THE BILLONAIRE'S FORGOTTEN BRIDE

CHAPTER ONE

Sweat dropped down Chiara's face as she rushed along the stairs while panting. People stared at her as she passed with looks of confusion on their faces.

"I'm sorry, coming through!" She gasped and was soon standing in front of a large door. She stopped and took a deep breath while calming herself.

"Take a deep breath." She inhaled deeply then exhaled. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt and a white dress shirt. Her black heels accentuated her curvy body while her long chestnut hair was pulled up in a tight bun. With a slight shake of her head, she pushed the door open.

"Good morning. I'm sorry I'm late..."

Something was wrong. She could feel it.

Everyone turned to look at her. She stopped and looked round. They all looked like they were done with the meeting.

"W..where are you all going to?" She asked in a daze, wondering why they were getting up and packing their files. Before she could get an answer, they began to file out of the room one by one with only just an acknowledging nod to her.

"You are late Chiara." A deep voice barked at her. She flinched and took her head down, her hands clutching her files tight.

"I'm sorry, but I'm only twelve minutes late."

Alex Vitale, the owner and CEO of Vitale Imperium. He was seated at the head of the conference table.

 "You arrived late. The meeting is already done." He waved off her excuse with his hand.

"What?" She blinked, confused. She glanced quickly at a young woman about her age snickering.

"I'm really sorry but the meeting can't be over yet. I still have my business proposal that I was going to introduce to you. Its epic and will turn the company around." She pleaded, her blue-green eyes shinning earnestly while her chest drummed fast.

He shook his head, his face hard.

"Is your idea as good as hers?"

He pointed at the screen. The screen looked normal but the texts on it were not. Her mouth fell wide open, her eyes almost bulging out of her eye sockets. She clearly wasn't imagining it. That was her project and why was someone else's name on it. Her stomach suddenly felt cold and her mouth dry as she stood frozen,

"How?...who...but that...." She blinked furiously trying to see if the screen will change, but it didn't. Her files fell to the floor as she moved forward in a daze, her trembling finger still pointing at the screen.  

"What's wrong Chiara? Cat got your tongue? Or are you so amazed by how mind blowing my proposal is?" The smug voice of a woman rang out but she paid no attention.

"But that's my proposal." She whispered with a shaky voice, her eyes darting everywhere.

"Excuse me?" The voice this time was filled with indignation.

Slowly, Chiara faced the owner of the voice. A young woman, tall and beautiful with a smile on her lips.

She swallowed as she licked her lips.

"Aleira, that's my proposal...how did you get a hold of it."

"Are you trying to say that I stole your business idea?" Aleira glared at her while still gracing a smile on her thing lips.

Chiara shook her head slowly, her eyes wavering. Her breaths were coming out in small pants as she squeezed her eyes.

She kept muttering under her breath."This isn't happening to me."

"Are you sure you are alright Chiara? You don't look yourself today." Aleira mocked, her green eyes raised at the corners.

Chiara took a deep breath and faced Alex again, her fists tightly clenched as if to keep herself calm.

"Dad. I'm telling you, that was my proposal. I don't know why Aleira took it and presented it as hers."

He frowned at his daughter, anger and annoyance were displayed plainly on his gaunt face as he clenched his hands which were beginning to turn white.

"I don't care about that Chiara. You should have arrived early if you wanted to pitch your ideas. And besides, as long as its for the family, there was no harm done."

Chiara's heart slammed to the floor in pieces. She couldn't stop the tears that bubbled in her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

"I...I never wanted to be late. I woke up but.... you guys had left before me so I had to use the bus. That proposal...I had worked on it for a long time...I should be the one to present it." She was full time sobbing now.

"Well tough luck. Too bad, everyone thinks it's my idea." Aleira grinned at her as she stood up, showing her long legs. "Dad, can we leave now? I don't want to lose my good mood."

"Sure my dear." Alex's eyes immediately went warm as he smiled softly at her and stood up. He never once glanced at Chiara as she stood there crying, it was as if she was never in the room to begin with.

As soon as the doors closed shut, Chiara fell to the seat closest to her and cried silently. Her mournful gaze stayed on the screen for a long time. Her body heaved up and down as she held her face with her trembling hands as her shoulders shook. She had spent many months on that proposal with the hope of pitching it in and finally making a name for herself. 

"How did she get it? Who could have told her?" She mumbled to herself. She was very sure she had kept it a secret that she was preparing a proposal for the company.

"I just wanted to be seen and useful...is that so much to ask." Her voice was pitiful, shaky and vulnerable with her shoulders hunched.

She was his daughter but why was she treated differently.

With a deep breath, she got up and cleaned her eyes and her face with a hard look in her eyes. A snort escaped her lips as she stared at her files which laid in disarray. The memory of the many nights she spent developing its content tormented her. Quickly, she picked the files and walked briskly to the paper shredder and watched with a blank gaze as they turned to tiny pieces.

Without a word, she left the conference room and headed to her office, making sure to keep her face impassive. She wasn't going to let them know she had cried.

"I heard she arrived late to the meeting and wasn't able to pitch in her idea."

She stopped short to listen to the conversation between a group of women. 

"Yeah, and she made a scene crying that the proposal Aleira pitched was originally hers."

"Can you believe that? She came late and still tried to take someone else's credit for her work."

"I know right, she can be annoying. I don't know why the boss wants her here."

"Its his daughter remember?"

"But Aleira is also his daughter, she alone is okay."

With her hands white from clenching it for so long, she walked away. They were wrong. Aleira wasn't her sister.