: The Substitute Bride of the Married Billionaire

“What?” Mrs. Hayes stared at the letter in her hand, her fingers trembling as she read it again. She had only come upstairs to remind her daughter that the makeup artist would arrive soon, but the room was empty. The wedding dress was still hanging beside the wardrobe, the shoes were arranged beside the bed, and the diamond necklace sat untouched on the dressing table. Her daughter was supposed to be getting ready for the most important day of her life. Instead, all that remained was a letter. “No, this can’t be happening. She can’t just leave like this,” Mrs. Hayes whispered, pressing the letter against her chest as tears filled her eyes. She quickly opened it again, hoping she had misunderstood the words, but there was no mistake. “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry. I can’t marry Alexander. I love Daniel, and I’ve chosen him. Please don’t look for me. I know this will hurt you, but I can’t spend the rest of my life with someone I don’t love. I’m sorry.” “She ran away,” Mrs. Hayes whispered, covering her mouth as her shoulders shook. She rushed out of the bedroom and hurried downstairs, holding the letter tightly in her hand. “David!” Her husband was in the dining room with the wedding planner, checking the final arrangements. He looked up immediately when he heard the fear in her voice. “What happened? Why are you shouting?” David asked, pushing his chair back as he stood. “She’s gone, Clara is gone. I went upstairs to check on her and found this on the dressing table. David, she ran away,” Mrs. Hayes explained, thrusting the letter toward him as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Who is she with?” David asked, taking the letter and unfolding it with a frown. “Daniel.” David read the letter. His eyes stopped on the name; his fingers tightened around the paper. “She actually did this?” he demanded, looking at his wife in disbelief. Mrs. Hayes nodded, wiping her cheeks with shaking fingers. “When did she leave? Did you see her this morning? Did she say anything last night?” David questioned, already heading toward the stairs. “I saw her last night. She came to my room and told me she was nervous about the wedding. I thought she was simply scared because today was a big day. I never imagined she was planning to leave. I should have known something was wrong,” Mrs. Hayes admitted, following him with hurried steps. David pushed open his daughter’s bedroom door and searched the room. He checked the bathroom, the balcony, and the wardrobe. Her clothes were still there, along with most of her belongings. Only her phone and a small bag were missing. “She planned this carefully,” David muttered, running a hand through his hair as he stared at the empty space beside the bed. “She must have packed before I came upstairs. Maybe Daniel was waiting for her somewhere,” Mrs. Hayes replied, looking around desperately. David pulled out his phone and called his daughter. The call rang several times before ending. He tried again, but the phone was now switched off. “She turned it off,” David muttered, lowering the phone as confusion filled his face. “Call Daniel, maybe he’ll answer you. Please, David, we have to find them before Alexander gets here,” Mrs. Hayes urged, gripping his arm. “I already called him twice. He isn’t answering, and neither are the people who know him. We have less than an hour before Alexander arrives, so standing here crying won’t bring her back,” David snapped, pulling away from her as frustration tightened his face. Mrs. Hayes stared at him for a moment before wiping her tears. They spent the next few minutes calling her daughter’s friends and relatives, but nobody knew where she had gone. Daniel’s phone remained unreachable, and every new call only made David more anxious. Then his phone rang, he looked at the screen and immediately straightened. “Who is it?” Mrs. Hayes asked, watching his face change. “Alexander’s assistant. Don’t say anything,” David warned, pressing the phone to his ear as he forced himself to remain calm. “Good morning, Mr. Hayes. Mr. Black’s convoy has left the estate. He should arrive in about twenty minutes. I assume everything is ready for the ceremony?” the assistant asked. “Yes. Everything is ready. Tell Mr. Black we are expecting him,” David assured him, tightening his grip on the phone then the call ended. Mrs. Hayes moved closer. “How long will it take before they reach here?” she asked, searching his face. “It’ll take just twenty minutes.” David replied turning to her. She stared at him in horror. “David, we have to tell him. We cannot let Alexander walk into this house expecting to marry her when she has already run away with another man. The truth will come out anyway, and if he finds out we knew before he arrived, he will think we deliberately humiliated him,” she pleaded, twisting her fingers together. “I know what will happen if he finds out, and I know what will happen if he cancels the agreement. We lose the company, the house, and everything we have left. Alexander is the only person who can clear our debts, and the marriage is part of that agreement. I cannot stand here and throw away the only chance this family has,” David argued, rubbing his forehead as the pressure of the situation weighed on him. “And what do you want to do instead? Lie to him? What happens when he discovers the bride is gone? Do you really think a man like Alexander Black will forgive us for deceiving him?” Mrs. Hayes asked, tears gathering in her eyes as she shook her head. “We need another bride,” David answered quietly, looking toward the wedding dress. Mrs. Hayes froze. “David, no. Don’t even think about Avery. She has nothing to do with this, she is not going to pay for her sister’s decision,” she protested, stepping closer with a worried look. “She is our daughter, and she is the only person who can make this possible,” David replied, keeping his eyes on the dress. “That doesn’t make it right. Avery doesn’t know Alexander, she didn’t agree to this marriage, and she hasn’t done anything wrong. You can’t simply put her in that dress and send her to a man who thinks he is marrying someone else,” Mrs. Hayes argued, tears slipping down her cheeks as she shook her head. “Then tell me what else we can do. Tell me how we save the company without Alexander. Tell me how we pay the bank when we barely have enough money to cover this month’s expenses. Tell me what you want me to do, because I don’t have another answer,” David demanded, spreading his hands as desperation showed in his eyes. Mrs. Hayes looked down, unable to answer. Before she could speak again, the bedroom door opened. Avery stood there, she looked from her mother’s wet cheeks to her father’s tense face. “Why are you both up here? And why is Mom crying? What happened?” Avery asked, walking into the room as confusion crossed her face. Mrs. Hayes quickly wiped her cheeks. “Avery, come here. We need to talk to you,” she urged, reaching toward her daughter. Avery stopped a few steps away. “Talk about what? Where is my sister? She was supposed to be getting ready. Why is everyone acting like something terrible happened?” she asked, looking between them with growing suspicion. David picked up the letter and held it out. “Read this,” he instructed, watching her carefully. Avery took the letter. Her eyes moved across the page, and her expression changed as she reached the end. “She left with Daniel?” Avery asked, looking up at them in disbelief. “Yes. She ran away this morning,” Mrs. Hayes confirmed, lowering her eyes. Avery looked at the wedding dress before turning back to her father. “Then cancel the wedding. She made her choice. Tell Alexander the truth and let him decide what he wants to do. Why are you both standing here acting like this is the end of the world?” Avery demanded, folding the letter as anger replaced her shock. “Because you don’t understand what this marriage means,” David answered, his voice tense. “Then explain it to me. What did you promise Alexander? Why are you more afraid of losing him than you are angry that your own daughter ran away?” Avery asked, stepping closer as she waited for an answer. “The company is in debt and Alexander agreed to save it, but the marriage was part of the agreement. If he walks away today, the company goes with him,” David admitted, looking down at the floor. Avery stared at him. “So, my sister was being used to save the company?” “We were trying to protect this family,” Mrs. Hayes whispered, wiping away another tear. “And now that she escaped, you want to find someone else to replace her?” Avery asked, looking between her parents as her voice began to shake but nobody answered. Avery’s eyes narrowed. “Who?” David slowly raised his eyes to hers. “You, you will be the substitute bride.”