I ONLY ANSWER TO YOU

It was supposed to be her day. Every eye in the church would be on her, and she had never felt so exposed.

Lorelei Davis was in her twenties and certain the world had more to offer her than this. Her father disagreed. He said she needed someone who would stand beside her through everything, and maybe he even believed it but she knew what sat underneath his words.

The Millers had it all: money, name, reach. An alliance with them would lift Clinton Davis to a height where it was almost as if nothing could touch him. She was the bridge he meant to cross.

Benjamin Miller wasn’t a bad man. He was five years older, sharp, good looking, and funny enough to pull a laugh out of her on her worst days. They had known each other since childhood, and everyone had always said they were made for each other. She loved him, but the way you love a brother.

What she wanted was harder to name. She wanted a lot of things, but mostly she wanted passion, sadly, Benjamin wasn’t what she wanted.

Someone knocked, and the door opened. It was her mother. Rita came in glowing. She had dreamed of this day for years, and here it was. Then she saw her daughter’s face, and the glow dimmed. She asked the stylists to give them a moment.

“I know I shouldn’t be sad,” Lorelei said as she sat on the bed. “It’s my wedding day. But I don’t feel happy, Mom.”

Rita sat beside her and rested her head against her daughter’s shoulder. “You’re allowed to feel that way, because you think you haven’t found love yet. But your father always says you’re our princess, and we only want the best for you. Benjamin is the best.”

“But I don’t love him.”

Rita stroked her hair and shushed her softly. What did she know about love at her age? Give it time, she said, and love would come.

Lorelei stood and went to the mirror. She looked at the woman in white for a long moment, then turned back. “My whole life, I’ve lived the way you and Dad wanted. No mistakes. Dad never left room for one.” She drew a slow breath. “I’ve never had my heart broken. I’ve never picked the wrong guy, or been jealous, or done anything reckless for someone. I’ve always had to be good. I do love Benjamin, but I don’t think I’ll ever love him the way I should. And that makes me sad, because I know he cares about me. He wants this.”

Rita understood her. But she wasn’t the one whose blessing mattered. Clinton was, and she already knew his answer. So she let her love for her daughter stay quiet, as it always did.

“I should let them finish getting you ready,” she said. “We can’t be late to your own wedding.” She kissed Lorelei’s forehead and left.

Lorelei sighed. Her mother had never once stood up to her father.

* * * * *

The car was silent. No one wanted to be the first to speak, until Benjamin broke the silence.

He had felt her pulling away ever since the wedding was announced last week. He had wanted to reach out, but there had been no chance, and he knew her too well to pretend he hadn’t noticed. He did want to marry her but seeing her this way made him feel sick, so he spoke, hoping it might soften the air between them.

“Do you remember when we were seven? We promised that if we never found love, we’d marry each other.”

She turned to look at him. She knew what he was doing, and she hated that he had to see her like this.

“That was meant for when we were old,” he said. “But the more time I spent with you, the more I realized you were what I’d been looking for all along. I was just too scared to say it. Now we’re here because our parents decided it for us, but I wanted it for myself. So I went along.”

His voice shook. It never shook around her. A man who spoke like that couldn’t be doubted, and she couldn’t doubt him. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe she knew nothing about love, and maybe, with time, she would learn to love him.

“I really do want to be with you, Lorelei. But seeing you like this makes me think I’ll never be that person for you.”

She opened her mouth to answer, and then the gunshots came, sharp and close, from behind them. The security car trailing them was hit, and it rolled over and lay still.

“Ford, what’s happening?” Benjamin asked the escort in the front seat.

“We’re under attack, sir.” Ford drew his gun, wound down the window, and started firing.

The noise filled the car. All the driver could do was keep the wheel steady and drive them toward safety. Lorelei was terrified, and she gripped Benjamin’s hand. Then Ford was shot in the head. He died at once, and his blood spattered across her face.

The driver increased his speed and told Benjamin to call for backup. Benjamin had barely picked up the phone when another car came straight at them from the front. The impact flipped their car, and their world fell apart.

Everything was blurry and filled with smoke, also a high ringing filled her ears. She looked at the driver. He was dead. She looked at Benjamin. He was badly hurt, but his chest still rose and fell.

Footsteps approached her as she crawled out of the vehicle. A pair of polished shoes stopped near her and she looked up but it was hard to see who it was and she was already slipping into a state of unconsciousness.

“You’ll do,” a voice said.

Then everything went dark.