chapter 1

CHAPTER 1: THE WEDDING THAT WAS A LIE

Mia POV

My name is Mia Carter. I am 24 years old. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.

I was wearing a white wedding dress. My makeup was perfect. My hair was perfect. Everybody was smiling at me.

I was about to marry the man I love, Daniel Cole. We have been together for 3 years. He promised me forever. He promised me he will never leave me.

But 10 minutes before I walked to the altar, my best friend, Sophia, pulled me to a corner. Her hands were shaking. Her eyes were full of tears.

"Mia, don't marry him," she whispered. "Please. I have to show you something."

She showed me her phone.

It was a video. Daniel... and my own sister, Lily... kissing. Not just kissing. They were in a bed. Laughing. Talking about me.

Daniel's voice in the video said, "Once I marry Mia, I will take all her father's company. Then I will divorce her and marry you, Lily. She is too foolish to see it."

My heart broke. I felt like someone poured cold water on me.

My own sister. My own man. They betrayed me.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. But I did not. I cleaned my tears. I smiled.

"Okay," I told Sophia. "Thank you. Now watch me."

I still walked to the altar. Everybody clapped. Daniel smiled at me like a saint. Like he loves me.

The priest asked, "Do you, Mia Carter, take Daniel Cole to be your husband?"

I looked at him. I looked at my sister Lily, who was sitting in the front row, smiling like an angel, but she is a devil.

I smiled too. A cold smile.

"No," I said loud. "I do not."

The whole hall went quiet. Everybody gasped.

Daniel's face changed. "Mia, what are you doing?"

I took off my ring. I threw it on the floor.

"You and my sister can have each other," I said. "I am done."

And I walked out. In my wedding dress. Barefoot. Crying, but walking like a queen.

Outside, it was raining. I was standing in the rain, alone. My dress was wet. My heart was broken.

That was when a black car stopped in front of me.

The door opened. A tall man came out with an umbrella. He was handsome. Too handsome. Cold eyes. Expensive suit. Everybody in the city knows him.

Adrian Knight. The billionaire CEO. The most powerful man in the city. The man everybody fears. The man who never smiles.

He looked at me, from my wet hair to my wet dress.

"You are Mia Carter," he said. His voice was deep. "Your father owes my family a lot of money. And your ex-fiancé just tried to steal your company."

I nodded, confused. "How do you know?"

"Because I know everything," he said. "And I have a proposal for you."

Adrian POV

I have been watching Mia Carter for a long time.

Not because I love her. No. Because I want revenge.

Her father and my father were business partners. Her father betrayed my father, stole his money, and my father died in shame. My family lost everything because of the Carters.

I promised myself, one day, I will destroy the Carter family.

But then I saw Mia. She is not like her father. She is innocent. She is kind. She was betrayed by the people she loves, just like I was.

And I had an idea. A wicked, perfect idea.

If I marry Mia, I will get her father's company. I will destroy Daniel and Lily. I will get my revenge.

And Mia... Mia will get her own revenge too.

She was standing in the rain, broken. Perfect time to make a deal.

"Mia," I said. "Marry me. Not for love. For revenge."

Mia POV

I looked at him like he was mad. "Marry you? I just left my wedding! I don't even know you!"

"I know," he said calmly. "That is why it is perfect. Contract marriage. One year. You help me take your father's company and destroy Daniel and Lily. I help you get your revenge and protect your family name. After one year, we divorce. You go your way. I go mine."

Revenge. That word entered my heart like fire.

I thought of Daniel laughing at me. I thought of Lily smiling like an angel. I thought of my father who kept quiet while they betrayed me.

I wiped my tears.

"And what is in it for you?" I asked.

He smiled for the first time. A dangerous smile. "I get my father's company back. And I get to watch the people who destroyed my family fall."

I looked at his hand. He was holding out a contract.

My hands were shaking. My wedding dress was wet. My heart was broken.

But for the first time today, I felt power.

"Okay," I whispered. "I will marry you. But not as your wife. As your partner in revenge."

He nodded. "Deal."

He opened the car door for me. I entered. He covered me with his jacket.

As the car drove away, my phone buzzed. It was Daniel.

"Mia, please come back. I can explain."

I laughed. I blocked him.

Then another message came. From Lily, my sister.

"You think you escaped? You have no idea who Adrian Knight really is. He is not your saviour. He is your destruction."

I looked at Adrian. He was looking out of the window, quiet, mysterious.

Who is he really? What secret is he hiding?

And why did my heart beat fast when he looked at me?