Her Secret Identity: The Billionaire's Ex is a Queen

The scent of jasmine clung thick in the air. Candles flickered down the aisle in tall glass cylinders, casting a golden shimmer across the ivory carpet that led to Theresa Mo. She stood still, breath caught in her throat, a bouquet trembling in her hands. The veil fell delicately over her face like mist settling on a spring morning. Her heart pounded with joy as she looked up to see the face of her handsome groom. The man she has loved since childhood. The orchestra was playing softly, a delicate swell of violins rising around the grand cathedral. Everyone she knew was here. Friends. Family. Her mother sitting stiffly in the front row, clutching a lace handkerchief. Her groom waiting at the altar, nervously adjusting the collar of his suit. Theresa 's eyes glittered like stars under the veil and the groom looked up and caught the faint smile in her eyes. "Will you Theresa Mo take Howard to be your lawfully wedded husband?" "I do." She said smiling sweetly. "And do you, Howard take Theresa Mo to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The groom's back was doused in sweat. He had remembered the man who stood smoking outside his house and the threat he had uttered. "Reject her!" He had the urge to punch him in the face but the man seemed to understand his intention and smiled coldly, pulled out a gun and used a white handkerchief to gently clean the gun as though it was stained. Howard's feet turned cold on sighting that cold metal that could end his life in a second. He bravely stood his ground. "I won't reject her. I love her and she loves me too. There's nothing you can do about it!" He took a deep breath as he stood face to face with her. "I do." "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Howard gently lifted the veil of his blushing bride and leaned in to take a kiss but he suddenly froze as he felt a stinging pain at the back of his head and a thick liquid running down his head. He saw fear in his newly wedded wife's eyes and he tried to smile to reassure her but he grimaced and fell down with a thump! The hall was filled with screams as people scampered around trying to find the nearest exit. The priest had long disappeared in the chaos. Suddenly, men dressed in black suit appeared on the scene and started shooting sporadically. Theresa's heart stilled and her heart thumped painfully in her chest as her beloved slumped down at her feet. She had dreamed about getting married to the love of her life but now that she was, everything seemed to go wrong! She had tried to tell her mother what she felt but no one would believe her if she had said the most powerful man in the city had whispered into her ear that she could not marry anyone else. That she belonged to him. That her heart had no business being promised to another man when it had already been claimed. She had arrogantly stated that she would get married in front of his face and if he dared, he should stop her. She knew he would come and there was a fleeting expectation in her heart but then when she saw her groom smiling at her, she felt conflicted. Did she love him or not? She couldn't tell but when she remembered that haughty expression on a certain somebody's face as smoke from his cigarette hid his sharp blue eyes which were narrowed at her, her heart couldn't find a resting place! So when the men in black appeared, she was glued to her feet. Her vision swam and her head was reeling as though she would faint. Suddenly, she was swept off her feet. Her eyes turned to him in panic. Leonard Salvador. It was him! He was dressed in an obsidian suit that looked like it had been cut with glass. He was the city’s most elusive billionaire, wrapped in scandal and dripping with wealth. No one knew what he truly did. They only knew he owned more than half the skyline, that he turned failing empires into gold, and that no woman had ever survived more than a whisper of his attention without falling apart. He walked straight down the aisle like it belonged to him. His presence made the lights flicker. Leonard did not slow down. He held on to the woman in his arms. He could smell the faint jasmine scent that was hers alone and his heart could not settle down. He had warned her not to test his patience but the stupid woman would not listen so he had to speak to the groom. Who knew he too would not listen. He was past his limits. he wouldn't even converse with his own mother but here he was, lowering his head to speak to that chicken of a man. This man wasn't worthy of a beautiful phoenix like Theresa. She belonged to him. Only him! Time slowed down and he walked with the confidence of a man who knew his worth. Her wedding gown hung down in trails on the ground as he moved ruggedly through the doors and out onto the streets. His men also left the scene after setting the groom straight. He settled her in the front seat of his mercedes benz amidst her struggling. "Why are you doing this?" She cried with tears shining in her almond shaped eyes. "You forgot what I told you so soon?," he asked, voice low, smooth like velvet brushed with smoke. He looked directly into her eyes. "You need my permission before you give yourself to anyone else." Her lips parted but no sound came out. Then, without waiting for her permission, he leaned in close. "You are mine," he whispered, "and I never lose what is mine." And just like that, his lips crashed into hers. She struggled fiercely but he held her down until he was satisfied. He looked down at her swollen mouth and felt satisfied. He turned back to the road after tying her hands with his tie. She kept struggling and crying pitifully but he paid her no heed.