The Billionaire’s Revenge Bride

The rain was very heavy. It poured down against the large glass windows of the Grand Imperial Hotel. Inside the big ballroom, everything was bright and beautiful. Rich people walked around in expensive clothes. They laughed, drank champagne, and talked with fake smiles. Elena Vance stood near the corner of the room. She adjusted the strap of her emerald green dress. Her hands were shaking a little bit. Tonight was supposed to be the most important night of her life. It was her engagement party. She was supposed to marry Jeffrey, the man she had loved for three years. But Elena did not feel happy. She felt a bad feeling in her stomach. Jeffrey had been missing for the last forty minutes. He just disappeared from the party, leaving her all alone to handle the guests. Elena’s stepmother, Victoria, walked up to her. Victoria had an unkind smile on her face. "Where is your fiancé, Elena?" Victoria asked. Her voice was sharp. "A man should not leave his bride alone at her own party. Maybe he is already getting tired of you." Elena did not want to argue with her stepmother. "Jeffrey is just busy talking to important business partners, Victoria. Excuse me." Elena walked away quickly. She needed to breathe. She left the loud party and walked down a quiet, dimly lit hallway. It was the VIP corridor where the private rooms were. As she walked down the hall, she heard a sound. It was a familiar laugh. It belonged to Sarah, her stepsister. The sound came from a private lounge at the end of the corridor. The door was not closed properly. It was slightly open. Elena walked toward the door slowly. Her heart began to beat very fast. She felt afraid, but she did not know why. "Jeffrey, stop it," Sarah giggled from inside the room. Her voice was full of mischief. "What if Elena comes looking for you? Tonight is the big announcement." Elena froze right outside the door. The air completely left her lungs. "Let her look," Jeffrey’s voice replied from the room. It sounded cold. "She is too naive to notice anything anyway. This marriage is just for business. My father told me I have to marry her to merge our companies. You are the one I actually love, Sarah." Elena felt like the entire world was spinning. She pushed the door open just a tiny bit to look inside. Under the soft light of the room, she saw them clearly. Jeffrey was holding Sarah tightly around the waist. Sarah did not look surprised to see a shadow at the door. In fact, she looked directly at the opening. She knew Elena was there. She had a cruel, winning smile on her face. The pain in Elena's chest was terrible. Tears filled her eyes. For a second, she wanted to open the door completely and scream at them. But then, a cold feeling washed over her. If she cried and screamed, she would look weak. Sarah and Jeffrey would win. They wanted to see her hurt. Elena wiped her eyes. She turned around and walked away quietly. She did not go back to the party. She walked past the busy guests, through the main lobby, and stepped straight out of the hotel doors into the dark, freezing night. The cold rain hit her face immediately. In just a few seconds, her hair was ruined and her dress was completely wet. She did not care. The freezing cold felt good because it distracted her from the pain in her heart. She walked down the wet sidewalk, her high heels clicking loudly on the concrete ground. She walked blindly through the storm. She just wanted to get far away from Jeffrey and her family. As she turned a sharp corner near a dark art gallery, she did not see the large, black luxury car parked by the road. She did not see the tall man stepping out of the back seat. Elena crashed directly into a broad, solid chest. The impact was strong. Elena lost her balance. The heel of her shoe snapped with a loud crack. She closed her eyes, preparing to hit the hard, wet pavement. But she did not fall. Two powerful arms caught her around the waist. The man pulled her tightly against his warm, expensive suit jacket. "Be careful," a deep voice said. The voice was smooth and calm. It sounded like a man who was used to giving orders. Elena opened her eyes and looked up. Raindrops were on her eyelashes. The man holding her was incredibly handsome. He looked to be in his late twenties. He had a sharp jawline, dark hair, and very clear, piercing silver-gray eyes. He looked very rich and very dangerous. "Are you okay?" the man asked. He looked at her pale face and the tears mixed with rain on her cheeks. Elena tried to step away, but her broken shoe made her stumble. "I am sorry. I broke my shoe. I did not see you." The man did not let her go. He looked down at her bare foot. There was a small scrape on her ankle, and a little bit of blood was mixing with the rain. Without saying another word, the man lifted her up into his arms effortlessly. Elena gasped. She instinctively put her arms around his neck so she would not fall. He smelled like expensive wood, clean rain, and tobacco. "Wait! Put me down! I can walk," Elena said, her face turning red. "No, you cannot," the man said simply. He walked toward the open door of the black limousine. A driver in a suit held the door open and bowed his head."Mr. Vance, should I start the car?" Elena went stiff. Vance? Was this man part of the Vance family? Everyone in the city knew the Vance family. They were billionaires who owned the biggest tech and shipping companies. They were the most powerful family in the country. "Yes, Sebastian. Turn on the heater," the man ordered. He slid into the spacious, warm backseat of the car, keeping Elena firmly on his lap. He closed the door, and the sound of the storm disappeared. The car was very quiet and smelled like luxury leather. Elena felt very small sitting on this stranger's lap. She could feel the heat of his body. "You can let me go now," she whispered softly. The man looked at her for a moment, then slowly let her slide onto the plush seat next to him. He reached over, picked up a soft, warm blanket, and placed it over her shivering shoulders. "Drink this," he said. He handed her a small crystal glass with an amber liquid inside. "It will help you get warm." Elena hesitated, staring at the glass. "I do not know you. I should not take drinks from strangers." A small smile appeared on the man's lips, but his eyes remained serious. "That is a good rule. But if I wanted to hurt you, I would not have ruined my expensive suit to save you from falling on the ground." Elena knew he was right. She took the glass and took a small sip. The drink burned her throat pleasantly and made her chest feel warm. "I am Alexander," the man said, holding out his hand. Elena swallowed hard. Alexander Vance. He was the CEO of Vance International. The news always said he was a ruthless businessman who never showed mercy to his enemies. "Elena," she said softly, putting her cold hand in his. His grip was big and warm. "Well, Elena," Alexander said, leaning back against the seat. He watched her closely. "Why is a beautiful woman in an evening gown running through a thunderstorm alone, crying?" The memory of Jeffrey and Sarah came back. Elena looked out the window at the rain. "My fiancé," she said, her voice bitter. "Tonight was our engagement party. I found out he is sleeping with my stepsister." Alexander did not say standard, empty words. Instead, his jaw became tight and his silver eyes became very cold. "He is a fool," Alexander stated flatly. "A man who treats a treasure like garbage does not deserve to keep it." Elena looked at him, surprised. "You do not even know me." "I know enough," Alexander replied, looking directly into her eyes. "I know you have dignity. Most women would have made a loud scene. You chose to walk away with your head held high, even if it meant walking into a storm." He leaned a little closer to her. His voice became very low and serious. "How would you like to make them regret what they did to you tonight?" Elena’s heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?" "I have a deal for you, Elena," Alexander said, a slow, calculating smile spreading across his handsome face. "A deal that will give you the perfect revenge, and solve a very big problem for me."