ONE NIGHT BEFORE THE WEDDING

EP 1

A few hours from now, I'm going to put on a show. A chaotic scandal. An unpredictable, disastrous scene that'll shake an entire wedding hall and ruin my mother's wedding.

Curious about the kind of scene I'm talking about?

Well, let's just say it'll be shocking, devastating, and completely unexpected. A moment that'll steal the attention of every single guest and pin it squarely on the bride and groom.

And not just any groom, but the President and future Chairman of the powerful Vicos Company.

The moment that video begins to play across the giant screen in the auditorium, the moment the groom's sex tape flashes before hundreds of horrified guests, jaws will hit the floor. Every eye in the room will be filled with disgust and disappointment.

One little video.

That's all it'll take to destroy his reputation and drag the Vicos Company's image through the mud. I wouldn't even be surprised if his own father, the current Chairman, disowns him on the spot.

As for my darling Mom?

She'll definitely lose it. She might lunge at him, rip off his expensive custom-made suit to shreds, or smash that handsome face of his into that grand, overdecorated wedding cake.

Or maybe... she'll simply run away, heartbroken and humiliated, mascara trailing down her cheeks, all the way to the nearest bridge.

Sounds insane, right?

Yeah, I know. But here's the thing... I don't give a damn. I never will.

This will be the happiest moment of my life. The moment I finally get my smile back.

Watching the city's richest elites gasp in outrage, curse the groom, and storm out of the ceremony while swearing off every business deal they ever planned with the Vicos family.

And watching my Mom crumble, sobbing on the floor... or dangling from a bridge somewhere.

And the groom?

Probably wishing the earth would split open and swallow him whole.

Still, I feel absolutely nothing. Not a shred of guilt, not even a hint of remorse.

Why should I? There's no way I'm accepting him as my stepfather.

Hell no!

I want him for myself. And if I can't have him, then no one else on Earth will, not even that witch, my darling mother. I'd rather lose him to the aliens than watch those two say, "I do."

Right now, sitting with my legs crossed on the dressing table, staring at my wonderfully transformed reflection in the full-length mirror mounted against my bedroom wall. The room is almost empty, making the rhythmic pop of the chewing gum in my mouth echo softly through the silence.

I'd been ready for hours. Specially dressed, actually.

My hair was styled into two neat buns decorated with colorful butterfly clips.

I wore a tight black strapless dress that stopped just below my firm butt, paired with knee-high black leather boots. My boobs were perked up unapologetically for anyone to take a quick glance.

And my makeup? Done by yours truly, despite my mother's insistence on hiring a professional makeup artist.

Dark and flawless. Thick eyeliner framed my eyes, black lipstick completed the look, and ridiculously long artificial eyelashes gave me a dramatic appearance.

I definitely wasn't looking like someone attending a wedding. Rather, I was looking more like someone hosting a funeral. How fitting.

I lazily tossed a flash drive into the air, catching it over and over again. Just thinking about what was stored inside it made a smile tug at the corner of my lips.

My little surprise wedding gift for the happy couple and all their elite friends.

Only a few days ago, I was drowning in anger and frustration. I was slowly losing my mind as I kept losing to my stepmom. The wedding between my mother and Henry was approaching far faster than I'd expected, despite everything I'd done to stop it.

I tried everything. Sleepless nights. Swollen, bloodshot, aching eyes. Bottle after bottle of the strongest alcohol. I even tried seducing Henry, begging him to reconsider and call off the damn wedding with my stepmom.

But it seemed it was already too late. She already had him wrapped tightly around her finger, or maybe locked under her designer lace panties.

Then last night... fate finally smiled on me.

There he was, relaxing on a velvet couch inside a smoky nightclub. Expensive bottles of liquor covered the table before him, and pretty women surrounded him.

Yet despite all the gorgeous women around him, his eyes stayed locked and hypnotized by the stage.

He couldn't take his eyes off the sexy masked stripper dancing beneath the flashing lights, rolling around the pole, twerking, grinding her hips to the rhythm of the loud music.

The lights were low, red and blue strobes slicing through the darkness. I almost thought I was beginning to see things. Maybe I wanted him too badly that my mind had started playing tricks on me, I thought, but when I looked again... I knew I wasn't mistaken.

It's him, the man I wanted more than anything in the world. The man I was ready to destroy if that's what it'd take to keep them from ending up together. My stepmother's groom and, in a few hours, her husband.

And there he was, spending the night before his wedding inside a nightclub, lusting over me, the masked stripper grinding against the pole.

His eyes devoured every move I made as if he were mentally peeling away the little clothing I still had on and eating it up.

"Henry?" My heart missed a beat.

My grip slipped from the pole, and I nearly crashed onto the stage. Somehow, I caught myself just in time, regaining my balance in my towering heels.

"What the hell is he doing here?" I whispered under my breath. Only then did I realize I'd completely stopped dancing and was staring straight at him.

Why was he here? I thought. Shouldn't he be preparing for tomorrow's wedding? Why was he spending the night lusting after some random, nearly naked masked stripper instead?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't make sense of it.

Then, suddenly, an idea clicked.

Maybe this wasn't bad luck after all. Maybe it was a miracle. My chance, my golden ticket to getting him to do exactly what I wanted, stop the damn wedding and have him under my control henceforth.

A slow smirk spread across my red lips as I returned to the pole.

"I need you to sit right there and watch, Henry..." I whispered, slowly unhooking the clasp of my tiny corset, my back to him.

"While I give you a show you'll never forget and have you begging for me before this night is over."