A TALE OF LOVE, REVENGE & REDEMPTION

I never imagined that my wedding day would turn into my worst nightmare.

Dressed in a pure white gown, I was supposed to walk down the aisle, my heart pounding with a mix of nerves and excitement. Instead, rough hands grabbed me and a black cloth covered my face. Last thing I remember was being thrown into the back of a van.

The deafening silence of the deserted road swallowed my screams, my struggles were useless against the strength of my captors.

My wedding day was ruined in the cruelest way possible.

The men who took me worked for Alos Vaugh, a dangerous Mafia Lord. I had no idea why he wanted me, but I soon found out. My fiancé, Julian Hawthorne, had angered him, and I was the price for his mistake.

As I lay on the cold concrete floor of a dark, windowless room with pain coursing through my body from the endless hours of torture, I thought Julian would come for me.

I clung to the hope that he would rescue me. But that hope shattered when Alos smirked down at me and whispered the truth in my ear.

“You were never important to him,” he said, his voice dripping with mockery. “Right now, he’s marrying your step-sister, Seraphina. You’re nothing but a forgotten pawn.”

My heart stopped. My breath caught in my throat as his words sank in. Julian had betrayed me. While I was being beaten and humiliated, he was celebrating his new life with Seraphina.

The pain from the wounds on my body was nothing compared to the agony in my chest. I had loved him. I had trusted him. And he had thrown me away like I was nothing.

Some people had wondered why I didn’t show up at the wedding. Some whispered that I had found out about the affair and ran away. Others thought I had simply vanished. None of them knew the truth.

None of them knew that I had been kidnapped and tortured, treated like garbage, while the man I loved moved on without a second thought.

I prayed for someone to save me. Anyone.

Then he came.

Damian Sinclair, the most powerful man in Everon City.

He arrived like a storm, his men taking down Alos’ guards. I barely processed what was happening when his strong arms lifted me, carrying me away from that hell.

Damian’s face was the first thing I saw when I opened my swollen eyes. His gaze, filled with concern and some emotions that I couldn’t decipher which made my chest tighten.

“You’re safe now,” he murmured, brushing a strand of dirty hair from my face. “No one will ever hurt you again.”

I didn’t know why he had come for me. I only knew that at that moment, I owed him my life.

Days later, after I had recovered enough to speak, I asked him why.

“How did you know I was taken?” My voice was hoarse from days of silence.

He leaned back in his chair, watching me carefully. “I saw the live video of Julian proposing to Seraphina. Something felt wrong. I knew you wouldn’t have just disappeared without a reason. So, I searched for you. And I found you.”

My throat tightened. While the man I had planned to marry celebrated his betrayal, Damian had been looking for me. Saving me.

Then he did something I never expected.

He knelt before me, one knee on the ground, holding a bouquet of red roses in one hand and a ring in the other.

“Lynn Callista, will you marry me?”

I stared at him, shocked. “Why?” My voice trembled.

A sad smile played on his lips. “Because you have always been my first love. I can’t thank Julian enough for letting you go and giving me the chance to have you.”

For the first time since my kidnap, I smiled. A real smile. But I wasn’t ready. My heart was still in pieces, my trust shattered. So, I declined. Politely, gently.

But Damian Sinclair was not a man who gave up easily.

From that day on, he pursued me relentlessly. He sent flowers, took me on trips, and showed up when I least expected him.

On my birthday, he went so far as to rent every advertisement screen in the city just to declare his love for me. He became my shadow, my protector, my constant presence.

Three years later, I finally gave in. I accepted his proposal.

That day, people looked at me with envy. I became the woman every girl wished to be, the one who had won the heart of Everon City’s most powerful man. They said I must have saved an entire galaxy in my past life to deserve him.

But happiness is a fragile thing.

One night, I overheard a conversation that tore my world apart again.

“You’re crazy, man,” a voice chuckled. “Spending tens of thousands of dollars buying a building for your first love? Just a reminder—she’s already married to your fiancée’s ex.”

My breath caught in my throat as I recognized the reply. Damian’s voice, filled with an emotion I couldn’t quite place.

“As long as she’s happy, I’d do anything for Seraphina. I’d even die for her.”

Seraphina.

My heart stopped.

It was never about me. It had never been about me.

Damian had fought to win me over not because he loved me, but because I was connected to Seraphina. Through me, he could always be close to her. I was just a bridge, a tool to keep Seraphina in his life.

Tears burned my eyes as I struggled to breathe, but the conversation wasn’t over.

“Alos Vaugh asked when you’ll give him what he asked for,” another voice spoke. “After all, he kidnapped Lynn just like you wanted—to keep her from ruining Julian’s proposal to Seraphina.”

A pause.

“I’ll send my assistant to handle it tonight,” Damian answered.

A harsh laugh followed. “Damn, man. Instead of having Alos kidnap Lynn, why didn’t you just have him take Julian? Then you could have proposed to Seraphina yourself.”

Damian sighed. “It was a last-minute decision. Besides, Julian isn’t someone Alos could touch.”

I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to contain the pain that threatened to consume me. My entire life had been a lie. First Julian, now Damian.

Why was Seraphina always all over what I had? Or maybe those things were never mine to begin with.

I had been nothing but a pawn. Not even a valuable one. Just a tool for two powerful men to fight over a woman who wasn’t me.

That night, I made a decision.

I would disappear.

From them. From this world.

Forever.