Betrayed Before “I DO”

Chapter 13

Amelia woke slowly, a satisfied smile already forming before her eyes had fully opened.

For a moment, she didn’t move.

Didn’t need to.

Everything felt exactly how it should.

Warm.

Quiet.

Perfect.

Her fingers curled slightly against the sheets as she stretched, her mind drifting lazily back to the night before.

Everything was finally falling into place.

By the end of today—

it would all be theirs.

No more pretending.

No more hiding.

No more watching Daniel play the devoted fiancé to someone who didn’t deserve him.

A small, smug smile spread across her lips.

She turned her head slightly.

Daniel was still beside her.

Calm.

Asleep.

Unbothered.

Exactly how she liked him.

For a moment, she just watched him, her gaze softening slightly.

“Not for much longer,” she murmured quietly to herself.

Because after today—he wouldn’t be anyone else’s.

A sudden noise shattered the silence.

A shout.

Muffled.

Distant.

Amelia frowned slightly, her expression tightening as she lifted her head.

Another voice followed.

Louder this time.

Sharp.

Panicked.

She pushed herself up onto her elbows, listening more carefully.

Voices.

More than one.

From the hallway.

“What…?” she muttered, irritation creeping in.

This wasn’t how today was supposed to start.

Another shout echoed through the house.

Clearer now.

Urgent.

Amelia sat up properly, the calm slipping away as confusion replaced it.

“What is going on?” she said under her breath.

Beside her, Daniel shifted slightly, but didn’t wake fully.

Of course he didn’t.

Nothing rattled him.

Amelia swung her legs over the side of the bed, grabbing her robe quickly and pulling it around herself.

The voices grew louder.

Faster.

Something wasn’t right.

She moved toward the door, her steps quickening slightly as unease started to settle in her chest.

The moment she opened it—

the noise hit her fully.

“Check downstairs again!”

“She’s not answering!”

“Where is she?!”

Nancy’s voice cut through everything.

High.

Sharp.

Uncontrolled.

Amelia froze in the doorway for half a second.

That tone—

that wasn’t normal.

Not even for her.

“What’s going on?” Amelia called out, stepping into the hallway.

No one answered her straight away.

Staff moved quickly past her, tension written all over their faces.

Doors were opening.

Closing.

Footsteps rushed up and down the stairs.

It was chaos.

Real chaos.

Amelia’s stomach tightened.

“What is going on?” she repeated, louder this time.

Nancy turned sharply at the sound of her voice.

Her face—

wasn’t composed.

Not controlled.

It was frantic.

“Amelia!” she snapped. “Have you seen Maisie?”

The question hit instantly.

Hard.

Amelia frowned.

“What do you mean?” she asked. “Why would I have seen her?”

“She’s not in her room,” Nancy said, her voice tight with rising panic. “She’s not answering her phone, she’s not downstairs—she’s not anywhere.”

Amelia blinked.

Once.

Twice.

“That’s not possible,” she said.

Because it wasn’t.

Maisie wouldn’t just—

No.

“She’s probably just—getting ready,” Amelia added quickly. “Or gone out for a walk or something.”

Nancy shook her head sharply.

“No,” she said. “No, I’ve checked everywhere.”

Everywhere.

The word echoed in Amelia’s mind.

A strange, uncomfortable feeling crept into her chest.

“She wouldn’t leave today,” Amelia said, her voice slower now. “Not today.”

Nancy’s expression twisted.

“Well she’s not here!”

The panic in her voice was real.

Unfiltered.

And suddenly—

Amelia didn’t like it.

At all.

“I’ll check her room,” Amelia said quickly, already turning.

Her steps were faster now.

Sharper.

Her mind racing ahead of her.

This didn’t make sense.

None of it did.

Maisie wasn’t unpredictable.

She wasn’t impulsive.

She didn’t just disappear.

Amelia reached the door and pushed it open without knocking.

The room was still.

Quiet.

Too quiet.

Her eyes scanned it quickly.

The bed—

made.

Not slept in.

Her stomach dropped slightly.

“No…”

She stepped further inside, her gaze moving faster now.

Closet.

Empty space.

Drawers slightly open.

Not messy.

Not rushed.

Gone.

The word hit her all at once.

Gone.

Not missing.

Not delayed.

Gone.

A cold feeling spread through her chest.

Slow.

Heavy.

Real.

“No,” she whispered under her breath.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

This wasn’t part of the plan.

Behind her, footsteps approached quickly.

“Is she in there?” Nancy demanded.

Amelia didn’t turn straight away.

Her eyes were still locked on the room.

On the absence.

On the silence that shouldn’t have been there.

“No,” she said finally.

Her voice felt different.

Tighter.

Controlled.

But underneath—

something had shifted.

Something uncomfortable.

“She’s not here.”

Nancy let out a sharp, frustrated sound behind her.

“This is ridiculous,” she snapped. “Where could she possibly have gone?”

Amelia’s mind moved quickly now.

Faster than before.

Pulling at pieces.

At moments.

At words.

“And Daniel… are you sure he’ll be coming?”

The memory hit her suddenly.

Sharp.

Clear.

Maisie’s reaction.

That look.

That flicker of something she had ignored.

Her stomach dropped.

“Oh my God,” she whispered.

Nancy frowned.

“What?”

Amelia turned slowly.

Her expression no longer smug.

No longer certain.

“She knows,” she said.

The words landed heavily in the room.

Nancy’s face drained of colour.

“What do you mean she knows?”

Amelia held her gaze.

Everything clicking into place now.

The distance.

The silence.

The disappearance.

“She knows everything.”

Silence.

Heavy.

Terrible.

Real.

Nancy shook her head immediately.

“No,” she said. “No, that’s not possible—”

“She’s gone,” Amelia cut in.

Her voice steadier now.

Colder.

Controlled.

“Not missing,” she added.

“Gone.”

The word echoed between them.

And for the first time—

Amelia didn’t feel in control.

Not even close.