Chapter Text
“You ready?” Stefan asked before leaning in to press a kiss to Caroline’s temple.
She swallowed the knot of nerves in her throat and stared up at the towering doors of the Salvatore Estate, where her wedding would be taking place in just a few short days. It wasn’t exactly her ideal wedding venue but apparently it was tradition for everyone in Stefan’s family to get married on this property. She had told herself that she should be grateful. That the estate was breathtaking; far more beautiful than any place she’d had ever stepped foot in. Old world elegance was carved into every brick. Ivy climbing up its stone walls like evergreen explorers and lights hung from the hedges, twinkling over the pristine courtyard.
Don’t get her wrong the estate was beautiful but…
But something about it. Its grandeur…..its history, intimidated her….taunted her. Almost like the walls carried secrets she wasn’t meant to know.
Get a grip Forbes!
You’re marrying into a rich family, not walking into a freaking haunted mansion.
Stefan must have sensed her unease because his thumb brushed over the back of her hand, pulling her from her thoughts. “Care? Are you ready?”
Plastering on her best Miss Mystic Falls smile and clenching her fingers around his, she finally responded. “Of course.”
The second the grand oak doors opened and she and Stefan stepped inside, Caroline felt her stomach twist.
All at once, every head in the foyer turned toward them.
The long lace sleeves of her dress, which she’d thought were elegant earlier, suddenly felt itchy against her skin. Stifling, even. Like they were too tight, too stiff, compressing her arms like a boa constrictor slowly squeezing its prey to death.
Why did I let Stefan talk me into this dress?
Her fingers curled tighter around his. She resisted the urge to fidget. Or scratch.
He led her inside, where the grand foyer stretched out before them. It was lavish….obviously. Everything the Salvatores owned screamed generational wealth and old-money power. Stefan’s family practically had a monopoly on the gaming industry in the country. Owning 90% of the market share and earning annual revenues in the billions. Yes. Billions with a B!
Nervously she looked took in the room. It was wrapped in opulence with crystal chandeliers beaming overhead and polished mahogany floors below. The room, though striking and immaculate from afar, was kind of….suffocating up close. The staircase spiraled upward with gilded railings, framed by red silk drapes that pooled dramatically on the floor like something straight out of a gothic film. Candlelit sconces and ancestral oversized oil paintings of Salvatores long dead loomed along the walls. Their creepy eyes somehow seemed to follow her wherever she moved.
Clinking of champagne glasses and hushed chatter from members and close friends of the prestigious Salvatore family swirled throughout the space but Caroline barely heard any of it.
She was too busy feeling a bit…uncomfortable.
It wasn’t just from the fact that she was in a room filled with people. Powerful people. The kind who carried their wealth like a second skin. But it was also the way their eyes were on her.
Watching. Assessing. Measuring. Judging.
She hated it.
Hated that they made her feel like she was not good enough.
That she didn’t belong there.
“This is so awkward. All eyes are on us.” She whispered while leaning into Stefan.
“Well that’s expected. It is our engagement party, after all.” He responded with a chuckle. “And how could they not be watching when I have such a beautiful woman like yourself on my arm.”
Caroline blushed.
“Ah, there he is!!”
They turned just in time to see Damon, Stefan’s older brother, approaching with his wife. He was dressed in a tailored navy blue suit and had the kind of easy arrogance that only came from being the oldest child.
“Baby bro,” Damon called out, clapping his brother on the back before turning to Caroline, giving her a once-over. “And this must be Caroline, your lovely bride to be.”
Caroline shook his hand, smiling politely. “Hello Damon. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“Yes, nice to finally meet the woman marrying my little brother. Gotta say, blondie, I expected someone a little more…” His eyes raking over her just a second too long. “Dangerous.”
Elena, his wife, shot him a look before offering Caroline a big smile. “Hi! I’m Elena, Damon’s wife. Welcome to the family,” she cheered, giving the blonde a huge hug.
Then came his parents. Lillian and Giuseppe Salvatore stood like monarchs surveying their kingdom. Mr. Salvatore’s nod was curt, while Mrs. Salvatore stepped forward with a refined smile, clasping Caroline’s hands between her own. “You must be so excited, dear.”
Caroline smiled back. “I am. It’s a honour to be welcomed into this family, Mrs. Salvatore.”
“Please call me, Lily.”
After pleasantries, the conversation quickly focused on her. She was answering question after question. Specifically ones about her upbringing, which Stefan’s parents seemed to have taken a particular interest in.
“And your family, dear?” Lily prompted, sipping her champagne.
“It’s just me and my parents,” Caroline replied with a smile. “My dad’s a writer and my mom’s a former sheriff…recently retired.”
Lily’s smile cracked at that but she quickly adjusted it.
“And they’ll be joining us for the wedding?” Giuseppe asked
“Unfortunately, they won’t make it. There’s a storm coming through and all flights from Mystic Falls were cancelled indefinitely.”
“Hmmm that’s a shame.” Lily remarked.
Giuseppe frowned. “So no siblings?”
“Nope. Only child. Guess my parents figured they’d already achieved perfection the first time,” Caroline teased with a chuckle.
However, the joke fell flat.
Lily didn’t laugh.
Giuseppe didn’t even blink.
The silence that followed stretched on so long that she could hear the ticking of the tall grandfather clock in the corner of the room.
After some time, Mrs. Salvatore hummed and her lips curled back into a practiced smile. “How… quaint….”
Caroline’s smile faltered. She knew what that meant. Families like the Salvatores valued legacy, lineage. And her lack of siblings? That meant no strong bloodline, no powerful connections.
One child? Divorced parents? A retired sheriff and a novelist?
She wasn’t just marrying into old money. She was marrying into a freaking dynasty.
And worst of all…she didn’t have the pedigree.
Stefan jumped in and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Caroline is incredible. You both will love her the more you get to know her.”
“Yes, we will see.” Lily’s polite smile remained glued to her face, however her eyes told a different story when they drifted to her husband knowingly.
Caroline forced herself to take a sip of her drink, pretending she didn’t notice.
After chatting with his parents, Stefan’s hand tapped on the small of her back and they continued to move deeper into the room. A few more introductions were made. Friends, business partners, more friends, extended family members and the family butler John, who Stefan praised was like a second father to him. After that came his uncle Alaric, a rugged good-natured man and his wife Jenna, who along with Elena seemed like the only two genuinely welcoming presence in the room.
And then out of the corner of her eye Caroline spotted…..him.
Klaus.
He was standing in a corner separated from the rest of the guests like an outlier in a painting, nursing a glass of amber liquid. His dark suit, though perfectly tailored, looked thrown on him like an afterthought. The top buttons undone, his stance sullen in a way that looked almost defeated. Unlike the others, who were composed and proudly wore their wealth and power like armor, he looked…dejected.
And worst of all, despite all of his brooding, she still thought he looked devastatingly handsome. She continued to study him and suddenly his eyes lifted up, immediately catching hers from across the crowded room.
Caroline sucked in a shaky breath.
He was watching her. Not just looking but watching.…studying. Piercing blues, cutting through the distance between them, holding onto hers with an intensity that made her pulse stutter. There was something about the way he looked at her….like he saw straight right through her. Past the prim white cocktail dress she wore, past the formalities, past the carefully constructed image she was trying to uphold. She hated that about him. How easily he was able to read her.
“I’m surprised he showed up,” she whispered to Stefan even as her eyes continue to peer at Klaus from across the room. “Considering he’s not exactly a fan of our relationship.”
Stefan followed her line of sight, his jaw tightening. “Yeah, well, unfortunately, he’s family. So he has to be here.”
All of a sudden Klaus pushed off the bar and strode toward them with his eyes zoomed in on her.
“Caroline,” he drawled in his smooth English accent. “The blushing bride.”
She straightened, keeping her face neutral and nuzzling closer to her fiancé, she muttered. “Klaus.”
His eyes snapped to Stefan and in an instant everry muscle in his face hardened. “You’re really going through with this, mate?”
She felt Stefan stiffen beside her. She glanced between them; two men who once called each other brothers, now standing like enemies.
Stefan lifted his chin and puffed out his chest. “Yes.” He answered. Firm Final. Leaving no room for argument.
Klaus didn’t respond at first; he just let out a ragged breath, as if the confirmation physically pained him.
The two men stood in place scowling at each other with unbridle hate while Caroline watched the scene unfold before her with unease and baited breath.
Eventually Klaus nodded gravely and took a step back. “Well then. Welcome to the family, love.” He tipped his glass to Caroline then knocked back the rest of his whiskey. “Try not to let them scare you off too quickly.”
The words should’ve been a joke. A lighthearted jab at the stuffy, aristocratic nightmare she was about to marry into.
But the look in his eyes was not.
And then, just as quickly as he had appeared, Klaus turned and stomped away and out of the room.
Caroline exhaled, not realizing she’d been holding her breath. She willed away the prickle of unease that Klaus had left in his wake. She told herself the feeling curling in her stomach was nothing. That Klaus was just bitter. Bitter about Stefan, bitter about her, bitter about everything.
“Come on,” Her fiancé offered, squeezing her hand. “Let’s get another drink.”
She nodded, letting him guide her to the bar.
Caroline smiled politely as yet another member of the Salvatore extended family shook her hand, offered congratulations and assessed her with the same careful scrutiny she’d been enduring all evening. The champagne flute in her grip was beginning to feel more like a prop, something to keep her hands occupied while she played her part as the soon to be Mrs. Stefan Salvatore.
Scrumptious hors d’oeuvres were passed around on silver trays. The staff moved through the room like ghosts, silent and efficient, refilling crystal glasses before they could empty. Caroline waded through the scent of truffle, caviar and aged wine that flooded the room. It was the kind of luxury she had never quite imagined for herself but here she was, smiling through it all, nodding at strangers who were about to become her friends and family.
But for some reason her eyes kept wandering to the bar, where Klaus stood. He obviously was not interested in the festivities. He wasn’t laughing, wasn’t socializing, wasn’t playing the role of a devoted….husband.
His wife, Aurora, now stood beside him, draped in a designer red dress that clung to her like it had been stitched onto her body. She was striking. She had delicate features paired with fox eyes and fiery red hair. Her presence? Commanded attention. Her laughter? Rang out, high and airy. Her hand? Curled possessively around Klaus’s arm while she chatted animatedly to him and some middle aged man who was obviously wearing a toupee on his head.
But Klaus….Klaus looked miserable. He barely acknowledged his wife. His eyes never met the red head, his nods of response barely perceptible. He wasn’t entertaining their conversation. He was more focused on his drink, like the liquid held the answer to some unspoken dilemma.
Why even come if he looked like he’d rather be anywhere else?
Even while standing on Stefan’s arm, listening to well-wishers praise how lucky she was, how wonderful their future together would be, she found herself peeking back at Klaus more than she cared to admit.
When her and Stefan was finally alone, he leaned in against her ear. “You look beautiful tonight, Care. Soon, you’ll be the most stunning bride.”
She chuckled, shaking off whatever strange fixation she had on his former friend. “Why, thank you, future husband,” she teased, her face lighting up when she turned to fully face him. “I can’t believe that in few days I will be a part of the Salvatore gaming… dynasty? Errh...Empire??”
“Actually, dominion, we prefer dominion.” Stefan clarified, with a smirk causing her to snicker. Then something or someone behind her caught his attention. Caroline followed his gaze just in time to see Aurora looking their way. He lifted his hand in a wave, motioning for her to come over.
Caroline braced herself as Aurora started toward them and because of course she did, she dragged her husband with her.
Klaus looked irritated by the whole ordeal but he didn’t resist. His steps were slow, as though walking toward them was some sort of punishment he’d resigned himself to enduring.
Aurora, however, was all smiles and teeth when she reached them. Too bright, too charming. It seemed so fake.
“Caroline, we finally meet again!”
“Aurora. It’s so good to see you.” She lied.
Aurora hugged her, squeezing just a little too tight before letting go. “Likewise. I must admit, I was bit shocked when I found out you two were engaged. It all seemed so….out of the blue. But then again Stefan was always such a romantic growing up, weren’t you, cousin?”
Stefan gave a tight-lipped chuckle scratching the back of his head. “Well, I like to think I’ve always known I was destined for an epic love.”
Aurora’s head whipped back to Caroline, her eyes scanning her like she was something to be appraised. “Yes, I suppose so.”
Caroline wasn’t sure why but the comment felt... off. She didn’t have time to dwell on it before Aurora’s attention shifted again. This time, to Klaus.
“Oh, my love,” she purred, sliding her claws up and down his chest. “You’ve been sulking all night. We can’t have the family thinking you aren’t thrilled about the nuptials, can we?”
Klaus’s response was a barely there hum.
Aurora laughed, cocking her head at Caroline as though they were besties sharing some secret. “I do apologize for my husband. He’s not fond of my family celebrations. Especially…..this wedding.”
The blonde arched a brow. “Oh? And why is that?”
“Well, some men don’t handle losing very well, do they?”
Caroline blinked.
What the hell did that mean?
Caroline was puzzled but she didn’t let it show. Instead, she gave Aurora a saccharine smile. “That’s a shame. Weddings are meant to be happy occasions.”
“Yes, well. Not everyone gets their happy ending.”
She didn’t fully understand what Aurora was hinting at but Klaus did. Because suddenly, his hand reached out, gripping Aurora’s wrist that was on his chest, not enough to hurt but enough to make her pause.
“Aurora,” He warned.
It was the first time he’d truly acknowledged his wife’s presence all night. And for the first time, Aurora’s perfect, polished composure cracked. It was brief; so quick Caroline might have missed it if she hadn’t been watching so closely but it was there.
The red head cleared her throat, slipping her hand free. “Oh Niklaus. Always so serious.”
Klaus didn’t respond just lifted his drink to his lips.
Aurora smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress before looking back at Caroline. “Caroline, you really are beautiful.”
She fidgeted, completely caught off guard at the unexpected compliment. “Oh…..umm….thank you?”
Aurora’s lips curled and her attention flicked back to her husband.“Darling,” she cooed, her fingers grazing Klaus’s chest again in a way that felt almost taunting. “Your little drawings didn’t do her justice.”
Klaus paused mid-sip and his body stiffened.
Stefan, who had been quietly sipping his champagne, lowered his glass and sharply turned his head toward his ex best friend, glowering at him.
“Drawings?” Caroline frowned.
Aurora cackled. “Oh, my husband has picked up quite the habit of sketching things that fascinate him. Faces. Eyes. The curve of a smile…” Her head tilted just so, watching Caroline’s reaction with interest. “I found a few once…..pages upon pages filled with charcoal and ink of a woman. Imagine my surprise when I recognized….you.”
Klaus actually drew…her? Her?!?!
“…. He… drew…He..” Caroline sputtered, then nothing.
She had no idea what to say. Like seriously, what should she say?Why would Aurora reveal that?? Why is Stefan just staring down Klaus? This is sooooo awkward. Ugh why wasn’t anyone else saying anything?
She squirmed on her feet then turned to Klaus, eyes wide with shock and searching his face for confirmation.
Klaus’s jaw was clenched so tight but he still said nothing.
Stefan, however, finally did.
“That’s interesting. I don’t recall you ever having an interest in sketching portraits before, Klaus.”
Klaus’s fingers twitched around his glass. His eyes darting to Caroline, just long enough for her heart to pound faster in her chest before he carefully schooled his face.
“If you’ll all excuse me. I need another drink.”
Without another word, he turned and strode back toward the bar with tense shoulders, disappearing into the sea of guests.
Caroline mind was spinning.
Klaus drew her?
Klaus had several drawings of…..her?
Feigning shock, Aurora cried. “Oh dear, I do hope I haven’t embarrassed him.”
Caroline wasn’t sure who Aurora was trying to get a rise out of: her? Stefan? or Klaus? But she had the strangest of feeling she’d just been dragged into something messy.
“Well. It was lovely to see you again, Caroline. I do hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”
Of course.
Another dig. Another smile.