ROYAL BLOOD

The wedding was supposed to begin at ten that morning.

By ten forty, the groom’s place beside the altar was still empty, and my brother had not returned either.

The church was filled with guests from every major family in Chicago.

The Moretti and Russo family crests hung above the altar, symbolizing the alliance this marriage was meant to seal.

Now, every person in the church was waiting for Dante.

Grace, the wedding planner, approached me for the third time.

“Miss Moretti, would you like to keep waiting?”

I did not answer. I simply lowered my eyes to the family group chat on my phone.

Forty minutes earlier, Bianca had posted a photo.

Her white sports car was stopped at the side of the road, one of its doors badly dented.

[A black SUV hit my car and fled the scene.]

[I’m not sure whether the Falcone family was behind it.]

Dante had pulled half the security detail away from the church, and Julian had followed him with a medical kit.

Before leaving, Dante had taken my hand.

“Stay here. I’ll come back as soon as I know Bianca is safe.”

But twenty minutes ago, Caleb, the head of security, had already uncovered the truth.

A delivery van had backed into Bianca’s car. The black SUV captured on the security footage belonged to the hotel and had no connection to the Falcone family.

There had been no attack.

No one had been injured.

I called Dante.

“We know what happened now. When are you coming back?”

Bianca’s broken sobs came through the phone.

“The ceremony was supposed to start forty minutes ago,” I said.

“Give me a little longer.” Dante lowered his voice. “What happened brought back the day Bianca’s parents were killed. She still hasn’t calmed down.”

“Julian can stay with her.”

Silence fell on the other end of the line.

Then Bianca spoke through her tears.

“Dante, you should go back. I don’t want to ruin your wedding with Elena.”

“Don’t be afraid.”

Dante’s voice softened as though he were comforting a frightened child.

“I’m not leaving you alone like this.”

Only then did he speak to me again.

“Tell the priest and the guests to wait a little longer. Nothing will happen if the wedding is delayed for a few hours. Bianca is in a terrible state right now.”

My hand moved unconsciously to my lower abdomen.

A gift box tied with a silver ribbon was still sitting on the vanity in the bridal suite.

Inside were my pregnancy report, a blurry ultrasound image, and a card I had written by hand.

Happy wedding day. Soon, our family will grow by one.

I had planned to give it to Dante as a wedding present after we exchanged our vows.

Instead, he had chosen to stay with another woman, leaving both me and our unborn child waiting for him at the altar.

I asked quietly, “What about me?”

“What do you mean?”

“This is our wedding. You left me here alone. Do you think I don’t need you too?”

A trace of exasperation entered Dante’s voice.

“You’re inside the church. The Moretti and Russo families are both there to protect you.”

“Bianca’s situation is different.”

So as long as I was not physically injured or sobbing so hard that I could barely breathe, my pain would never count as an emergency.

“I understand.”

I ended the call.

This was not the first time.

On the fifth anniversary of my mother’s death, Bianca had a nightmare. Julian stayed at the estate with her while I went to the cemetery alone.

Three years ago, when I woke up after surgery, Dante had already left the hospital because Bianca claimed someone was following her.

Neither of them had ever said that I did not matter.

They simply believed that because I was the Moretti family’s biological daughter, I had the family name, the inheritance, and a place no one could ever take away from me.

Therefore, I was expected to be more understanding than Bianca.

When the priest asked whether the wedding was still going ahead, I removed my veil.

“Cancel it.”

I signed the cancellation papers, slipped off my engagement ring, and placed it beside the documents.

My phone lit up almost immediately.

[Bianca has calmed down.]

[I’ll be back at the church in twenty minutes.]

A few seconds later, Dante sent another message.

[Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything to the guests. No one will dare make fun of you.]

Even now, he still believed that public humiliation was the only reason I might be upset.

I closed our messages and opened the formal offer that had been sitting in my inbox for the past month.

A pharmaceutical research institute in London had invited me to join a ten-year drug-development project.

I had been unable to bring myself to accept because I could not bear to leave Dante or my brother.

Now I pressed Accept.

The confirmation email arrived almost immediately.

[Welcome to the institute. We look forward to your arrival in London.]

I booked a flight departing in thirty-six hours, put away my phone, and walked down the aisle alone.

Dante had chosen to stay with Bianca.

I would let him.

From now on, he would never have to come back for me.

I would not be waiting anymore.