Betrothed to the Billionaire

Chapter 10

Lisa’s POV

A big day… my supposed big day.

That was one way to describe it.

A lie… another perfect lie.

I nodded slowly at my mother, forcing something that looked like composure.

“I will.”

But even as the words left my lips, we both knew the truth.

I wouldn’t.

I didn’t sleep.

Not even for a moment.

I was troubled… conflicted.

“…I don’t like him,” the words kept replaying.

I lay on my back, eyes open, staring at the ceiling like if I looked away, everything would collapse faster.

My mind wouldn’t stop.

It wouldn’t let me.

The rehearsals.

His voice.

The way his hands felt on my waist…

Controlled, certain.

Like I wasn’t unfamiliar to him.

Like I was something he had already decided on… long before I ever had a choice.

My chest tightened.

A sharp, uncomfortable pressure that refused to ease.

“Why me?” I whispered into the darkness.

The words sounded small.

Lost.

There was no answer.

Just silence.

And the terrifying realization slowly wrapping itself around me…

Tomorrow… I would be walking down the aisle with a man I barely know.

I would belong to a man I didn’t understand.

A man who felt like he understood me too well.

Did I still made the right choice?

Morning didn’t come gently.

It came loud.

Abrupt.

Violent in the way it dragged me out of the only place I could still pretend this wasn’t real.

I barely had time to breathe before everything started moving.

The door burst open without ceremony.

“Wake up, Miss Daves… sorry,” the stylist corrected quickly with a bright, rehearsed smile, “Mrs. George-to-be.”

The title sat wrong.

Heavy.

Unfamiliar.

Like it didn’t belong to me.

I didn’t smile back, I simply just rolled my eyes.

“Let’s get started,” she continued briskly. “We’re already on schedule.”

Of course we were.

We were always on schedule.

Everything about this wedding had been planned to the second.

Controlled.

Perfect.

Except the one thing that mattered…

Me.

The room filled too quickly.

Too many people.

Too many voices.

Too much movement.

“Careful with that fabric… no, not that one!”

“Bring the jewelry case… quickly!”

“Time check? We’re behind… no mistakes today.”

Everything overlapped.

Voices clashing.

Orders flying.

Hands touching my face, my hair, my shoulders…

Adjusting.

Fixing.

Positioning.

I sat there.

Still.

Quiet.

Watching it all like I was outside my own body.

Like I was just another object being prepared.

Not a bride.

Not a woman.

Just… something being arranged.

“Lisa…”

My mother’s voice cut through the noise.

Soft.

Careful.

I met her eyes through the mirror.

And for a second…

Just a second…

Everything else faded.

I’m sure she couldn’t sleep too, it was evident.

She quickly turned her eyes away from me, hiding her fears.

She looked like she was holding herself together by force.

Like if she let go, she would fall apart right here.

“You look beautiful already,” she said gently.

I let out a faint breath.

“I’m not even dressed yet.”

Her lips curved slightly.

“You’ve always been beautiful. The dress just makes it official.”

My throat tightened.

Because this wasn’t about beauty.

This wasn’t about a dress.

“Are you okay?” she asked quietly, stepping closer.

Not as a mother speaking to her daughter.

But as a woman asking another woman…

Are you sure about this?

I held her gaze.

For longer than necessary.

Long enough for the truth to almost come out.

Long enough for me to almost say…

No.

But instead…

I nodded.

“Yes.”

The lie burned more this time.

When they finally stepped back…

When the noise slowed…

When the room went quiet enough for me to actually breathe…

I stood.

And faced the mirror.

And for a moment…

I didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me.

The dress hugged perfectly.

Undeniably, it did.

It was designed to.

Structured.

Sharp.

Powerful.

Not soft.

Not delicate.

Not forgiving.

It didn’t look like something meant for love.

It looked like something meant for… possession.

“You look like a queen,” Lila whispered behind me, her voice filled with something close to awe.

I didn’t respond.

Because queens still had choices.

Didn’t they?

“No,” Liam said quietly from across the room.

I met his eyes through the mirror.

“She looks like someone going into a war she already agreed to fight.”

Silence fell.

Heavy.

Unavoidable.

Because he wasn’t wrong.

And for the first time…

I didn’t try to deny it.

The drive to the venue felt final.

Like there was no turning back.

Like every second that passed was pulling me closer to something I couldn’t undo.

The realization.

My hands rested on my lap, but my fingers wouldn’t stay still.

They kept tightening.

Unconsciously.

My chest felt tight.

Too tight.

Like breathing required effort now.

The Aurelia Estate came into view slowly.

And even though I had seen it before…

Today…

It didn’t look just beautiful.

It looked… intimidating.

Massive.

Silent.

Waiting.

Like it knew something I didn’t.

Luxury cars lined the entrance.

Security tighter than ever.

Guests stepping out in elegance and wealth… for a wedding that wasn’t publicly announced. Most of them, I didn’t know because he decided that too.

Smiling.

Laughing.

Unaware.

Or maybe they were aware.

Maybe they just didn’t care.

“Miss Daves,” the coordinator said, approaching immediately. “It’s time.”

Time.

The word echoed strangely in my head.

Time to what?

To marry him?

To lose control?

To become something I hadn’t chosen?

The music had already started.

Soft.

Perfect.

Too perfect.

The kind of music that hides tension instead of easing it.

“Are you ready?” someone asked.

No.

“I am,” I said.

My voice didn’t sound like mine.

The doors opened.

And everything stopped.

Every conversation.

Every movement.

Every breath.

All eyes turned to me.

Watching.

Waiting.

Judging.

I stepped forward.

Slowly.

Each step deliberate.

Measured.

But inside…

Nothing was steady.

The aisle stretched endlessly ahead.

Glass beneath my feet.

Water reflecting everything back at me…

Distorted.

Unfamiliar.

I kept my gaze forward.

Focused.

Locked.

On where he was supposed to be.

Where he should be standing.

Waiting.

But…

My steps slowed.

Just slightly.

Because something felt wrong.

I reached the front.

And stopped.

Because he wasn’t there.

At first…

No one reacted.

Not openly.

Just a subtle shift.

A ripple.

A quiet discomfort that spread without being acknowledged.

I turned slightly.

Scanning.

Searching.

Nothing.

No movement.

No sign of him.

My heart dropped.

“Where is he?” I asked, my voice lower than I expected.

The coordinator hesitated.

That hesitation…

That was all I needed to know.

“Mr. George is on his way.”

On his way?

My fingers curled tightly.

“What does that mean?” I asked, sharper now.

“There’s been a slight delay.”

A delay?

On a day like this?

Of course, his plans are still working.

Because even now…

Even here…

He was still controlling everything.

Including this.

Minutes passed.

Then more.

The music continued.

Unchanged.

Like nothing was wrong.

But everything was.

Whispers started.

Low.

Careful.

Guests shifting in their seats.

Glances being exchanged.

Questions forming.

My chest tightened further.

Each second stretching longer than it should.

My thoughts began to spiral.

Fast.

Too fast.

What if…

What if this wasn’t a delay?

What if this was intentional?

What if…

He wasn’t coming?

My heartbeat picked up.

Harder.

Louder.

Uncontrolled.

And suddenly…

Standing there…

In a dress he chose…

At a wedding he controlled…

For a man who wasn’t even there…

I didn’t feel chosen anymore.

I felt…

Humiliated.

Exposed.

Replaceable.

And then…

Movement.

At the entrance.

Sharp.

Sudden.

Everyone turned.

Including me.

My breath caught.

Because something had shifted.

The air.

The room.

Everything.

Someone had arrived.

But from where I stood…

I couldn’t see who it was.

Only the reaction.

Only the tension rising.

Only the feeling…

That whatever was about to happen next…

Would change everything.