💔 The Altar Bell Toll
Chapter I: The Cold Vow
The grand organ music swelled in the Cathedral, mixing with the shimmering light that poured through the stained-glass windows onto the aisle. The BRIDE, Sarah, stood beside the GROOM, Alex, before the altar. She was breathtaking in her pure white gown, her eyes filled with trust and happiness, completely oblivious to the calculating chill radiating from the man next to her.
The most sacred moment arrived. The Priest looked at Alex, his deep voice echoing through the nave:
PRIEST: “Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”
Alex took a deep breath. The entire congregation held theirs.
ALEX: “I…”
He stopped. Sarah looked up at him, her smile brilliant with tears of joy. But that sweetness seemed to trigger a sudden, cold cruelty in Alex. He dropped her hand, and the heavy gold wedding band clinked sharply against the marble floor in the profound silence.
SARAH: (Whispering, confusion creeping into her voice) “What are you saying?”
Alex turned slightly toward her, but his voice was loud enough for the first few rows of guests to hear. His face was a mask of calculated indifference.
ALEX: (Slowly, deliberately) “I am asking a final question, Sarah. Do you think I really love you?”
A collective, horrified gasp rippled through the seated guests. Sarah’s mother covered her mouth in shock.
SARAH: (Her voice rising, desperate, ignoring the Priest’s frantic whispers) “Alex, please! Everyone is watching! What has gotten into you? We are standing here!”
ALEX: (He raised his voice further, ensuring every stunned guest could hear) “They need to watch. This was always about the audience. About the deal. The game ends tonight, Sarah. And the stakes were set months ago. You know the condition.”
He stepped closer, pushing the terms of their secret, twisted bet into the open.
ALEX: “Tonight is our wedding night. If you go through with it—if you, as my wife, fulfill your ‘wifely duties’—the terms of the financial agreement state that you lose everything. You lose the company, the house, the entire inheritance. Because all I ever wanted was the game.”
He leaned in close to her, his voice dropping to a vicious whisper, emphasizing the final, brutal condition.
ALEX: “If you sleep with me, you have lost our game.”
Chapter II: The Final Move
Color drained from Sarah’s face, the white gown suddenly looking like a shroud. But the tears she had been suppressing hardened into a look of fierce determination. She did not cry. She remembered months of suspicion and her own secret preparation.
With a surprisingly steady hand, Sarah reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out a legal document, waving it in front of the Priest and the assembled guests.
SARAH: (A sudden, powerful shout that echoed through the Cathedral) “YOU THOUGHT IT WAS YOUR GAME, ALEX! But I prepared a counter-move! This is a signed affidavit stating that any public renunciation of affection or confession of fraud at the wedding legally voids the prenuptial agreement and transfers the controlling shares of the estate to my name immediately!”
Alex stumbled back, his carefully constructed composure finally shattering into pure, panic-stricken fury.
ALEX: “NO!”
Sarah, standing tall and alone at the altar, turned to the stunned Priest.
SARAH: “Father, as the Groom has publicly nullified his vows and confessed to marrying under false pretenses, I ask you to declare this ceremony terminated.”
She looked directly into Alex’s eyes, her own now devoid of love, holding only cold contempt.
SARAH: “And Alex, congratulations—you got your audience. Now get out of my church.”
Sarah turned, walking with absolute resolve down the aisle. The click of her heels on the marble was the only sound in the moment of deathly silence. She left Alex standing alone, trapped between the shocked congregation and the ruins of a marriage that never truly began.
