The Billionaire's Second Chance

Alessia I squirmed in my seat as I fought to keep my giddy self from doing something I would regret later. I had my back turned to the mirror as the make-up artist swiped at my cheeks with some brushes. A low giggle slipped past my lips as the brush tickled me. "Hold still now." She chuckled as she dabbed at my cheeks a couple of times. The makeup artist was a petite young woman of about my age or more. " I'm almost done." "Okay." It was taking everything in me not to jump out of this chair and get everything going. Don't get me wrong, I was overly excited about this. " How long do I have to wait for?" "You don't need to." I peeled open my eyes as I got the go-ahead from her to turn to the mirror. I spun in my swivel chair and a huge gasp left my lips the moment I jammed my reflection in the wall-size mirror. I looked gorgeous and I wasn't even exaggerating. In all honesty, gorgeous wasn't the right word for it. It didn't even add up. Two strands of my blonde hair shimmered down the side of my face while the rest was tucked into a really elegant updo behind me. Matching silver jewelry adorned my ears and neck with a sparkly diamond brushing the top of my cleavage. I ran a tongue over the ruby red hue that smeared my heart-shaped lips, complementing the nude eyeshadow she had used. In short, I was nothing less than the perfect bride. "You're so beautiful." She cooed behind me, bringing me back to earth. I beamed as I stared at her through the mirror. " Adam is going to be so shocked he wouldn't know what hit him." " You think?" I lowered my octave as red heat flushed up my cheeks. " Do you really think so?" "Oh dear." She sighed contentedly. "With how smitten he is by you, he wouldn't want to waste a single moment before making you his wife." I ducked, not knowing what else to say. The thought of it all was exciting, to say the least. Adam and I had been together for three years now. After bumping into him in college, I just knew he was the one for me. I knew it was a crush that would lead me nowhere but my feelings kept on growing. Of course, I was literally off his radar for the first couple of years until he noticed me and it'd been pure bliss ever since. Now, at this moment, this wedding was literally a dream come true. " I'll head out now." She squeezed my shoulder gently. " You stay pretty until it's time." I nodded as I watched her exit through the door behind me. The moment the door slammed shut behind her, I let out a huge sigh. My eyes flicked to the huge bouquet of roses on my dressing table. Just next to it was a handwritten note I'd read a million times in the last hour. "To my sunshine." I grabbed the letter before reading it out loud, a goofy grin on my face. " I can't wait a second to make you mine, but before that, here's a bouquet of roses to remind you that nothing can stand next to how beautiful you are." My grin widened as I hugged the bouquet, its scent wafting through my nostrils. This entire gesture was so Adam; he was the sweetest man in the world and I was so lucky to have bagged him. Another sigh slid past my lips. I missed him terribly. We hadn't seen or spoken to each other in the past week. Why? Because Sam insisted we didn't. She had this crazy ritual that included no calls, texts, or meetings between the bride and groom until the wedding day. Since she was a mutual friend and it was all good fun, we couldn't say no right? A thought occurred to me almost instantly. I was alone and had plenty of time so no one would know, right? It didn't take long for me to decide; I was going to do it. After gently setting the roses aside, I made a beeline for the door. Thankfully, it made not one creak as I snuck out and pulled it shut. There was a small sign hanging on the door knob and I flipped it over to reveal a Do Not Disturb sign. That would give me some time to implement my plan and back again. I held on to the hem of my wedding dress as I skidded along the halls, careful not to make a sound. My impromptu mission almost had me regretting the lacy fabric pooling around my feet, but the nonexistent noise my slippers made gave me a tiny portion of relief. My heart thundered in my chest at the thought of bumping into someone, but fortunately for me, I met not a single soul. I knew the entire place like the back of my palm. The bride's and groom's room was located in a huge mansion not too far from the cathedral. Adam and I had been here a couple of times so it was a literal walk in the park. Another wide grin broke out on my face the moment I sighted Adam's door. I ran towards it, making sure I made no noise at all. I was already at the door and was ready to pull the door knob when a voice from the other side had me halting in my tracks. "Easy now, sunshine." Adam? It couldn't be. He only called me Sunshine. " We don't want to mess up my suit, do we now?" "Who cares about the suit?"A giggle followed. I wasn't sure who it was, but it definitely wasn't Adam or another man. " We have other important things to think of." "Oh really?" Adam was smirking, I could tell from his voice. Before I could register anything else, a slurpy sound followed. "Why don't you fill me in on it then?" Goosebumps crept up my skin at the sound of that. No, it couldn't be. Adam? No! I struggled to wrap my head around it. There was no way. Adam would never do this to me. It just wasn't possible. Or maybe I was exaggerating things, or even overreacting maybe. I still didn't know who was in there so how could I be jumping to conclusions? I took in deep breaths for a couple of seconds as I thought of what to do. After I'd sucked in oxygen to my satisfaction, I bent down to sneak a peek at the keyhole. Adam always said he would look into it, but he never got to fixing it and I couldn't be more glad. The moment I got a good view of the room, I recoiled back immediately, bile rising in my throat. If I hadn't just seen it with my eyes, no way in hell would I have believed it? Sprawled wide on his bed with his hands behind his chocolate brown hair, was none other than Adam. I didn't know which was disgusting, the sight of him or the naked woman on top of him. Even in my sleep, I would be able to recognize to whom that fiery-colored hair belonged. " We fit so perfectly, you know." She slurred as she bucked her hips back, an illicit moan slipping through her lips. " Makes me wonder why you're even going through with this." "Sweetheart." I watched her bend to plant another kiss on his lips. " I thought you knew me by now. This sham of a wedding is simply a means to an end. Don't worry, I have a surprise for you after it all. " "I see." She purred, slowly bouncing and maintaining a steady pace. I watched Adam's eyes hood over as he fondled her breasts. "Then it's only polite for me to come up with a surprise of my own right?" Adam's moans hit the roof as she rode him, Adam clutching onto the woman like his life depended on it. I was disgusted by the sight in front of me, but somehow I couldn't stop myself from watching. With each thrust, I felt my heart ripping into a million pieces, shred after shred. My vision became blurry with each kiss they feathered on each other's necks, their entwined moans driving a stake deeper and deeper into my chest. At that moment, I decided that I'd had enough. The lacy material felt foreign like the one thing I adored had turned against me, as I gripped it once again and headed back to my room. Tears streamed down my cheeks as all of Adam's promises rang in my ears. Lies! They were all lies from the pit of hell, lies I was stupid enough to fall for. But just as the tidal wave of heartbreak and shock hit me, another surge of energy seemed to burst from within me. There was no way I would let Adam live this down.