Chapter 2
He stared tor a second. Then laughed. That dismissive, supremely confident laugh.
“Find another groom? Where? You think life’s a movie?”
“Everyone in this city knows you’re mine.”
“Listen-if you can actually find some idiot willing to marry you, I won’t stop you.”
He opened the car door. Threw out one last line over his shoulder.
“Don’t be dramatic. Wait for me, okay? I know what I’m doing.”
The groomsmen exchanged glances.
Marco took a step after him. “Boss, you’re really leaving-
“Hold the fort. I’ll be right back.
Luca shut the door. Impatience already creeping into his voice. “That girl’s such a handful. I don’t need the headache.
The engine started. The car pulled away.
I stood there in my wedding gown. The train billowed in the wind.
The photographer still held his camera. Motionless.
No one spoke.
I looked down at my bare ring finger. A slow smile spread across my face.
Go ahead, Luca.
Go get that certificate.
This three-million-dollar wedding of the century?
I’m going to use it myself.
I lifted my skirt and walked into the cathedral.
Guests were seated. The priest was ready. The wedding march began.
Everything was perfect-except the groom wasn’t there.
Marco caught up with me. His smile was strained. “Rebecca. Boss had something come up. He’ll be back soon lust sit tight
for a bit.”
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The other groomsman Matteo jumped in. “Yeah, yeah. Boss never drops the ball on big things. He’ll show
“He’ll handle it. Always does.”
They were acting like he’d just stepped out for a cigarette.
I looked at the clock above the altar. 10:40 a.m.
“Fine.” I said calmly. “I’ll wait.”
Marco visibly relaxed. He waved someone over to bring me water.
I waited.
But not for who they thought.
This wedding had been in the works for three months.
All of Luca’s major players were in attendance.
I looked around, taking in every detail. White roses cascading from the windows. Crystals dripping from the ceiling. Even
the custom font on the place cards was etched into my mind.
Luca had given it everything. From pursuing me to planning this wedding, he’d gone all out.
He’d turned it into the talk of the entire city. Every woman’s dream.
And the way he cheated? Equally extreme.
No negotiation. No explanation.
In his head, loving someone and hurting someone didn’t cancel each other out.
I had no choice but to take it.
In the dressing room, my best friend Gianna-she’d flown in from Sicily to be my maid of honor-helped me adjust my
train. Her face was dark with fury.
‘Is Luca out of his mind? He’s taking another woman to City Hall on his wedding day? Did someone knock him in the
head?”
She dropped onto the bench beside me and yanked at her bridesmaid dress.
“I thought it was a joke. Even then… why today?”
Her voice shook with secondhand rage.
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“Do you remember when you two were planning this? He hit every florist in the city to find the right bouquet When you
tried on your dress, his eyes were redder than yours.”
‘I was so jealous I wanted to punch my own boyfriend.
Her voice dropped. “And now he pulls this?”
I didn’t answer. I was looking at my phone.
Serena had just posted.
A photo of a man’s dress shirt and a woman’s lingerie scattered across a hotel floor.
The caption: “He said he only needed ten minutes…”
The location wasn’t City Hall.
A mutual friend had already commented: “Serena, are you trying to kill someone?”
Serena’s reply: “Only the one waiting in a wedding dress.”
I took a screenshot.
“Rebecca, stop waiting.” Gianna snatched the phone from my hand. “Look at what he’s doing.”
“You came back early from London for him. Your parents were furious.”
“Back then, Luca was a nobody. You bet ten years on him. Now you’ve lost everything.”
“While you were killing yourself on his projects, closing deals, using your family’s name to open doors for him-he was
cozying up to his investor’s daughter.”
‘I can’t believe he hid it this well. Until the night before.”
Gianna’s eyes glistened. “Rebecca. Don’t do this. Live for yourself.”
‘Gia. Thank you for coming. As for my parents-I’ll go home after this. I’ll admit I was wrong.”
I lost the bet.
Today was the day I paid the price.
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