Chapter 1
At the wedding of the century with Aaron Clark, I waited for him for seven hours.
He finally showed up only when the banquet was over, his designer suit soaked with rain and carrying the scent of another woman's perfume.
In the golden hall, now empty after all the guests had left, he grabbed my hand, eyes red as he promised, "Nancy, everything I did was for our future."
He had no idea. Our future was already gone. The next day, Aaron knelt in the pouring rain outside my villa, and it became the biggest headline in Otrul.
My father, Keaton Welch, lit a cigar and said to the butler, "He wants to marry a Welch family's daughter? Notify the media. Maybe he'll have better luck in his next life, but he'd better be early."
*****
When the wedding march played for the ninth time, the emcee was sweating bullets.
All the big names in Otrul were sitting below, murmuring and gossiping. The flashbulbs sparkled like tireless stars, making sure I was the centerpiece of this public humiliation.
My groom, Aaron Clark, was nowhere to be seen.
As the only daughter of the Welch family, I'd always been the center of attention.
I was used to the camera flashes, but I never thought they'd ever sting like this.
The custom-made wedding dress on me, and the antique crown supposedly won at a Tashian auction, now felt like luxurious shackles, pressing down on me and making it hard to breathe.
The head of the wedding planning team looked like she was on the verge of tears as she leaned in and whispered, "Ms. Welch, maybe we should... cut the cake first?"
I glanced at my dad's cold, unreadable face in the audience and gently shook my head.
Cut the cake? I had to do it alone? That would only make the Welch family and me an even bigger joke.
As the minutes ticked by, the whispers from the guests grew louder and louder.
"Is Aaron crazy? He actually ditched the Welch family's princess?"
"I heard he came from nothing and only made it because of Nancy. He hasn't even married her yet, and he's already acting like he owns the place."
"Shh... quiet, keep your voice down. Mr. Welch looks pissed."
Those whispers felt like needles pricking my ears.
I stood ramrod straight, keeping a flawless smile on my face, but my tightly clenched palm betrayed the storm brewing inside me.
My phone was blowing up in my purse. It was Aaron's groomsmen, frantic because no one could reach him. His phone was off, and he wasn't answering any texts.
Just then, the doors to the hall were thrown open with a bang.
Aaron burst in. Every eye in the room snapped to him.
He was still in that impeccably tailored black suit, but the swagger and confidence from this morning had completely vanished.
His hair stuck wetly to his forehead, his tie was crooked, and a few long strands, clearly not his, clung to his shoulder. As he rushed in, the air was thick with rain, alcohol, and a sweet perfume that didn't belong to me, all swirling around him.
It was a syrupy gardenia scent, nothing like the crisp, woody fragrance I always wore.
That was the unmistakable scent of his ex-girlfriend, Iris Douglas.
In that moment, my heart dropped straight to the floor.
Aaron ignored the shocked looks from everyone and rushed up onto the stage, seizing my hand.
His palm was burning hot, still damp with sweat from his frantic dash.
"Nancy, I'm sorry. I'm late." He was out of breath, his eyes bloodshot, filled with anxiety and a wild intensity I couldn't understand.
He said, "But I did it. It's done. I got the contract! No one will ever look down on me again, and no one can stand in the way of us being together!"
I looked at him, and it felt like I was staring at a stranger.
I knew about the contract. It was a high-stakes gamble with a rival company. If Aaron won, he'd finally secure his place on the board. If he lost, he'd be left with nothing.
For that contract, he disappeared for seven hours and missed our wedding.
He came to me, still carrying another woman's scent, and said everything he did was for our future.
That was ridiculous.
I forced his fingers off mine, one by one, my own knuckles turning white from the effort.
"Aaron, look down there," I said, my voice chillingly calm as I locked eyes with him.
He paused for a moment, then finally turned to look at the guests.
The guests were already on their feet, preparing to leave, leaving him with nothing but a sea of awkward backs.
The massive wedding cake stood there all by itself, a cruel joke in the middle of the hall.
The wild joy on Aaron's face vanished in an instant.
"Nancy, Nancy..." Aaron stammered, panic all over his face as he tried to grab my hand again. "Let me explain, I..."
"Get out." A cold voice loaded with thunderous fury rang out from nearby.
It was my father, Keaton Welch.
He was suddenly standing at the edge of the stage, eight bodyguards in black suits behind him, his aura so strong it felt like an immovable mountain had just appeared.
"Take your filthy hands off my daughter." His voice was cold and commanding, crackling with anger.