Chapter one-Left at the alter
1537 Words
“Congratulations, Amelia.”
“Your fiancé is in bed with your cousin.”
My smile disappeared.
I stared at the anonymous message glowing on my phone.
Attached was a twenty-second video.
Someone had to be playing a sick joke.
Today was my wedding day.
With trembling fingers, I pressed play.
A luxury hotel suite filled the screen.
A familiar man stood by the window, adjusting his cufflinks.
My heart skipped.
Ethan.
My fiancé.
He was supposed to be waiting for me at the church.
Instead…
He turned around and smiled at the woman in front of him.
Scarlett.
My sister
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“So…” she teased.
“Are you really going to marry Amelia?”
Ethan laughed.
“I have to.”
She frowned.
“What about us?”
He kissed her.
Slowly.
Carelessly.
As if six years of my love meant nothing.
When he pulled away, he smiled.
“I’ll marry Amelia today.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll divorce her.”
“You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted.”
I am just getting married to her because of my grandfather,
“But after the wedding and divorce my love,will be together”
My fingers went numb.
The phone slipped from my hand and shattered against the marble floor.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t think.
Someone knocked on the bridal suite door.
“Miss Hart?”
“The ceremony starts in three minutes.”
AMELIA POV
Three minutes.
That’s all I had left before I became Mrs. Ethan Cross.
Three minutes before I walked down the aisle.
Three minutes before I vowed to spend the rest of my life with the man I’d loved for six years.
My fingers tightened around my phone until my knuckles turned white.
“No…” I whispered, shaking my head.
This wasn’t real.
It couldn’t be.
Ethan loved me.
He was supposed to be waiting at the altar,
Still finding it hard to believe
Not…
Not kissing another woman.not even just a woman but my own sister
Not looking at her the way he’d never looked at me.
My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes.
I blinked hard, refusing to let them fall.
Maybe the video was edited.
Maybe someone wanted to ruin our wedding.
Maybe…
I swallowed the lump in my throat and tapped the video again.
My heart shattered all over again.
There was no editing.
No tricks.
No misunderstanding.
The smile on Ethan’s face was real.
The tenderness in his eyes was real.
The kiss…
God.
The kiss was real.
A painful laugh escaped my lips.
How stupid had I been?
Every cancelled date.
Every “urgent business meeting.”
Every night he came home smelling of perfume that wasn’t mine.
I had believed every lie because I loved him.
Because I trusted him.
Because I thought love was enough.
I was wrong.
A sharp knock echoed through the bridal suite.
“Miss Hart?” the wedding planner called softly. “It’s time.”
Time.
The word felt like a knife twisting deeper into my chest.
How was I supposed to walk down that aisle?
How was I supposed to smile at hundreds of guests…
…when the man waiting for me had already given his heart to someone else?
Another knock.
“Miss Hart? Is everything alright?”
I quickly wiped my tears before anyone could hear my sobs.
If Ethan had betrayed me…
I needed to hear it from him.
Not from an anonymous message.
Not from a video.
From him.
Taking a shaky breath, I picked up the bouquet with numb fingers and reached for the door.
I was about to face the biggest humiliation of my life.
I just didn’t know it yet.
Chapter Two
Amelia’s POV
The moment I stepped out of the bridal suite, every pair of eyes landed on me.
“You look gorgeous.”
“She’s such a beautiful bride.”
“Mr. Cross is a lucky man.”
Their compliments felt like knives.
If only they knew.
I forced a smile and tightened my grip on the bouquet.
One step.
Then another.
The wedding march echoed through the cathedral as the massive wooden doors slowly opened.
Hundreds of guests rose to their feet.
Crystal chandeliers sparkled above me.
White roses lined the aisle.
Everything was exactly how I had imagined.
Everything…
Except the groom.
My smile faltered.
The altar was empty.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Maybe Ethan had stepped away for a moment.
The priest checked his watch.
My wedding planner frowned.
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
“Where’s the groom?”
“Is he running late?”
I swallowed hard.
No.
He promised he’d be here.
He promised.
The wedding coordinator hurried toward me.
“Miss Hart,” she whispered, forcing a smile. “Mr. Cross hasn’t arrived yet.”
“What do you mean… he hasn’t arrived?”
She lowered her voice.
“We can’t reach him.”
My stomach dropped.
The anonymous message echoed inside my head.
He’s not coming.
No.
Not Ethan.
Not after everything we’d been through.
Suddenly…
The church doors swung open.
Everyone turned.
A wave of relief washed over me.
He’s here.
But the relief lasted only a heartbeat.
Ethan walked in.
His black tuxedo was slightly wrinkled.
His tie hung loose around his neck.
Beside him…
Scarlett.
She wasn’t wearing the bridesmaid dress I’d chosen for her.
She was dressed in white.
Gasps filled the cathedral.
Scarlett smiled as if she owned the room.
Then she slipped her arm through Ethan’s.
My heart stopped.
Ethan met my eyes.
For a second…
I searched for regret.
For guilt.
For anything.
I found nothing.
He climbed the steps toward the altar.
Stopped in front of me.
And sighed.
“I’m sorry, Amelia.”
The bouquet slipped from my hands.
“I can’t marry you.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Crushing.
Then Scarlett stepped forward, resting a hand possessively on Ethan’s arm.
A slow smile curved her lips.
“Because…” she said sweetly.
“He’s marrying me instead.”
The church exploded with shocked whispers.
I couldn’t hear them.
I couldn’t hear anything.
My entire world had gone silent.
He’s marrying me instead.”
Scarlett’s words echoed through the cathedral.
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
The bouquet slipped from my fingers, white roses scattering across the polished floor.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Then the whispers began.
“Oh my God…”
“Did he just leave her at the altar?”
“Isn’t that her cousin?”
“I knew this wedding was too good to be true.”
Heat flooded my face.
Hundreds of eyes stared at me.
Some filled with pity.
Others with amusement.
Every gaze felt like another knife buried in my chest.
“Ethan…” My voice trembled. “Tell me this is a joke.”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he reached for Scarlett’s hand.
Their fingers intertwined.
Just like mine and his had countless times before.
“I’m sorry, Amelia,” he said flatly. “I should’ve ended this a long time ago.”
A bitter laugh escaped Scarlett.
“You really thought he loved you?”
I looked at her, unable to recognize the woman standing before me.
She was my family.
The person who borrowed my clothes.
Shared my secrets.
Held my hand after our grandmother died.
“When?” I whispered.
“How long?”
Scarlett smiled without a hint of guilt.
“Almost two years.”
Two years.
For two years, they’d laughed behind my back while I planned a future that never existed.
My knees weakened.
I grabbed the edge of the altar to steady myself.
Ethan sighed impatiently.
“You’ve embarrassed yourself enough.”
“I think it’s time you left.”
Left?
He wanted me to leave?
My wedding.
My guests.
My humiliation.
Something inside me cracked.
I looked around the cathedral.
No one came to my side.
No one defended me.
Not even the people who had promised to love me forever.
Just then…
The heavy wooden doors creaked open.
A hush swept through the church.
Even Ethan frowned.
Slow, measured footsteps echoed across the marble floor.
One…
Two…
Three…
Every guest turned toward the entrance.
A tall man stepped inside, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit.
His expression was unreadable.
Cold.
Commanding.
The air itself seemed to change as he walked down the aisle.
People instinctively moved aside.
Whispers followed him.
“It’s Lucien Cross…”
“Why is he here?”
“I heard he skipped his own family’s New Year banquet. Why would he attend this wedding?”
He stopped beside me.
His dark eyes met mine.
For the first time since my world collapsed…
I didn’t feel alone.
Lucien turned to Ethan.
His voice was calm.
Dangerously calm.
“So…”
“You’ve decided to throw away something priceless.”
Ethan frowned.
“This has nothing to do with you, Cousin.”
Lucien’s lips curved into the faintest smile.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“It has everything to do with me.”
And before anyone could react…
He extended his hand toward me.
“Amelia.”
“Come with me.”
- Writer
