I Don't: Marrying the Wrong Groom

Venelope POV I couldn't breathe. My lungs felt like they were frozen, burning with the memory of ice. I could still smell the damp, rotting corners of that tiny prison cell. I could still hear Stefan's loud, happy laugh echoing from the television screen, celebrating his massive new merger and his engagement to Rivera while I literally froze to death on the floor. The injustice of it had burned right into my soul. I remembered the exact moment my heart stopped beating. I remembered the darkness. I gasped, my chest heaving violently as I forced air down my throat. I waited for the cold to take me completely. I waited for the final, quiet dark. Instead, a blinding white light hit my eyes, making me wince. "Are you alright, my dear?" a soft, wrinkled old voice asked from somewhere in front of me. I blinked rapidly, my hands shaking uncontrollably. There was no concrete floor beneath me. There was no rude prison guard yelling at me to shut up and eat my stale bread. I was standing on an elevated marble platform, surrounded by gold and velvet. The air was incredibly warm, thick with the heavy, overwhelming scent of hundreds of expensive white roses. Then the sound registered in my ears. The wedding march was playing, the deep notes of the organ music echoing loudly against the exceptionally high ceilings of a massive cathedral. I looked down at myself. I was wearing a heavy, pristine white silk gown. My hands, which had been covered in frostbite just seconds ago, were wrapped around the stems of a tight bouquet of white roses. "Venelope?" I snapped my head up at the sound of that voice. Standing right in front of me was Stefan Aston. He looked exactly the way he did three years ago, before he showed his true colors. His hair was perfectly styled, his tuxedo was custom tailored to his athletic frame, and he was wearing that exact same fake, boyish smile that used to make my heart melt into a puddle. It was the exact same smile that had fooled me into signing over my entire life, my family fortune, and my ultimate freedom. The confusion inside my head lasted for only a single second before a massive wave of hot rage hit me. I was back. I didn't know how it was possible, and honestly, I didn't care about the science behind it. I was back on the exact day my living nightmare started. The universe had handed me a second chance, and I was not about to waste it. "You look beautiful," Stefan whispered, leaning in slightly. He reached out his hand to take mine, his fingers warm and confident. "Are you ready?" The priest cleared his throat, holding his heavy gold book open. "Do you, Stefan Aston, take Venelope..." I didn't even wait for the priest to finish the sentence. I looked Stefan dead in the eye. He thought I was the same naive, stupid girl who worshipped the ground he walked on. He thought he was seconds away from securing my family's massive shipping empire so he could use it to fund his illegal operations, and then throw me to the wolves whenever I ceased to be useful to him. "Is something wrong?" Stefan asked. His smile tightened at the corners when I pulled my hand away from his grip, completely out of his reach. "The deal is off, Stefan," I said. My voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet, reverent atmosphere of the cathedral, it cut through the air like a sharp knife. Stefan blinked, his blue eyes widening as he was caught completely off guard. "What did you say? Venelope, stop playing around. The priest is waiting, and we have a schedule to keep." "I said, the deal is off." I didn't just drop the bouquet onto the floor. I raised my arm, gathered all my strength, and hurled the white roses straight at his chest. The heavy arrangement hit his expensive tuxedo hard, exploding into a shower of loose white petals and sharp thorns that scattered all over the pristine marble floor between us. Loud gasps erupted from the pews. The organ music screeches to a sudden, ugly, uncoordinated halt. "Venelope!" Stefan hisses, his face turning a dark, ugly shade of red as he tried to brush the crushed petals off his jacket. "What the hell is wrong with you? Look at all these people. Stop throwing a childish tantrum and take my hand right now." "Find someone else to ruin, Stefan. We are done," I said coldly. I turned my back on him. I didn't care about the shocked faces of New York's high society elites. I didn't care about my relatives staring at me with their mouths wide open in complete horror. I marched down the altar stairs, my long, heavy silk train dragging behind me, but I walked with total confidence. I knew exactly what I was doing. Stefan needed my family's power to survive. But I needed a weapon to crush him before he could even start his plot against me. My eyes locked onto a man sitting in the very front row on the groom's side of the church. Nikolai Volkov. In my past life, Stefan was terrified of this man. Nikolai was a mysterious Russian billionaire who controlled the New York docks and ran a massive international shipping company. The dark rumors always said he was actually the ruthless boss of a powerful crime syndicate. Stefan had spent years trying to avoid him, constantly complaining behind closed doors about how Volkov was blocking his business expansions. Nikolai was sitting back comfortably in his seat, his massive, broad frame filling out a sharp black suit. He wasn't looking shocked like everyone else in the building. He was looking at me with dark, intense, intelligent eyes, a wicked, highly amused smirk slowly curving his lips. He looked like he was watching a very entertaining movie. I stopped right in front of his pew. The entire church went dead silent, hundreds of eyes watching the two of us. I leaned down, my face just inches from his face. I could smell his expensive, smoky cologne. "You want Stefan's docks and my family’s shipping routes?" I whispered, making sure my voice was low enough that only he could hear me. "Marry me today, and I’ll give you the exact leverage you need to completely ruin him." Nikolai didn't move for a fraction of a second. His smirk faded into a sharp stare as he looked deep into my eyes, searching for any sign of weakness. He was trying to see if I was joking or if I had lost my mind. He was trying to figure out why the meek, quiet heiress was suddenly standing before him, offering him war. Then, his slow smile returned, wider and darker this time. "You are full of surprises, printsessa," he murmured, his voice a deep, gravelly baritone that sent a shiver straight down my spine. He stood up. He was incredibly tall, completely towering over my frame, but I didn't flinch or take a step back. He didn't hesitate for even a single second. He wrapped a powerful, heavy arm around my waist, pulling me firmly against his side like I belonged there. "Clear the way," Nikolai barke to the men standing near the aisle. "What is the meaning of this!" Stefan screamed from the altar, finally breaking out of his shock. He ran down the marble stairs, his handsome face completely distorted with rage and humiliation. "Venelope! Get away from him right now! Volkov, take your damn hands off my fiancée!" Nikolai didn't even bother to turn his head to look back at him. "She isn't your fiancée anymore, Aston. Keep up with the conversation." "I will destroy you both!" Stefan lunged forward, his hands reaching out aggressively to grab the fabric of my wedding dress. Before he could even get within two feet of us, four massive men in dark suits stepped into the aisle, forming a solid, unbreakable wall of black cloth and muscle. One of them casually placed a hand inside his jacket, revealing the dark handle of a firearm. Stefan froze in his tracks, his eyes wide with sudden fear and humiliation. He knew he couldn't beat them. "Let's go," Nikolai said, his grip tightening on my waist as he guided me quickly down the aisle. We walked past rows of frozen, silent guests. I kept my chin held high, ignoring the frantic whispers and the bright flashes of a few smartphones. I was leaving my old, pathetic life behind in this church, and I was never looking back. The massive wooden doors of the cathedral swung open before we even reached them. Nikolai's men were already moving outside, securing the perimeter with military precision. Waiting right at the curb was a massive, heavily armored black SUV. The engine was already roaring loudly. One of the guards threw the back passenger door open. "Get in," Nikolai said, his tone commanding and leaving no room for an argument. I grabbed the heavy, excessive fabric of my wedding dress, pulling it up so I wouldn't trip on the sidewalk, and dove into the spacious back seat. Nikolai climbed in right after me, his massive frame taking up a large portion of the space. He slammed the door shut behind him, and the heavy thud sounded like a prison vault locking us away from the rest of the world. "Go," Nikolai ordered the driver immediately. The tires screeched loudly against the pavement before the heavy church doors could even swing shut behind us. The SUV surged forward into the city traffic, the force throwing me back against the plush leather seat. I let out a long, shaky breath, my hands finally starting to tremble as the adrenaline began to fade from my veins. I looked out the dark, tinted window, watching the cathedral disappear rapidly in the distance. I did it. I actually changed the future. I wasn't going to that prison cell. "Are you going to start crying now?" Nikolai asked, his voice smooth, calm, and completely unaffected by the chaos we had just caused. I turned my head to look at him. He was sitting back, casually adjusting his silver cuffs, watching me like I was an interesting puzzle he wanted to solve piece by piece. "I don't cry," I said, my voice cold, steady, and sharp. "I get even." Nikolai let out a dark, rich laugh that echoed pleasantly in the tight space of the car. "I like you, Venelope. Let's see if you can keep that same energy when the real trouble starts.”