Cereal Aisle

On the day that was supposed to be my wedding—the bride wasn’t me. The ceremony I’d waited for five years for turned into a joke when Valentina, my sister, walked down the marble aisle in a white wedding dress. Her arm was linked with Luca’s — the man who was supposed to be waiting for me at the altar. “I’m sorry, Bianca,” she said softly. “But you are no longer the bride today.” Then she touched her stomach, eyes gleaming with triumph. “I’m pregnant with Don Romano’s child.” Her words detonated inside my skull, and the whole world went silent. As if afraid I wouldn’t believe her, she lifted something glossy up towards the light. A black-and-white ultrasound image. It read clearly: Gestational age — 12 weeks. My eyes burned, tears stinging as I turned to Luca, desperately searching for anything—a denial, an explanation, regret. Instead, he only sighed, weary and resigned. “Bianca, I’m sorry.” he said helplessly. “Valentina doesn’t have much time left. This wedding… it was her last wish.” “I’ll make it up to you,” he added. “We can have another wedding later.” My father, Moretti, stood behind him, wearing the same stern expression he’d worn my entire life. I have never seen him smile at me, not even once. “Bianca,” he said sharply, “Your sister is dying. Let her have this.” My brother nodded without saying a single word, as if that was enough to be a solid answer. All my life, they had chosen her—her tears, her whims, her needs—over mine. Today was no different. Something inside me quietly cracked. Fine. If no one in this family cares about me, I’ll leave.

On our wedding day, my boyfriend, Hayden Grant, had me thrown out of the chapel. Instead, he walked down the aisle hand-in-hand with his childhood sweetheart. I went back in and collapsed at the side of the aisle. The bouquet slipped from my hands, and scattered petals fell everywhere. However, his eyes did not linger on me for even half a second. "Selena's child needs a dad. Once that's taken care of, I'll marry you." Everyone thought I, the lovesick fool, would willingly wait another month. After all, I had already waited for him for seven years. However, that night, I did something no one expected. I agreed to my parents' arranged marriage and left the country. Three years later, I returned home to visit my parents. My husband, William Fields, was the CEO of a multinational corporation. When an unexpected, important meeting came up, he asked me to head to the company's branch back home ahead of him, where his subordinates would take care of me. To my surprise, one of those subordinates turned out to be Hayden, the man I had not seen in three years. His eyes went straight to the sparkling diamond on my ring finger. "Is this a knockoff of that pink diamond Mr. Fields bought for his wife that's worth five million dollars? I didn't expect you to become so vain after all these years. "You've stirred up enough drama. Come home. Selena's kid is in school now, so it's the perfect chance for you to take care of his lunches." I did not say a word and just traced the ring with my fingertips. He had no idea that this was the cheapest of all the gems William had ever given me.

It was just another morning commute—until he happened. Across the train aisle sat a man who looked like he’d stepped out of a high-end magazine and straight into a power struggle. His voice sliced through the air, sharp and commanding, as he chewed someone out over the phone like he ran the damn universe. Arrogant. Entitled. Dressed like a Wall Street god. Correction: he looked like a god. That’s where the charm ended—or so I thought. When the train screeched to a stop, he stood up in a hurry, stormed off… and left his phone behind. Did I pick it up? Yep. Did I snoop? Absolutely. Photos, contacts, a few mysterious texts—I couldn’t help myself. Did I keep it longer than I should’ve, building stories in my head about the man behind the voice? Yeah… I did that too. When I finally gathered enough nerve to return it, I marched into the glass-and-steel fortress he called an office. He wouldn’t even come out to meet me. So I dropped his phone on the desk outside his office door. And maybe—I left a photo on it first. Not exactly the professional kind. What I didn’t expect? A message. From him. What followed were late-night texts that burned hotter than anything I’d ever known. Words became whispers. Whispers turned into fantasies. I was falling—for someone I hadn’t even really met. He and I? Total opposites. Fire and ice. Chaos and control. But when we finally came face to face, it wasn’t just sparks. It was an inferno. What happened next? Let’s just say… falling for him was the easy part. Surviving what came after? That’s where the real story began.

In the depths of her despair, her tear-stained eyes desperately tried to focus on the heartless figure before her. "I am not a mere plaything to be possessed," she whispered through trembling lips. "I am a person, with hopes and dreams that extend far beyond the confines of this marriage. I am... am a person with emotions." But he remained unmoved, his gaze cold and unsympathetic. "You are just a contract wife, bound to serve and fulfill my desires," he retorted, devoid of warmth or understanding. "Your aspirations are irrelevant. Your emotions, as long as they don't disrupt this façade of a marriage, are inconsequential..." His callousness only deepened her despair, and he reveled in it, wiping away her tears with cruel satisfaction. "Don't cry, my dear," he sneered. "You have years ahead to drown in regret and endure your punishments. You write about fairytales, don't you? Welcome to your Hell in Paradise, Wife." … ‘How and where had it all started?’ You might ask, dear distinguished reader. Well, it all began with money, as it so often does in Los Angeles, where a sinister game of romance and deceit unfolded when Sirena, a struggling romance author agreed to walk down the aisle with the egoistic heir of the prestigious Crown Dynasty. Three years. That was all or so she thought until an unexpected twist left her torn between the vague feelings she had for the cruel husband and the intense fairytale pang she felt with the mysterious ‘masked man’. Caught in a whirlwind of emotions, amidst lavish parties and extravagant soirées, Sirena finds herself entangled in a treacherous web of love and loyalty, where hidden agendas, forbidden desires, and deceptions threaten to take away her newfound love. Newfound love with whom? Even this Author is itching to find out.

On the aisle: "Look Kitten, you were supposed to be mine from the start. Now, you can't back off anymore. The times are up." He breathed sensually in her ears in his deep voice, making her feel a shiver run up her spine. She suppressed a whimper that was trying to escape her mouth when he covered her lips with his in a deep and passionate kiss. "I pronounce you two as husband and wife. Please, give your blessings to the new couple." "STOP! I was supposed to be the bride! How dare you Elina to even think about snatching my husband! You Whore!" Elina Saint James, an aspiring doctor, marries her would-be brother-in-law, Adrian Walker, the Casanova heir of the famous Walker Group of the country. She was the replacement bride of the man who was originally supposed to marry her sister Olivia Saint James. Maybe it was not in her destiny to live happily. Three years later: She had returned here after three long years, betrayal and hurt was clear in her hazel eyes. But she won't stay here for long, not when she knows he probably hates her now, not only he but her whole family too. What she didn't know was the person she was thinking about, was thinking about her too. Somewhere: "Sir, Mrs. Walker has just landed in the city. She is going towards Sinotley Hills." "Find out everything about her, from where she lives now to everything. I want her to remember everything she has done. I will make her remember me forever." On the other side in Saint James Residency, "How dare she come back after ruining my life. I will kill her." "Olivia calm down, we should be careful, you still are not Adrian's wife, wait for the correct chance, darling."