THE BILLIONAIRE’S ACCIDENTAL FIANCEE

Chapter One

I ran before I thought. My heels clattered against the marble floor, my veil twisting around my arm like a desperate hand trying to stop me. Someone called my name from behind, but I didn’t turn. I couldn’t. The sound of my heartbeat drowned everything else.

Outside, the air hit my face like cold water. The city was loud, lively, and cruelly bright. Horns of cars were flying up and down. People stared. Some raised their phones to record me. I must have looked insane, a bride running through traffic in a ruined white dress. I didn’t care. I waved down the first taxi I saw. The driver frowned at me, probably thinking I was some kind of runaway or lunatic. I threw open the door and climbed in.

I told him to take me anywhere. My voice sounded strange, thin, not like mine.

He looked at me through the rearview mirror. His eyes were dark, calm, and hard to read. I waited for him to ask questions, but he didn’t. He just started the car.

The silence in that cab felt heavy. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. The ring still glittered on my finger, mocking me. I yanked it off and dropped it in my lap. For a moment, I thought about tossing it out the window, but I didn’t. Maybe part of me still couldn’t believe I had done it. That I had walked away.

I stared through the window. The city lights smeared together in gold and gray. It smelled like rain and gasoline. My chest ached like I was holding in a scream.

He finally spoke. His voice was rough but calm. He asked if I was running from something or to something.

I turned toward him, startled. He didn’t look at me. His hands were steady on the wheel. He didn’t seem like a taxi driver, he was too composed, too sure of himself.

I said both. My voice cracked a little.

He hummed like he understood. Like he had seen enough people crash and burn to know what it looked like.

Rain started to fall, first soft, then harder. He rolled up the windows. The sound of it filled the space between us.

I remember whispering that I didn’t even know where I was going.

He nodded and said that much was obvious.

Minutes passed. The panic slowly faded, replaced by exhaustion. I leaned back, closed my eyes and the wedding replayed in my mind like a broken film reel. The white roses. The guests whispering. Adrian’s face as I walked down the aisle. His proud smile, his mother’s whisper, the word merger echoing under the music.

That was all it had ever been to them. A transaction disguised as love.

I opened my eyes. The driver was still quiet, focused on the road.

I asked his name.

He said Leo King

The name struck me like a wrong note. King. It held a weight of headlines and late night jokes. I told him I needed coffee and something to change what I was wearing and nothing more. He stopped at a roadside and got a fairly used cloth and handed it over to me. He shrugged and opened the glove box, and handed me a business card with a logo I did not recognize. He said he was testing a ride-share app. He said he worked in tech. His voice had the cool steadiness of someone used to controlling.

I wanted to be alone. I wanted a room with low light and no questions. I wanted my life to stop for a minute while I sorted the wreckage. He drove me to a small hotel near the river. The lobby smelled of mint and polish. I paid with shaking hands. He refused to take the cash.

You can stay here till you decide, he said. His eyes met mine in the mirror, softer now, almost kind.

I nodded, whispered thank you, and stepped out. The air was sharp and clean after the rain. My dress clung to my legs, heavy and cold. I stood and watched his car disappear down the street.

For a long moment, I wondered if I had imagined him. The quiet understanding. The calm voice that didn’t ask too much. The stranger who just helped me

I wrapped my arms around myself and took a deep breath as I walked inside. My life felt like it had collapsed and begun all at once.

The waitress asked if I wanted coffee. I said yes. The warmth seeped into my hands when she brought it. I stared out the window at the cool weather and whispered to myself that I didn’t know what came next.

When I finally looked down, the ring still sat in my finger. It was beautiful, expensive, and meaningless. Tears was rolling down my eyes as the events of the day keep replaying in my head, am suppose to be the newest bride, am suppose to be happy but no, I couldn't bear the pains of what my supposed husband dished out, i gently wiped my tears as I decided never to go back to that life again even though i dont know what my next step would be. I carefully slid the ring across the table and left it there.

The waitress noticed it when she came back to refill my cup. She hesitated, looked at me like she wanted to ask, but didn’t. I was grateful for that silence.

I stayed there for hours, sipping coffee that had long gone cold. At some point, I stopped shaking. My heart slowed. I wasn’t sure what I was anymore. I changed my clothes and lay on the bed.

My phone vibrated in the night. A number I did not recognize. I answered. His voice came through, low and careful. Zara, I saw the message, I am sorry the voice said, I stood. My legs gave me guidance I did not trust. I did not want his words to live in my room. I hung up.