this town,” I said.
“Exactly.” She met my eyes, and I suddenly realized something else was simmering beneath her irritation. This wasn’t just about her free day or the kids. She was genuinely angry with me.
“What?” I crossed my arms. “This babysitting gig is sounding less and less appealing with every insult.”
“I bet you’d rather take your kids with you and your husband and have them in your lap during romantic times.''
She wasn’t wrong. I would. And I didn’t understand why that bothered her so much. It wasn’t as if Ivan wanted the kids gone; he adored them. The problem these last few months has been his work. A couple of big projects had gone wrong, and he was scrambling to fix the damage. He’d been working late, traveling more, trying not to bring the stress home.
My throat tightened. My lips felt dry; I ran my tongue over them.
“Where is he now?” Lily asked.
“In the office.”
“Uh-huh.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. Instead of answering, I opened the car doors so she’d understand the conversation was over. She wasn’t heartless enough to push it in front of the kids.
“Boys, go to the playground. We’ll be quick,” I told them as I unbuckled Helena. I handed Lily the baby and the oversized bag stuffed with everything she might need.
Then I slid back into the driver’s seat and started the car.
The plan was simple. Naïve, maybe, but simple.
Ivan had flown back in the early hours and gone straight to the office, like he usually did lately, so that he wouldn’t wake the kids or me. I hated it, but he insisted. The cake I’d ordered was boxed and waiting for pickup. I thought, why wait for him to wake up over there and come home when I could go to him and surprise him?
He was under pressure and keeping it away from us. Whatever was happening at work had been gnawing at his calm, steady nature.
The cake felt heavy as I picked it up, set the box on the passenger seat, and drove toward the tallest building in the center of our small Mediterranean town.
My car tag let me into the underground garage, and the security guard waved me through. It was the weekend; I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been here. Days with kids blurred together, whole months slipping by in a blink.
I took the elevator to the top floor and keyed in the code. For a second, I wondered if he’d changed it, if I’d have to call and wake him up, or go back home.
The light turned green. The lock clicked open.
I stepped inside and, for no sane reason, felt like an intruder. I shouldn’t. I was his wife.
A half-empty wine bottle sat on the table, next to two glasses. For a heartbeat, I thought maybe he’d planned something for us. Then common sense caught up.
My hand drifted to my stomach; the slight pain there was instinctive.
A black high-heeled shoe lay on the floor beside the table. Its twin rested a little farther away. My gaze snapped back to the glasses. I knew if I went closer, one of them would have a faint ring of lipstick on the rim.
My phone started ringing in my bag. I kept the volume high at home so I could hear it over the kids. I didn’t reach for it. I didn’t silence it.
I just stood there, staring down the hallway toward the bedroom, as if something were pulling me forward.
The door opened.
It was like watching a car accident in slow motion. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t.
Ivan walked out, towel-drying his hair. The scene was so familiar it was almost comforting—except it wasn’t. He had a towel slung low on his hips, droplets of water tracking down his chest. The sight knocked the air out of my lungs. My body went numb. My mouth hung open, but no sound came out.
The phone kept ringing.
“Jade.” He froze, the towel still in his hands.
Hearing my name snapped something inside me back into place.
I turned and ran.
***
The story will be available on my page for only three days, as it is already contracted with the publisher. So read it quickly :) You can find more stories for free on my Inkitt page. I started a new series, It Had to Be Me :) See you there.
Here it is, a spin for Jade and Ivan, don't yell at me for breaking your hearts from the start. I will mend them again - promise :)
All the best, Mira
