You'll regret this

CHAPTER 1

Molly:

Flashback (Earlier today)

“Don’t be afraid, Molly; I’ll be there to pick you up tomorrow. Do it right now and you’ll be free!” Kate, my best friend, said this as she held my hands and wiped my tears away.

It was just our suspicions at first, but we had just watched a clip from a camera I had hidden in the room I shared with my fiancé.

“Kate, my stepfather will kill me; you know how much this wedding means to him,” I said as I tried to stop her from wiping away the tears welling up in my eyes.

“The ball is in your court; either liberate yourself now or suffer in silence for the rest of your life!” Kate said.

End of flashback Kate’s last words rang in my ears as I held the hard drive containing footage of my fiancé and his lover. He lied to me, and he pretended my stepfather was the devil for selling me to him.

It was the night before my wedding to Bruno Mendez, L. A’s most powerful businessman. Instead of getting enough rest for tomorrow, I was in the beautifully decorated room where the wedding was to take place. He had spent a lot of money on this wedding and had invited many important dignitaries from all over the world.

My heart was racing as I unplugged the hard drive and replaced it with the one I had. Bruno’s career would be destroyed in a matter of hours, and I was torn between the fact that I couldn’t wait and the fact that I was terrified.

“Please help me, God,” I mumbled as I wiped away a tear from my eyes. Then I exited the room and returned to the room I shared with my fiancé.

As I stood there staring at him, the rage in my heart grew. I wanted to pull out a knife and stab him several times, but I couldn’t because I’d just rot in jail. My only option was to humiliate him.

I climbed into bed and turned away from him, but he slipped his hands around my waist and drew me closer to him. My stomach tightened in disgust as I remembered the content of the footage.

“Where did you go?” Bruno asked in a whisper, and then I swallowed hard.

“I..I got thirsty, so I went to get water and ended up getting milk,” I lied, turning around to face him with a smile on my face.

“Tomorrow is your big day, and you’ll be Mrs. Mendez,” he said hoarsely. “I love you,” he said, cupping my face as his deceiving eyes glowed in the darkness.

I couldn’t say those words back because they made me sick. He then kissed me and drew me in. I had many questions I wanted to ask him, like why he lied and why he was unfaithful, but I kept quiet and sobbed in silence while Bruno fell asleep peacefully.

****

It was the morning of my wedding, and I sat in front of the large dresser where the head maid, Brittany, was doing my makeup. She was a slim woman with chestnut-brown hair. I hadn’t seen her smile since I moved in, and she barely spoke.

“Ouch!” I yelled when she lifted a portion of my hair to run a comb through it. I didn’t see the point in all of this when the wedding wasn’t even going to happen. Plus, I was growing impatient with everything that was going on.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” she said, her face solemn. Then I took the comb from her and ran it through my hair briefly.

“There!” I told her.

After that, I took my phone from the table and checked the time. It was five minutes to nine o’clock, and the time for the video was nine. The video was supposed to play for ten minutes before the wedding started.

I immediately coughed and smacked my chest.

“Are you all right, ma’am?” Brittany inquired, her brows knitted, and the corners of her lips were drawn down. Then she kept rubbing my back, but I didn’t stop.

“Please get me some water,” I said, and she dashed out the door.

I immediately stood up and opened the curtains, and then I saw Kate’s car pull up, just as she had promised. This gave me a glimmer of hope, and my heart lightened at the thought that I was making a mistake.

This made way for the desire for vengeance, and as it engulfed me completely, I felt the corners of my lips raise. I exhaled deeply and exited the room. To avoid missing Bruno and my stepfather’s expressions, I tiptoed past Brittany to the wedding room.

“I know you’ve all been waiting to see the beautiful bride, but before that, we’d like to show you a brief clip about Mr. Mendez’s share policy,” the MC said, and I cackled.

“Eye for an Eye,” I muttered with a feeling of satisfaction as the video was about to be played. They had pushed me past the wall and stripped me of my innocence till I felt nothing. I peered into the room, and the MC pressed play, displaying a video of Bruno naked with his lover on the screen. In that moment, Bruno walked in through the door in front of the hall, and I watched him spark up like a fire dazed with gasoline.

“Mother of Mercy!” someone yelled, and everyone murmured.

“Who did this?” Bruno growled, and the MC struggled to turn off the video.

When our gazes met, he noticed the sinister smile on my face. He gave me a death glare, and I took to my heels.

On my way down the long corridor, I knocked down the tall wine glass tower that was being moved into the room, and its contents spilled on my clothes.

“I’m sorry!” I exclaimed.

I dashed to the bottom of the stairs, and someone grabbed my hand from a nearby room—it was my stepfather.

“Why aren’t you dressed? The wedding is in five, or do you want me to …” he said with furrowed brows and raised his hand to slap me, but I stopped him.

I was about to confront him, but Bruno’s voice rang through the hallway upstairs, right near the step.

“Molly!” he yelled, so I looked my stepfather in the eyes and spat on him.

“You little...” he cursed as he struggled to wipe his spit, and then I kicked him in the crotch.

He landed on the floor, and I dashed out of the room, heading for the door. Fortunately, none of Bruno’s men were standing at the door because everyone was busy, but then I spotted one standing by the gate, which was left open.

When I stepped outside, I noticed Kate standing in front of her pink salon car, and she waved as I ran out. I dashed over and got in. Then she stepped on the gas to reverse out of the compound, but Bruno bolted out the front door.

“Stop them!” he yelled at the man standing by the gate, but before he could draw his gun, Kate moved quickly and attempted to hit the man, causing him to dive to the side in fear.

Then Bruno pushed the switch near the front door to close the gate, and he began running towards us. My heart skipped a beat as the gate started closing, and I wondered if this mess was worth it. I was going to die if I didn’t escape this place today.

“This is the end, Kate,” I muttered as I looked at her, but she had a confident smile on her lips, and she kept her foot on the gas. Then she pushed through, and I closed my eyes, convinced we were going to die.

In an instant, I heard a loud bang and opened my eyes to see that the gate had been closed, but we were outside the compound.

“Suckers!” Kate yelled, and then I heard Bruno yell from behind the gate.

“You will regret this, Molly Waterson!” he yelled as he banged loudly on the gate.