Chapter 2—The Bride Who Vanished
1590 Words
The cathedral exploded into whispers the moment Selena lowered the phone.
No one even tried hiding it anymore.
Some guests openly stared at her with pity while others leaned toward each other, eager for more gossip. A few phones were pointed directly at her now. Recording.
Capturing every second of her humiliation.
Selena’s fingers tightened painfully around her bouquet.
“Selena,” Vanessa whispered urgently. “Come with me.”
She didn’t move.
Her entire body felt numb.
Like her brain had stopped processing what was happening.
Adrian left.
No.
Worse.
He left with Cassandra.
The woman everyone knew he once loved.
“Miss Hart?” Father Benedict asked carefully from the altar. “Should we”
“Stop the ceremony,” her father barked before she could answer.
The words cracked through the cathedral violently.
Selena flinched.
Her mother looked mortified as reporters outside suddenly began pushing toward the entrance doors. Security struggled to keep them back while camera flashes burst endlessly through the glass.
Somewhere near the front pews, someone muttered loudly enough for her to hear.
“She should’ve known he’d never marry her.”
Another voice answered.
“No man forgets a woman like Cassandra.”
Selena’s stomach twisted hard.
Vanessa immediately grabbed her hand. “We’re leaving.”
This time Selena let herself be pulled away.
The whispers followed her all the way down the cathedral hallway.
Poor thing.
So embarrassing.
I heard he’s been seeing Cassandra again for months.
Imagine waiting six hours just to get dumped publicly.
Each word felt like another knife sliding beneath her skin.
By the time they reached the bridal suite, Selena could barely breathe.
Vanessa quickly shut the door behind them.
Silence.
Heavy.
Painful silence.
Then Selena laughed.
A small broken sound escaped her lips before another followed.
Vanessa looked alarmed. “Selena…”
“He left me at the altar.”
Her voice cracked halfway through the sentence.
Reality finally slammed into her full force.
Tears blurred her vision instantly.
“Oh my God,” she whispered shakily. “He actually left me.”
Vanessa rushed toward her just as Selena’s knees gave out.
The bouquet hit the floor first.
Then Selena collapsed beside it, sobs tearing violently from her chest.
“I don’t understand,” she cried. “I don’t understand.”
Vanessa hugged her tightly while Selena shook uncontrollably in her arms.
Because none of this made sense.
Adrian was distant sometimes.
Cold often.
Difficult always.
But cruel?
Never.
Not like this.
Not publicly.
Not intentionally.
Which somehow made this hurt even more.
Her phone rang again.
Both women froze.
Adrian.
Selena stared at the screen through blurry eyes.
Vanessa hesitated. “You don’t have to answer.”
But Selena already swiped the screen.
“How long?” she asked immediately.
There was heavy breathing on the other side.
“Selena, thank God”
“How long have you been sleeping with her?”
A sharp silence followed.
“What?”
“In case you forgot,” Selena snapped, her voice breaking, “the entire world just watched you board a plane with your ex-girlfriend while I stood at the altar looking like an idiot.”
“Selena listen to me carefully,” Adrian said urgently. “Something happened.”
“There’s always something with you.”
“No, you don’t understand”
“I understand perfectly.”
Her chest tightened painfully again.
Outside the suite, muffled voices and movement echoed through the hallway. The scandal was spreading fast.
By morning every media outlet in the country would have this story.
Billionaire Groom Abandons Bride for Former Lover.
The humiliation alone made Selena want to disappear.
“Where are you?” she demanded.
A pause.
Then quietly:
“I can’t tell you right now.”
That answer shattered something inside her completely.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips. “Wow.”
“Selena please”
“You chose her.”
“No!”
For the first time, Adrian actually sounded panicked.
Desperate.
It caught her off guard.
“Something happened before the wedding,” he said quickly. “I was trying to get back to you.”
“But you didn’t.”
Silence.
Painful silence.
Then his voice dropped lower.
“I swear to you I never meant to hurt you.”
Tears burned hotter in Selena’s eyes.
Because somehow he sounded sincere.
And that only confused her more.
“You humiliated me in front of hundreds of people.”
“I know.”
“You left me alone at the altar.”
“I know.”
“You were holding her.”
Another silence.
This one longer.
Deadlier.
Selena closed her eyes.
That was answer enough.
“Selena”
“Don’t.”
Her voice came out barely above a whisper now.
Broken.
Exhausted.
“I defended you for six hours.”
The confession seemed to hit him hard because his breathing changed instantly.
“I kept telling everyone you would come back,” she continued shakily. “I trusted you.”
“You still can.”
That almost made her laugh.
Trust him?
When the entire world had just watched him leave with another woman?
“I can’t do this right now,” she whispered.
“Selena wait”
But she ended the call.
Immediately.
Before he could explain.
Before he could destroy her any further.
The suite became silent again.
Vanessa carefully sat beside her. “What did he say?”
Selena stared blankly ahead.
“He kept saying something happened.”
“And?”
“And I don’t care anymore.”
But even she heard the uncertainty in her own voice.
Because Adrian hadn’t sounded like a man happily running away with another woman.
He sounded terrified.
The thought unsettled her deeply.
A sudden wave of dizziness hit her without warning.
Selena swayed hard.
“Whoa.” Vanessa grabbed her quickly. “Hey.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re pale.”
“It’s been a long day.”
But the room kept spinning violently.
Nausea rose in her stomach.
Vanessa frowned. “Have you eaten today?”
Selena tried remembering.
Coffee this morning.
Champagne hours ago.
Nothing else.
“I’m okay,” she insisted again.
Vanessa clearly didn’t believe her.
“You should go to the hospital.”
Selena immediately shook her head. “No.”
“The stress alone could make you sick.”
“I said no.”
Hospitals meant questions.
Attention.
More humiliation.
Right now all Selena wanted was to disappear somewhere dark and quiet where no one could find her.
Her phone buzzed again.
This time she turned it face down without checking.
“I can’t stay here,” she whispered.
Vanessa nodded slowly. “Then let’s go home.”
But Selena already knew she couldn’t go home either.
Not to the penthouse Adrian bought for them.
Not to the life they built together.
Not to the memories waiting there.
Because tonight had destroyed everything.
An hour later, Selena stood alone inside the bathroom of a private clinic across town.
Vanessa had practically dragged her there after Selena nearly fainted again leaving the cathedral.
Now the bright white lights made her headache worse.
She stared blankly at the small plastic stick resting on the sink counter.
Positive.
Her breath caught.
No.
No no no.
Her fingers trembled as she slowly picked it up again.
Still positive.
A soft knock sounded outside the bathroom door.
“Selena?” Vanessa’s voice came carefully. “Are you okay?”
Selena couldn’t answer immediately.
Pregnant.
She was pregnant.
The timing felt almost cruel.
A broken laugh escaped her lips before tears followed seconds later.
This couldn’t be happening.
Not tonight.
Not after everything.
She looked down at her engagement ring.
The massive diamond blurred through her tears.
Adrian had slipped it onto her finger two years ago with a quiet promise.
Forever.
Selena let out a shaky breath before slowly pulling the ring off.
The skin beneath it looked strangely bare.
Empty.
Just like her.
By midnight, the city was drowning in headlines about the abandoned wedding.
Selena sat silently in the backseat of Vanessa’s car while notifications flooded endlessly across her screen.
She ignored all of them.
Especially Adrian’s.
Thirty-two missed calls.
Twelve messages.
One voicemail.
She listened to none of it.
“Where will you go?” Vanessa asked softly while driving.
Selena stared out the window at the city lights.
“I don’t know yet.”
But she knew one thing for certain.
She couldn’t stay.
Not here.
Not with him.
Not after tonight.
The car stopped briefly outside Selena’s penthouse building.
She went upstairs alone.
The apartment was dark and painfully quiet.
Their wedding photo from the engagement party still sat framed beside the fireplace.
Adrian’s arm around her waist.
His rare small smile.
Her stupid happy face staring up at him.
Selena turned the frame face down instantly.
Then she packed one suitcase.
Only essentials.
Nothing sentimental.
Nothing connected to Adrian.
When she finished, her phone rang again across the kitchen counter.
Adrian.
She stared at it for a long moment before quietly placing it beside the engagement ring.
Then she walked away from both.
By the time Selena entered the private airport an hour later, she felt strangely hollow.
Like the old version of herself had died back inside that cathedral.
A notification suddenly flashed across her new temporary phone.
BANK TRANSFER RECEIVED:
$50,000,000 — VALE HOLDINGS
Selena froze.
Another message arrived seconds later from an unknown number.
If you love your child, disappear now.
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