The Billionaire Serpent King's Bride

Chapter 12

SELENE'S POV

The soft click of the bedroom door echoed through the room. Lucien left. Silence settled around me once again.

I stood exactly where he'd left me, my mind refusing to catch up with everything that had happened over the last twenty four hours. Yesterday, I had left Blackwood. Yesterday, I had walked away from the life I'd always known.

And today, I was getting married. The thought still felt impossible.

A slow breath escaped my lips as I lowered myself onto the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the morning sunlight spilling across the polished floor. How could an entire life change in a single day?

Fear, uncertainty, curiosity. They tangled together until I could no longer separate one emotion from another. Nothing about this felt real.

Ping.

The sharp sound sliced through the silence. I frowned.

Another notification followed.

Ping.

Then another.

Ping.

My eyes drifted toward my phone resting on the bedside table. For a moment, I simply stared at it.

"...My phone."

I hadn't touched it since leaving Blackwood yesterday. With everything that had happened, I'd forgotten it even existed.

I reached for it. The screen lit up instantly.

My eyes widened.

Hundreds of notifications. Missed calls. Unread messages. News alerts. Social media mentions. The numbers kept climbing as more notifications poured in.

"What..."

My thumb hovered uncertainly before opening the first notification. A news article immediately filled the screen.

WORLD'S MOST ELIGIBLE BILLIONAIRE TO MARRY TODAY.

Below the headline was a photograph of Lucien.

Another notification.

LUCIEN DRAKON OFFICIALLY LEAVES THE BACHELOR MARKET.

Another.

WHO IS THE MYSTERY WOMAN WHO CAPTURED LUCIEN DRAKON'S HEART?

A knot tightened in my stomach. Slowly, I opened one of the articles.

Photographs from yesterday filled the page. Lucien carrying me away from Blackwood. The convoy arriving at Drakon Estate. The moment we stepped out of the SUV.

Pictures taken from angles I hadn't even noticed. When had all these been taken?

I scrolled farther down. The comments appeared.

At first, they almost made me smile.

"No! Someone tell me this isn't real!"

"There goes my chance of marrying Lucien Drakon."

"The hottest billionaire bachelor is officially off the market."

"She's so lucky."

For the briefest moment, the weight pressing against my chest eased. Then I kept scrolling.

The names became familiar. People and wolves from Blackwood Territory.

"She betrayed Alpha Kieran."

"Money really does buy love."

"She left the future Alpha for a billionaire."

"Gold digger."

"She never loved Kieran in the first place."

The smile disappeared from my face. More comments followed. Crueler. Sharper. Each one landed like a stone against my chest.

None of them knew what had happened. None of them knew what it had cost me to leave.

To them, I wasn't a daughter. I wasn't a woman trying to protect the people she loved. I was simply the girl who abandoned one man for another.

A painful lump settled in my throat. Before I could read another word, I locked the screen.

My reflection stared back at me from the dark glass. For a long moment, I simply sat there, holding the phone between trembling hands.

Maybe some stories were never meant to be judged by strangers. Because strangers only ever saw the ending. They never saw everything that came before it.

A gentle knock sounded at the door. I quickly placed the phone aside before blinking away the sting gathering behind my eyes.

Margaret stepped inside with the same gentle smile she'd worn since I'd arrived at the estate. "We should leave soon, Miss."

I nodded quietly before glancing down at the clothes I was wearing. "What am I supposed to wear?"

"Anything you'd like," Margaret replied. "Everything has already been prepared."

Prepared?

The word only deepened my curiosity. What exactly had Lucien arranged?

A few minutes later, Margaret led me through the quiet halls of Drakon Estate while two attendants followed behind us carrying carefully packed garment bags. Outside, a sleek black limousine waited beneath the grand entrance.

The driver hurried forward and opened the rear door. I glanced around instinctively.

"...Where's Lucien?"

Margaret followed my gaze before looking back at me. "Mr. Drakon left a little while ago, Miss."

A faint crease formed between my brows. "But he said he'd meet me downstairs."

"He did."

A knowing smile touched her lips. "And he will."

She gestured toward the waiting limousine. "You'll find him there."

There.

The simple word made my heart beat just a little faster. Without another question, I slipped into the back seat.

As the limousine pulled away from the estate, I rested my forehead lightly against the cool glass. The city slowly disappeared behind us.

Towering buildings gave way to tree lined roads. Those roads opened into breathtaking landscapes that seemed untouched by the noise of the outside world.

Every mile carried me farther from the life I'd left behind, and closer to the one waiting for me.

The silence inside the limousine wasn't uncomfortable. If anything, it gave my thoughts too much room.

Who exactly was Lucien Drakon? How had he managed to arrange a wedding overnight? And why did it feel as though he knew pieces of me I'd never shared with anyone?

Eventually, the limousine slowed before a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates woven with silver vines and blooming white roses.

Beyond them, my breath caught.

Endless gardens stretched into the distance, overflowing with thousands of white flowers dancing beneath the morning breeze. Elegant marble fountains shimmered beneath the sunlight.

Towering trees concealed the rest of the property, revealing only enough to make one thing painfully obvious.

It was beautiful.

Before I could see anything more, the limousine turned away from the main entrance. Confusion flickered through me.

We weren't going there.

Instead, the car circled toward a private entrance hidden behind the estate before coming to a gentle stop. As soon as the door opened, several women greeted us with warm smiles and ushered me inside.

The bridal suite stole the breath from my lungs. Soft ivory walls reflected the morning light pouring through enormous windows.

Fresh white roses and peonies filled crystal vases, their delicate fragrance lingering in the air. Long gold framed mirrors stretched across one wall, while elegant sofas and antique tables gave the room a warmth that immediately settled my racing heart.

Everything felt peaceful. Intimate. As though this room existed for one purpose alone.

To welcome a bride.

My eyes wandered across the room before stopping on a satin garment bag standing quietly near the window. Something about it drew me closer.

Almost as though it had been waiting for me.

One of the stylists carefully unzipped it. The fabric slowly came into view.

Delicate ivory lace. Hand sewn pearls catching the morning light. Layers of soft tulle flowing effortlessly toward the floor.

My heart stopped.

"No..."

The whisper escaped before I realized I'd spoken. Slowly, I stepped closer.

My trembling fingertips brushed against the lace. I knew this dress.

Not this exact one. But this design.

This silhouette. The illusion sleeves. The graceful neckline. Even the tiny embroidered flowers hidden throughout the skirt.

It was my dream wedding dress.

The one I'd imagined countless times growing up. The one I'd absentmindedly sketched in the margins of an old notebook.

A notebook no one had ever seen.

My throat tightened.

"...How?"

The question escaped in little more than a whisper.

How did he know?