The Unknown Bride
1029 Words
Chapter 1: The Unknown Bride
BREAKING NEWS: Billionaire tech mogul Adrian Cavallo marries an unknown girl in a private ceremony.
June 4th, 8:00am|Gossip Circuit TV
In a twist no one saw coming, CEO of Veltrix technologies, New York's finest bachelor Adrian Cavallo allegedly tied the knot yesterday in a private ceremony.
The bride?
Not long time fiancée and Italian socialite Alessandra Vescari but an unknown woman whose name and face remains anonymous.
Sources close to the Cavallo family say the sudden switch blindsided everyone, especially the Vescari family who were reportedly kept in the dark.
"This wasn't part of the plan." One insider claimed.
"Everyone knew Adrian and Alessandra were meant to merge empires. Whoever this new girl is… she just rewrote the rules."
No word yet on Alessandra Vescari's whereabouts or take on this issue. But if silence is any clue, this is obviously far from over.
I changed the channel hoping to distract myself.
First channel, grainy photos of Adrian and me on our way out of the courthouse.
Click
Another station. Same image, different headline. "From heiress to who? Cavallo ditches Vescari for a mystery bride."
Click
Who is she? Where did she come from? And what does this mean for the Cavallo - Vescari alliance? The anchor teased her voice oozing with drama.
Click
Ugh! There was no escape
Every station. Every damn station. My blurry face next to Adrian's
The last one, the worst, had the nerve to say "who's the mystery bride that could compete with 'The Alessandra Vescari".
"We're calling this THE BRIDE SWAP HEARD ROUND THE WORLD. More updates after the break. I'm Ivy Raines and this is Buzzline daily, your one source for the truth behind the glitz.
I turned it off, finally and the silence that followed wasn't comforting. It felt heavy. Mocking.
Not once did they mention my name. Just "unknown girl", "mystery bride", "the swap". Like I was a ghost caught in the wrong frame.
Ok. I was. But that didn't mean they had to address me like nothing. Like I didn't have a life until I got tied to a powerful man.
Yeah that s**t pissed me off.
It wasn't just the headlines
It was the tone.
The smug ass anchors with their Botox smoothed smiles and fake concern. The way they made it sound like Adrian had downgraded from royalty to trash.
Me? The trash?
Fuck that.
I sat back against the headboard and crossed my arms, jaw tight. I didn't sign up for any of this. I didn't beg to be any ones wife, least of all a man with more secrets than smiles.
A soft knock on the door broke through my spiral. Before I could answer, it creaked open.
A man stepped in, tall and put together like he'd walked out of a corporate themed Vogue magazine.
"Mrs. Cavallo," he said with a curt nod.
"God please don't call me that." He didn't seem thrown by my fit.
"Apologies, Reina then?"
I sat up right tugging the robe around me tighter.
"Yeah that's better."
"I'm Damien Rios, Adrian's chief of staff. I just wanted to check how you're settling in."
"Well I woke up in a luxury cage, got called a nobody on national television and apparently ruined an empire's love story. So… you know. I'm doing great."
He gave a ghost of a smile. "I assume you've seen the news."
"You mean the grainy ass photo snapped by some sewer rat? Uhm yeah of course.
"For what it's worth, no one from our end fed them that photo. The press just got lucky."
"Guess the courthouse wasn't as private as your boss thought."
He stepped farther into the room. "I can only imagine how you feel but I cannot control the press, the information they get and what they do with it. At least not without orders. So how about some fresh air to clear your head."
"Huh?"
"A tour of the house. You've been locked up in here long enough."
"Finally." I muttered, already kicking the sheets aside. "Someone gets it."
Damien led the way, our footsteps echoing against the marble floor. The mansion was absolutely breathtaking. The ceilings were above our reach, the oil paintings stared down at me from the golden frames. And I couldn't help but feel like even the walls were silently judging me.
We passed a hallway full of tall shuttered windows and another that opened into what looked like a movie theater.
"This is the West wing." Damien said, motioning toward a corridor. "Wine cellar, private lounge, library.
"Wow. Everything looks so inviting."
"Really? Wait till I show you the garden."
A second later, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out, scanned the screen, and let out the kind of sigh that said his day just got longer.
"Excuse me a moment" he said, already stepping away towards the windows. "Stay close."
Sure.
I waited, tapping my foot, then glanced down the other end of the hall. Damien was deep in his call, back turned.
One peek wouldn't hurt. Right?
I don't think it would.
Because stay close was the one instruction I was absolutely definitely going to ignore in a place like this.
Curiosity wasn't a quirk, it was a part of my wiring. And something about this place,with its perfect staff and quiet halls, was begging to be explored.
I kept taking left and right turns, I had no idea where I wanted to go. I just kept moving.
I heard voices coming from a door cracked open slightly.
Curiosity tugged hard. I leaned in.
Voices. Low urgent.
One of them distinctly male and gravel edged. I pressed forward peeking just enough.
A dark room.
Cold, steel counters.
A faint metallic smell.
A man's voice rose agitated. I didn't catch the words. I didn't need to.
A blurry image met my eyes through the gap.
A man seated. Slumped.
Blood on his shirt.
A hand gripped his shoulder
Another towering above him.
My skin prickled. Whatever this was, it wasn’t business as usual.
Then I saw him.
Adrian
I stepped back silently. My pulse slamming through my ears.
Did he see me?
- Writer
