Novel & Cerita The Bride Who Walked Away

someone bellowed. The bride. The bride. But whose? People smiled. Cried. Clutched their pearls as if this were the great love story of the century. They didn't see the girl who'd screamed her throat raw behind locked doors. Who'd begged. Who'd scraped her nails down marble walls and implored something—anything—to break the fantasy. And now, she was walking down the aisle like she was born to do it. My own breath caught in my throat. Not because I was scarednot because I was angry. Because I was betrayed.

A woman in the front row covered her mouth, delighted in my disgrace. My knees wobbled, but I forced myself to stand, to breathe, though every part of me wanted to disappear. In that moment, I was no longer a bride. I was entertainment. A living tragedy for them to feed on. He didn’t even flinch as he turned and walked down the aisle, away from me, away from everything we had planned. His footsteps echoed, cold and final, until the heavy church doors slammed shut behind him. The silence he left behind was worse than the whispers.

“She doesn’t have long left. We just wanted her to have her wish.” “I know,” Luca replied, his voice softening. “That’s why I agreed to the ceremony. But Bianca is innocent. You don’t get to hurt her.” Another pause. “Try to do it again,” he warned quietly, “and I won’t forgive it.” My heart tightened. My suitcase slipped from my hand and crashed to the floor. So, this wedding— the wedding I poured my heart into— had been nothing but a lie. Never meant for me at all. I covered my mouth to stifle a sob, but the tears came anyway.

Before I could stop them, tears slipped down my cheeks. I glanced toward my stepsister, Elina. She was smiling too, but not at me. At Adrian. It had always been Adrian. Behind my back. My fingers tightened around the bouquet of flowers until my knuckles went white. No, I told myself. I wouldn’t be pathetic this time. I wasn’t given a second chance just to be a victim again. When we reached the altar, I turned to face the pack elder officiating the ceremony.

“What?” Vincent’s eyes widened sharply. Inside the evidence bag was a phone, its screen already shattered. A police officer helped unlock it and pulled up the last recorded video. Christine’s face appeared on the screen. She was wearing a white dress, faded from too many washes, with light makeup on her face. The background was the rooftop of the Empire State Building, and the strong wind lifted her hair. “Vincent, congratulations to you and Elena on your wedding today. I’m sorry I can’t attend. It’s because I’ve decided to leave this world.”

“Maybe they’ll see what heartbreak looks like up close!” The rain roared harder, thunder cracking overhead. Lila’s phone buzzed. She glanced at it, her face changing. “Oh Goddess… they’ve already posted the pictures. The title says ‘Alpha Blackwood announces marriage to Celeste Valen.’” My knees buckled. “Engaged?” My voice broke. “He didn’t just reject me, he replaced me.” Lila tried to support me, but I pulled away, shaking. “I can't stay here. Not after this.”

On our third wedding anniversary, Lorenzo Falcone came back from Sicily with a chest of jewels. Without thinking, he slid the chest toward my sister Vella and told her to pick first. I stared, eyes wide, and the disappointment slipped out before I could stop it: "Lorenzo. It's our anniversary. Don't I get to choose first?" He faltered for just a second. Then he said: "Lily, as a Donna, you should know how to be gracious. You can't always act like a little girl." I'd heard that for over twenty years. Since I was a child, the eldest daughter of the family, I'd long learned to step aside. Give up the horse I loved. Give up my grandfather's keepsake. Give up the chance to study abroad. Give up t

After swallowing my fourth painkiller, I spent the entire morning sitting in my hotel room in the wedding dress Curtis Bradford had picked out for me. The car that was supposed to take me to the ceremony never showed up. Instead, I came across a livestream of a wedding that had gone viral around town. On-screen, Curtis slipped the pink diamond ring I had begged him for onto the bride's finger. The bride was Shannon Cobb, my biological sister who had disappeared ten years ago. Curtis looked straight into the camera. "Leslie, I know you're watching. "Ten years ago, you lost Shannon and put her through hell. I only let you believe I was going to marry you because I wanted you to know wh

His control swayed and he blamed it on the drink. Not long after, the conversation flowed with ease. An ease that was never supposed to be there. It was in the heat of the moment that he’d invited her to his yacht. A night of shared grief and shared whiskey became a night of uncontrollable passion. That wasn’t part of the deal. By morning, it was awkward, especially for him. They didn’t see much of each other until what was supposed to be their wedding day. And that was the last time he saw her.

On my birthday, my vampire fiancé Lucien brought his childhood sweetheart and her daughter along. We had agreed to drive to the seaside manor to celebrate. Suddenly there were two extra people, and the car was short one seat. Lucien told me to get out and give up my seat for them. “Evelyn has a child with her. Let them go first. I’ll come back for you later.” My brothers also urged me to get out. I didn’t argue like I used to. I simply got out calmly and watched them leave. Two hours later, they arrived at the birthday party venue. My birthday party began without me. When friends asked Lucien why he still hadn’t gone back to pick me up, he was feeding cake to Evelyn’s daughter. It