Vivienne Bennett stood before the full-length mirror, her fingers trembling as they brushed over the delicate lace of her wedding gown. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. The ballroom downstairs glittered with crystal chandeliers. Hundreds of guests had traveled from across the country to witness the union between the Bennett family's beloved daughter and Ethan Kingston, the charming heir to the Kingston empire.
She smiled at her reflection, though her heart pounded with nervous excitement.
"In just a few minutes," she whispered, "I'll finally become Mrs. Kingston." She had been waiting for this day to finally come—the day she would wear her wedding dress and walk up to Ethan, both holding each other's hands and saying their wedding vows.
---
Six months earlier, she and Ethan had gone camping with three of their friends from school, with whom they had graduated together. Ethan had personally prepared this trip so he could ask her to marry him. He didn't know how to plan, so he asked their other friends to help. They decided to go camping. It was on a sunny evening when they were taking pictures of the sky that Ethan bent down to propose to her.
"Vivienne, we've been together for three years now, and I think this is the right step and time to take. We've been through different seasons of life, and I'm certain you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want to do everything with you—happy moments, sad moments, and everything this life has to offer. I really want to do it with you and no one else. I don't want to delay this any longer, and I've delayed it for a while now. That's why I'm summoning the courage to ask you to marry me. I promise I'll love you, cherish you, take care of you, I will never betray you, and I will stay by your side all through. So please, will you marry me?"
Vivienne was shocked. She hadn't been expecting something like this, but she also wanted him to propose badly.
"Yes, I'll marry you," she said emotionally. She didn't know when tears started rolling down her cheeks. The moment she tried to wipe one off her face, another one rolled down.
"Vivi, have I done something wrong? I'm really sorry if I've done something wrong. You know I wouldn't do anything that would make you cry. Please forgive me. I'm really sorry." He apologized, not knowing what he had done wrong.
"Wow, that's so sweet. Vivi, you've really won in life for God to send someone like this to you. Stop crying, my baby," Aurora said. She had been Vivienne's best friend since elementary school through high school and university.
"I'm not crying. The tears just rolled down on their own," she told Aurora. She looked at her hand to see how gorgeous the ring was. "I really love this ring, and I can't wait to get married to you finally. Thanks, Ethan. I'll forever love and adore you."
---
"Finally, D-Day is here. The day I'll finally get married to Ethan. He will also be happy. The name Mrs. Kingston sounds nice, and I'll be that in a few hours." She was still talking to herself when a knock sounded at the bridal suite door.
"You have five minutes," the wedding coordinator called cheerfully before hurrying away.
"Okay!" Vivienne reached for her bouquet but then paused. "Where did I put these earrings? I'm supposed to wear them today, the day of my joy." She turned around to look for them, but she didn't find them. Then she remembered that she hadn't brought them at all. She had forgotten her grandmother's pearl earrings—the ones she had promised to wear on her wedding day.
"They're in Ethan's lounge," she remembered. Smiling to herself, she lifted the hem of her dress and quietly slipped into the private hallway reserved for the bride and groom.
The corridor was silent. As she approached the groom's suite, laughter drifted through the partially open door. A woman's laugh. It sounded strangely familiar. Vivienne stopped at the doorstep to know who it was when she heard their conversation.
"Ethan..." the woman giggled. "What if she finds out?" Vivienne was surprised. Her heartbeat quickened. She stepped closer. Then Ethan's voice came, low and amused.
"Lol, find out? She can't find out, and even if she finds out, she's too trusting. She would apologize even if I were the one caught cheating." A cold shiver raced down her spine.
"No… This can't be. There must be a mistake somewhere. No, this isn't Ethan." She started shivering. "What is he doing with another girl on our wedding day? How could he do such a thing to me on my wedding day?" Her hand shook as she pushed the door open. The world stopped.
The moment she opened the door, instead of Ethan being remorseful, he sat comfortably on the sofa. His tie hung loosely over the armrest. On his lap was Sophia, Vivienne's elder sister. Their lips were locked together.
The bouquet slipped from Vivienne's fingers and hit the marble floor with a dull thud.
The kiss broke. Three pairs of eyes met. Silence filled the room. Sophia's face paled, but Ethan's didn't. Ethan sighed as though he had merely been interrupted during an ordinary conversation.
"Vivienne."
She couldn't breathe. "W-What..." Her voice cracked. "What is this?"
Sophia quickly stood. She wanted to find the exact words to use but couldn't. She finally managed to say a few words.
"It isn't—"
"Don't," Vivienne whispered. "Please... don't lie to me." Tears blurred her vision. Her own sister. Her fiancé. On her wedding day. She felt as though someone had reached into her chest and crushed her heart with bare hands.
"I loved both of you." Sophia lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry."
Ethan, however, merely adjusted his cufflinks.
"I wasn't planning to tell you like this," he said without remorse. Vivienne stared at him in disbelief.
"Planning?" He shrugged.
"Our marriage wasn't going to work anyway."
Her lips parted. "What?"
"You've always been boring, Vivienne." Every word landed like another knife. "You never challenged me. You never understood what someone of my status actually needs."
Vivienne laughed through her tears. "So you cheated?"
"No, I didn't. I moved on."
"You moved on before the wedding?"
He didn't answer. That silence was the answer.
Vivienne looked at her sister. "How long?"
Sophia hesitated. Then quietly replied, "Almost a year."
Vivienne stumbled backward. "A year?" For an entire year, they had smiled at her. Celebrated birthdays with her. Helped her choose today's wedding dress. All while hiding this betrayal.
The pain became unbearable. Without another word, Vivienne turned and ran. She barely reached the ballroom entrance before Ethan's voice echoed behind her.
"Wait."
Every guest turned toward them. Hundreds of curious eyes locked onto the bride.
Vivienne froze.
Ethan walked calmly onto the stage and picked up the microphone. His expression was perfectly composed.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, "I'm afraid today's wedding has been canceled."
Gasps rippled through the hall. Vivienne's parents shot to their feet.
"What happened?" her mother cried.
Ethan sighed dramatically. "I've tried to protect Vivienne's dignity, but she has become emotionally unstable. I can't marry someone who doesn't trust me and keeps making wild accusations."
The guests erupted into whispers. Vivienne stared at him in horror.
"You liar!"
He looked at her with practiced disappointment. "Please, Vivienne. Don't make this harder than it already is."
Even her father frowned. "Vivienne... control yourself."
She looked around desperately. No one believed her. Not one person. Humiliation burned hotter than grief. Her white gown suddenly felt unbearably heavy. Unable to endure another second, Vivienne fled the hotel.
Rain poured from the dark afternoon sky. Within moments, her dress was soaked. Mascara streamed down her cheeks as she wandered aimlessly along the roadside.
"So this is how my forever ends," she whispered. "This is going to be the end of me. I've always imagined getting married to the best man and having an elite wedding, but look at the humiliation I brought upon myself. What do I tell my parents? What should I tell them? Ethan, whom I've been dating for three and a half years, decided to call off the wedding after I caught him cheating with my sister. My own blood sister. And now I'm alone in this world."
She slapped herself very hard, wishing this was all a dream and she would wake up from her slumber, but it wasn't. It was real, and the betrayal from Ethan was just too much to bear. "It wasn't enough that he cheated; he went ahead to call off the wedding, saying I am 'emotionally unstable.'"
She continued talking to herself when a sleek black Rolls-Royce slowed beside her. At first, she thought it was Ethan coming to beg her, so she shouted at him.
"Ethan, please leave me alone. You've gotten what you want, so just let me be." She was talking when the rear window glided down. Inside sat a strikingly handsome man in a tailored black suit. His sharp eyes never left hers.
Damien Kingston. Ethan's older brother. The man rumored to be colder than winter itself. Vivienne wiped away her tears.
"What do you want? Did your brother send you to come pick me up so he can humiliate me more?"
"Not at all. He didn't send me, and I didn't come to humiliate you. Does that answer your questions now?"
"So? What do you want? You saw what your brother did today. Is that why you came to meet me? Or what exactly is it?"
"Actually, I saw everything that happened today, and I partially didn't come because of that, but I also partially came because of that."
"Stop speaking in parables and tell me what it is that you want, or let me go. I just want to be alone. I don't want to be with anybody or talk to anybody."
Damien regarded her for a long moment before speaking in his deep, steady voice.
"I've been looking for you. I saw how you stormed out of the hall. I wanted to run up to you immediately, but I didn't want to start another rumor. I just had to let you go, and I knew I would still see you to talk about it."
"Is it really important? Can't it wait? I'm not in the mood to talk to anybody, and I would love to be alone right now. You saw what happened today, so I would love to be alone. Since you said you'll still see me, then let it go. We'll talk about it when we next meet."
"This is the perfect and right time for us to talk about this. I don't know when next I'll be seeing you. I might not see you again since Ethan already called off the wedding, and I decided to seize the chance now since I've seen you."
"What is there to talk to me about?" she asked.
"A lot of things, and I would like you to please think about it and reconsider it."
She frowned. "Why should I reconsider? What is it that you want to talk to me about? I'm getting curious already, and I really want to know."
He opened the car door. "Let's talk here. There's no need for me to enter the car—or is there?"
Then he said the words that would change both of their lives forever.
"Marry me instead."
Vivienne stood frozen as thunder rolled across the sky.
Was this another cruel joke...
Or the beginning of her revenge?
