“No,” she said, locking eyes with him. “If you go in, you won’t come out the same.”
“Enough,” the guard growled.
“Let her go,” Lucas ordered sharply.
The grip loosened. The girl didn’t waste the moment.
“Don’t marry her,” she said again. “It’s a trap.”
Lucas laughed shortly. “And what would you know about my life?”
“I know what I heard,” she replied. “I know what they said.”
“Who?”
She nodded toward the church. “Her. And the lawyer.”
Lucas sighed, irritated. Cameras, pressure, deals disguised as love—this day was already heavy. He pulled bills from his pocket and pushed them toward her. “Take this. Eat something. Go.”
She didn’t even glance at the money. “I don’t want it. I want you not to go in.”
The murmurs grew louder.
Then the church doors opened.
Valeria Cruz stepped out in a pristine white dress, her smile polished, her movements calm. Beside her stood an older woman adjusting her veil and a man in a gray suit holding a leather folder—the lawyer.
“Darling,” Valeria said sweetly, “is everything alright?”
The girl stiffened, gripping Lucas’s jacket again. “It’s her,” she whispered.
Valeria glanced at the girl with staged pity. “Poor child. Can someone take care of this? I don’t want a scene.”