Chapter 1.

HAZEL.

The door creaked open and Evelyn walked in. She stood right behind me and her hands held the ends of my flowing white dress

"You look so beautiful, Hazel." She said and I turned to face her. My face was flushed and drained of every color. "I'm scared," I didn't know when I blurted out.

Am I making a mistake?" My voice broke with anxiety.

"I'm only twenty-two. I should be out there still figuring out myself and not getting married to Elijah?" I forced myself to breathe through my lips and then Evelyn reached for my hands.

"Relax, Hazel. It's just cold feet and it's very natural" She said. I knew if there was anyone who could calm me down, it would be her.

"It's your wedding day, tensions are high, emotions are on the rise. This truly is the beginning of the rest of your life. But I know how much you love Elijah," She added. She did know.

"I can imagine how ecstatic he is waiting for you at the end of the aisle, all giddy with that his signature smirk" Evelyn scoffed. I let out a soft chuckle. I could feel my heart calm a little.

"You know sometimes I wish I had that. I wish I loved someone enough to want to get married to them. I look at you and Elijah and I tell myself that one day I'm going to have something like you two." She squeezed my hands. "You'll be alright, Hazel."

"I know tomorrow you're going to look back at this moment and we'll laugh" I nodded, blinking the tears in my eyes away. I didn't want to ruin my makeup. "This was stupid," I let out a scoff.

"You're right. I love him. I love Elijah so much." Evelyn finally pulled away and she looked at her watch. "You should tidy up. I'll go see what's happening downstairs" She wiped beneath my eyes and then walked out the door.

I heaved a deep sigh and looked back into the mirror. I adjusted my veil and mentally prepared myself to spend the rest of my life with the man I loved. But then my phone rang on the table. And that was really the moment before my life fell apart.

I picked up the phone. It was Audrey—Elijah's secretary.

Elijah worked as a senior partner in one of Seattle's most prominent firms I had often had to contact Audrey when she couldn't reach him but it was never the other way around which was the first sign that something was wrong.

I placed the phone against my ears and my heart sank to the pit of my stomach. All I could hear were sexual noises, moans of pleasure echoing through the speaker. It was probably a butt dial, I thought. But that was before I heard his voice.

"Fuck, Audrey. You look so sexy" I recognized him immediately and there was a piercing sound that rang through my ears.

"I love you, Elijah." The phone slipped from my hands and crashed to the ground. Tears welled in my eyes. I could feel the bitterness seep into the back of my throat. It can't be possible. It can't be him. And I could tell myself that a million times but I knew the truth.

I heard his voice.

"How can he do this to me?" I muttered before clutching my lips with my hand. It has to be another Elijah. Not the one I trusted with my entire life. Not the one I loved so dearly.

Not the one I was supposed to marry today. He hated me so much that he would cheat on our wedding day.

Tears had escaped my eyes and my makeup was ruined. The entire day was ruined. I grasped the ends of my dress and stormed out the door. I needed to see them with my own eyes.

So I paced towards his office door but when I was inches away from it, I came to a halt. Heaving a deep breath, I knew the second I opened that door, my life was going to change forever.

My hands graced the knob and I slowly pushed it open. It was like a knife twisted through my chest the moment I saw them, naked in each other's arms. His wedding tuxedo was tossed on the ground, alongside Audrey's floral dress.

He looked up and our eyes met. I caught a sly smile on her lips just before I closed the door. The call wasn't a mistake, I realized. She wanted me to hear them. To see them.

I turned around with tears in my eyes and I bumped into my stepmother. "Hazel!" Donna was stunned. "What's going on? Everyone is waiting downstairs for you" She saw my face and immediately went quiet. I felt so embarrassed.

All I wanted to do was rip the dress off my body.

"Elijah cheated on me. He's in there with his secretary. What kind of man cheats on his wedding day?" I broke down in tears. Donna didn't seem fazed. I looked at her and my eyes widened.

"You knew, didn't you?"

She pushed a hard lump down her throat. "I heard the noises."

"But Hazel, you have to listen to me. You can't just leave now. You can't turn your back. Everyone is downstairs. Imagine what your father would say. Imagine what the whole town would say." Donna added and I took a step back. I couldn't believe what she said.

"You'd bring disgrace to our name, Hazel. You must get married today!" She finalized. "But about me?" I shook my head. "You chose to marry him, Hazel. You fell in love with that man" Donna's voice deepened. My lips parted.

My stepmother inched closer to me and she shielded my face with the veil before pushing me into the chapel. The entire congregation arose, a few murmurs in the air. Elijah walked in behind me.

"Come on," He grasped my hands towards the altar. "Let's not do this right now" He muttered beneath his breath.

Was I really still about to marry him after what he had done?

My silver pumps buried into the ground. The priest stood between us. "Do you, Elijah Reed take Hazel Bennett to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, to guide and protect, till death do you part?" Elijah cleared his throat.

I hid my swollen eyes behind the veil.

"I do," He gritted through his teeth with a charming smile. The same one I fell for while he constantly lied through his teeth. It was all a facade. Elijah didn't love me.

"Do you Hazel Bennett Evans, take Elijah—"

"I don't." I immediately blurted out without even letting him finish. I wasn't going to do this. I didn't care how much was at stake but I wasn't going to marry Elijah. Not after he'd hurt me so much.

I tore off my veil and the moment everyone saw the mess that was my face, they gasped. "You bastard!" I threw my bouquet in his face. "You are a liar and a cheater!" Elijah was stunned but it was my father's voice that forced me to halt.

"Hazel. That's enough!" His voice thundered in the room.

I walked up to him. "He cheated on me, Dad. He cheated on me with Audrey" I looked in her direction. Everyone did but they were all silent. Not a word was said in my defense. I even looked at Donna and all she did was shake her head.

"If you didn't want to marry me you could've just said so" Elijah muttered. "She's lying," Then came Audrey's voice. Whispers filled the room and they all looked at me like I was crazy. But my father's eyes were just filled with disappointment.

"I'm telling the truth, Dad." But he didn't believe me. Not over Elijah. I took a step back with a scoff and my back was against the door. "If you walk out of there—" My father paused.

"Never came back" A tear rolled down my cheek. "I won't," I said. It was clear I had no place here anymore. So I flung open the chapel doors and slammed them behind me. I was done with the place. Tomorrow I was going to leave. Finally.