My Boyfriend Failed Me, So I Married Another Billionaire

I was halfway to unbuttoning my silk blouse to offer myself to the thugs holding my boyfriend hostage, when the man I was trying to save burst into laughter.

My fingers froze on the second button.

Enough, Ethan's voice rang out. He stepped out from the shadows behind a stack of rusted shipping crates. "Don't act too much. You're going to give her a heart attack."

My brain struggled to process the image in front of me. The three menacing men who had just threatened to tear me apart if I didn't take Ethan's place suddenly dropped their weapons.

My friend Maureen covered her mouth. "Oh my god. How did you expose it now? It was just getting good! She was actually going to do it. It is so boring now."

Ethan casually wrapped an arm around Maureen's shoulder. "I just made a bet with Maureen to see how far you would go. I wanted to see how important I am to you."

"A bet?" My voice sounded hollow.

I had driven like a madwoman through the pouring rain.

I had genuinely believed I was going to die tonight to save the man I loved.

"It's okay. You didn't disappoint me." Ethan offered a careless smile. "Can you not have such a cold face? It's just a joke. I didn't really let them do anything to you. There is no need to be so stingy about it."

Maureen held up her phone. "Smile for the camera, Vanessa. Everyone is watching."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"The private group chat. All of our friends. The entire Upper East Side circle." Maureen tilted the screen toward me. "I have been live-streaming this entire pathetic display. We wanted to prove once and for all that you do not belong in Ethan's world. You are just a desperate, clinging nobody who would degrade herself for a man who doesn't even want her."

My own phone vibrated in my pocket. Once. Twice. Three times. The continuous buzzing felt incredibly loud in the sudden silence of the warehouse. I pulled it out. The screen illuminated the darkness.

The time read exactly 12:01 AM.

My thirtieth birthday had officially begun.

The messages were from my father. I opened them.

"Vanessa, don't forget our promise."

"Midnight has passed. He didn't propose."

"The Kensington contract is activated. Come home and marry the man I chose."

I stared at the glowing words.

For three years, I had hidden my identity from the world. I had lived in a cramped apartment. I had worked a grueling job.

I had played the role of an ordinary woman just to prove my father wrong.

I wanted to prove that love could exist without money.

I wanted to prove Ethan loved me for me.

My father had been right all along.

I looked up from the screen. Ethan was still smirking.

Maureen was still holding the camera. They expected me to cry. They expected me to scream, to beg, to throw a tantrum. They wanted a show.

I refused to give them one.

I looked back down at my phone. I opened the keyboard and slowly typed a single line.

"I'll marry him tomorrow."

I hit send. I slipped the phone back into my pocket. I calmly buttoned my blouse.

I turned on my heel and began walking toward the heavy metal exit doors.

"Where are you going?" Ethan called out. "Vanessa, come on. Don't be like this. The joke is over."

I kept walking. The naive girl who walked into this warehouse was dead.

"Vanessa!" Ethan shouted. He sounded annoyed now. "Stop acting like a victim. It was just a prank."

I was ten feet away from the exit when the entire building shook.

A deafening crash shattered the night.

The heavy, corrugated metal doors were violently blown off their hinges.

They slammed onto the concrete floor with a screeching metallic roar. Dust and debris exploded into the air.

Cold rain whipped into the warehouse. The blinding glare of headlights pierced the gloom.

A fleet of sleek, black SUVs had formed a barricade outside the entrance.

The back door of the lead vehicle swung open. A man stepped out into the torrential rain and stopped a few feet away from me.

"I believe my fiance is ready to leave."

"Who the hell are you?" Ethans voice cracked. He stepped forward. He tried to sound authoritative. He failed completely.

The man did not even look at Ethan. His dark eyes remained fixed on me.

I knew exactly who he was. I had never met him in person. I had only seen photographs. Sebastian Sprouse.

He was the man my father had chosen for me. He was the nightmare I had spent three years running from.

Now he was standing in a damp warehouse in Brooklyn.

"I am speaking to you," Ethan snapped. He took another step toward Sebastian. "Back off. That is my girlfriend."

"She was your girlfriend," Sebastian said. His voice was dangerously quiet. "Now she is my fiance. Step aside."

Maureen let out a sharp laugh. "Fiance? Are you insane? Vanessa is a broke assistant. She can barely afford her rent. Who did you hire to play this part, Vanessa? This is pathetic."

A man stepped out from the rain. He handed Sebastian a sleek tablet. Sebastian took it. He tapped the screen once. He held it out toward Ethan.

"Look at it," Sebastian commanded.

"What is this?" Ethan whispered.

"It is the end of your career," Sebastian stated. "You own a company. You spent the last four years building it. Ten minutes ago, I bought it. Five minutes ago, I fired you. You no longer have a company. You no longer have an income. You have nothing."

"You can't do that!" Ethan shouted. Panic laced his words. He fumbled in his pocket. He pulled out his own phone. He stared at the screen. His hands began to tremble. "My access is gone. Everything is locked. Who are you?"

"I am the man marrying the woman you just humiliated," Sebastian replied. "You wanted to prove she did not belong in your world. You were right. She belongs in mine. And your world no longer exists."

Maureen stared at Ethan. "Ethan, what is he talking about? Tell him he is lying."

"Hey!" a rough voice shouted.

I turned my head. One of the hired actors was backing away.

"This was not part of the deal!" the actor yelled. He reached into his jacket. He pulled out a gun. It was not a prop.

The heavy metal gleamed under the harsh warehouse lights.

Maureen screamed.

"Nobody move!" the man roared. "I am not going to jail for this! I want a car! I want cash right now!"

He lunged forward. He grabbed the closest person to him. It was Maureen. He yanked her against his chest. He pressed the barrel of the gun directly against her temple.

Maureen shrieked. Tears streamed down her face. "Ethan! Help me!"

Ethan stood frozen. He looked at the gun. He looked at Maureen. He looked at the exit.

"Ethan, please!" Maureen begged.

Ethan moved. He did not step forward to save her. He shoved Maureen's shoulder. He pushed her harder into the gunman's grip to create distance for himself. Then he turned and sprinted toward the side door of the warehouse.

Maureen sobbed hysterically. The gunman tightened his hold on her neck.

I stopped breathing.

Sebastian did not hesitate. He closed the distance between himself and the gunman before the man could even register the movement.

Sebastian grabbed the weapon. He twisted the man's wrist sharply.

A loud crack echoed through the room.

The gunman screamed and dropped the weapon.

Sebastian kicked the back of the man's knee. The gunman collapsed to the concrete floor.

Maureen fell to her knees. She covered her face and wailed.

Sebastian ignored her completely. He pulled me hard against his chest.

"We are leaving," he said.

He guided me toward the ruined doorway. The rain was still pouring outside. The men by the SUVs stood at attention. My mind was spinning. Ethan was gone. My old life was gone.

I was walking away with a stranger.

We stepped over the debris. We passed the man groaning on the floor.

The gunman dragged himself up onto his elbows. He spat blood onto the concrete. He looked directly at Sebastian.

"I played my part, Mr. Sprouse," the man muttered. His voice was hoarse but clear. "Where is my wire transfer?"

I froze.

My feet stopped moving. The rain beat down on my shoulders. I slowly turned my head to look at Sebastian.

"You paid him."

The roar of the helicopter blades drowned out my voice.

I stared across the small cabin.

Sebastian sat opposite me. He looked out the dark window at the glittering Manhattan skyline. He did not answer me.

We landed on the roof of his building. The rain had stopped. The wind whipped my hair across my face.

Sebastian guided me down a flight of metal stairs. We entered his penthouse.

"You paid that man to pull a gun on us," I said again. My voice echoed in the quiet room.

Sebastian walked over to a glass table.

"I did," he answered simply.

"You could have gotten someone killed. You orchestrated that entire nightmare just to force me to leave with you."

"I orchestrated a situation," Sebastian corrected. He turned to face me fully. "Ethan created the nightmare. I simply gave him a choice. He chose to save himself. He shoved a woman into the line of fire to cover his own escape. I wanted you to see exactly who you were willing to die for."

"That does not excuse what you did." I crossed my arms tightly over my chest. "You are insane. I am not marrying you. I do not care what my father promised you. He cannot force me to do this. I will walk out of here right now."

"Your father did not arrange this marriage," Sebastian said.

I frowned. My feet stopped moving toward the door. "What?"

Sebastian set his glass down. He opened a drawer in the table. He pulled out a thick folder.

"Open it," he commanded.

The pages were filled with signatures and legal stamps.

"Five years ago, your father ruined your family," Sebastian stated. His voice was completely devoid of emotion. "He stole millions from his own clients. He was going to spend the rest of his life in a federal prison. I stepped in. I paid his debts. I kept him out of a cell."

Five years ago, my father had suddenly sent me away. He claimed it was for my own independence. He had been lying.

"I made a deal with him," Sebastian continued. "I saved his life. The price was you. You are the guarantee. If you walk out that door tonight, this agreement is void. I will hand these documents over to the authorities. Your father will be arrested before sunrise."

"You own me," I whispered. The reality crushed the air from my lungs.

"I am protecting my investment," Sebastian replied.

My phone suddenly rang. The shrill sound made me jump. I pulled it out of my pocket. The caller ID showed Ethan's name.

I stared at the glowing screen. Sebastian watched me.

I answered the call. I pressed the phone to my ear.

"Vanessa!" Ethan sobbed. His voice was loud and frantic. "Please do not hang up. I am downstairs. I am in the lobby of his building. The guards will not let me up."

"Why are you calling me?" I asked coldly.

"I am so sorry," Ethan cried. "Maureen manipulated me. It was her idea. She forced me to do it. But you have to listen to me. You are in danger."

"You left me in a warehouse," I said to Ethan.

"I panicked!" Ethan shouted. "But I came back for you. I swear. Vanessa, you cannot marry him. He is a monster. I found something out. I have proof."

"Proof of what?"

"He does not want you," Ethan said. He was breathing heavily into the receiver. "He wants your family's legacy. He wants everything your father built. He is going to kill your father to take it all. I am sending you an audio file right now. Listen to it."

My phone vibrated against my cheek. A message notification popped up on the screen.

"Vanessa, please come downstairs," Ethan begged. "Let me save you."

I ended the call. The penthouse was completely silent again. Sebastian placed his empty glass on the table.

"Was that your former boyfriend?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"Is he still crying?"

"Yes."

Sebastian shook his head slightly. "The guest room is the second door on the left. Lock it if it makes you feel safe. We have a long day tomorrow."

He disappeared down the hall. I heard a door click shut.

I stood alone in the massive living room. My hands were trembling. I looked down at my phone. The message from Ethan contained a single audio file.

I walked into the guest room. I closed the door behind me. I tapped the screen and pressed play.

There was a brief moment of static. Then, a voice spoke. It was Sebastian's voice.

"The wedding will proceed as planned," Sebastian's recorded voice said.

Another man spoke. His voice was muffled. "And after the ceremony? What about the father?"

"Forget the father," Sebastian replied on the recording. The audio was crystal clear. The coldness in his tone made my blood run to ice. "Make sure Vanessa Kensington does not survive the wedding night."

The recording ended.

"Hold still."

Sebastian stood directly behind me. His fingers brushed the bare skin at the nape of my neck. The sudden contact sent a violent shiver down my spine.

He fastened the heavy diamond necklace around my throat.

I looked at our reflection in the tall vanity mirror. I forced my expression to remain perfectly blank. I had spent the entire day playing the role of the compliant, submissive bride.

I smiled whenever he spoke to me. I nodded whenever he gave an order. I did not argue. I did not fight back. I needed him to think I was broken. I needed him to drop his guard.

I needed time.

"You look perfect," he murmured. His dark eyes met mine in the mirror.

"Thank you," I lied smoothly.

Tonight was our official engagement gala. The massive ballroom on the lower floor of his building was already filled with hundreds of elite guests.

I knew I could not simply run away. His private security team watched my every single move. The exits were guarded.

My phone was monitored. I had to find real evidence. I had to prove he was planning to murder me tonight.

Sebastian stepped back. He offered me his arm.

We walked out of the penthouse and took the private elevator down to the ballroom.

The gala was deafening. We spent the first hour greeting strangers. I played my part flawlessly. I laughed at their jokes. I leaned into Sebastian's side. I waited for my moment.

It finally came. A group of aggressive politicians cornered Sebastian near the bar. They demanded his attention.

His grip on my waist loosened for just a fraction of a second.

I slipped away.

I moved quickly through the crowd. I hurried down the private, restricted corridor.

I reached the heavy oak door of his private study. I turned the brass handle. It was unlocked.

I stepped inside. I closed the door silently behind me. I locked it.

The room was dark. The only light came from the city skyline outside the massive windows. I moved straight to his large mahogany desk. A sleek silver audio recorder sat right next to his keyboard. It was the exact kind used for dictating personal notes.

I picked it up. My hands shook violently. I pressed the play button.

A strange man's voice spoke first. "The Kensington contract is ironclad. Her father wants out."

"He signed the papers," Sebastian's voice replied calmly.

"He found a loophole," the strange man said. "If the bride dies before the marriage is consummated, the debt dies with her. Her father hired me. He paid me half a million dollars in cash."

I stopped breathing. The air vanished from the room. My own father had hired a hitman.

"And what exactly are your orders?" Sebastian asked on the tape.

"Make sure Vanessa Kensington doesn't survive the wedding night," the hitman answered.

There was a long, terrifying pause on the recording.

"If you touch her," Sebastian's voice dropped to a lethal, chilling whisper, "I will peel the skin from your bones. You will return the money. You will leave this city. If you make sure Vanessa Kensington doesn't survive the wedding night, I will make sure your entire bloodline is erased."

The recording clicked off.

I dropped the device onto the desk. My legs completely gave out.

I grabbed the edge of the heavy table to keep from collapsing to the floor.

My father wanted me dead. He had sold me to Sebastian to save himself.

Then he had hired a killer to murder me just to break the contract.

Sebastian was not plotting my death. He had been threatening the man hired to kill me. He had saved my life.

A key turned in the lock.

The study door swung open. Sebastian stepped inside.

He closed the door behind him.

He looked at me. He looked at the silver recorder resting on the desk.

"You heard it," he said.

"My father," I choked out. The words tasted like ash in my mouth. "He ordered the hit."

"Yes."

"Ethan sent me an edited version," I said. My voice trembled uncontrollably. "He tried to frame you."

Sebastian walked slowly toward me. He stopped right in front of me.

He reached into his tailored jacket pocket.

He pulled out a heavy silver revolver.

I gasped. I stepped back until my spine hit the desk. He flipped it around in his hand. He held it by the barrel. He offered the grip to me.

"Take it," he commanded.

I stared at the gun. I slowly raised my shaking hand. I wrapped my fingers around the cold metal grip.

Sebastian stepped closer. He grabbed my hand. He pulled the gun forward. He pressed the barrel directly against the center of his own chest. He held it right over his heart.

My breath hitched. "What are you doing?"

"If you still think I'm the villain, pull the trigger, Vanessa," Sebastian said. His dark eyes burned into mine. "But if you want to destroy the men who actually betrayed you, marry me."

The room fell dead silent. I felt the steady, calm beat of his heart through the metal barrel. Ethan had abandoned me to a gunman. My father wanted me dead for money. Sebastian was the only person who had stood between me and a bullet.

I lowered the gun.

I let it slip from my fingers. It hit the thick rug with a soft thud.

"I will marry you," I whispered.

Sebastian did not hesitate. He closed the distance between us instantly. His hands tangled fiercely in my hair. He pulled my face up to his. He kissed me. It was not a gentle kiss. It was rough.

I kissed him back.

I poured all my rage and all my betrayal into it. We were sealing a dark, dangerous alliance.

He backed me against the edge of the desk. My hands gripped his broad shoulders.

I lost myself in the intensity of the moment.

Suddenly, the screen of his phone lit up on the desk right beside us. The bright light caught my eye.

I pulled back slightly to catch my breath. I glanced down at the glowing screen.

A text message had just arrived. The sender's name was clearly visible.

Maureen.

I froze. My heart stopped beating completely. I stared at the short, glowing sentence.

"Mission accomplished, Mr. Sprouse. Vanessa suspects nothing about us."

My eyes fell on the glowing screen of Sebastians phone, and my blood turned cold in an instant.

Mission accomplished, Mr. Sprouse. Vanessa suspects nothing about us.

For one terrible second, I forgot how to breathe. The words blurred in front of me, but not enough to hide the truth. Maureen had sent that message. Maureen. My best friend. The woman who had stood beside me, comforted me, and listened to every fear I had ever whispered in the dark.

A sick feeling twisted inside me.

The recording on the desk was fake. The hitman, the threats, the whole ugly scene that made Sebastian look like my protector had been staged. He had not saved me. He had trapped me. And Maureen had helped him do it.

I felt horror wash over me so fast that I thought I might faint. My hands went cold. My stomach turned. I wanted to shove him away from me and scream until the windows shattered. I wanted to grab that phone and throw it in his face and demand answers he did not deserve the chance to twist.

But Sebastian was right in front of me.

His arm was still around my waist. His mouth was only inches from mine. If I let even one flicker of what I felt show on my face, he would know. And if he knew, I had no idea what he would do.

So I forced myself to move.

I tore my eyes away from the screen and looked up at him instead. I made myself soften. I made myself smile, though it felt like my lips might split from the strain. Then I reached for him and pulled him closer like I could not get enough.

I kissed him first.

He seemed pleased by that. I felt the change in him at once. He leaned into me, confident and warm and cruel without even knowing I had seen through him. I deepened the kiss, pretending I was dizzy with gratitude and desire. Pretending I believed he was the only safe place left in the world.

Inside, I was breaking apart.

My fingers curled at the back of his neck. My body pressed into his because it had to. I hated how steady he felt. I hated how calm he was while my whole world cracked open. The man holding me had planned every step that brought me here. He had made me afraid on purpose. He had made me trust him on purpose. And Maureen had smiled in my face while she helped him do it.

When he kissed me harder, I let him.

That was the worst part.

I had to let him think he had won.

I had to let him believe I was fooled. Because right now, that lie was the only thing protecting me.

By the time he finally pulled back, I had my breathing under control. My heart was still slamming wildly, but I lowered my eyes and leaned against his chest like I was shy and overwhelmed. He touched my face with a tenderness that made me feel sick.

Are you alright? he asked softly.

I nodded and forced out the smallest smile. I am now.

That seemed to satisfy him.

Later, when he led me to bed, I lay beside him in silence and stared into the darkness long after his breathing turned slow and even. I did not sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that message again. I heard Maureen laughing. I heard Sebastians voice on that fake recording. I kept wondering how long they had been doing this. How long they had been watching me. How much of my life had really been mine.

By morning, I had only one clear thought left.

I needed proof.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom. Sebastian was in the shower. I sat up slowly, listening, my pulse already racing. Sunlight spilled through the windows, too bright for the kind of fear sitting in my chest.

I got out of bed and looked toward the dresser.

The night before, I had seen him unlock the bottom drawer with a small brass key. I had noticed where he slipped it afterward. At the time, I told myself it was nothing. Now I knew better.

I crossed the room as quietly as I could and picked up his trousers from the chair. My fingers searched the pocket until I found the key. Even that tiny sound of metal brushing fabric made my heart jump.

I moved to the dresser and slid the key into the lock.

The drawer opened.

Inside was a thick black photo album.

I stared at it for a moment before I picked it up. My hands already felt unsteady. Something inside me knew I was about to see something terrible.

I opened the cover.

The first photograph nearly made me drop the album.

It was me.

I was walking out of my old apartment building with coffee in one hand and my bag over my shoulder. I looked ordinary. Unaware. Safe.

I turned the page.

Another picture. Me at a bookstore.

Another. Me getting into a cab.

Another. Me laughing outside a restaurant.

My throat tightened. I kept turning pages, faster now, my hands trembling harder with every photograph. There were dozens of them. Then hundreds. They stretched over three years. Three years of my life, stolen and pinned into neat pages like proof of ownership.

He had been watching me all that time.

No, not just watching.

Stalking me.

I felt dizzy. My skin crawled. I looked closer at one of the pictures and nearly gasped.

Maureen stood in the background.

She was half hidden near a street corner, but it was her. In another photo, she sat two tables away from me at a caf. In another, she stood outside a shop while I came out smiling at a text on my phone. I flipped page after page, and there she was again and again.

She had not just betrayed me now.

She had been helping him for years.

A broken sound almost left my throat, but I bit it back. Tears burned in my eyes. I was shaking so badly I could barely hold the album. Every memory I had of her felt ruined. Every kind word. Every hug. Every warning she gave me. It had all been poison.

Then the water stopped.

I froze.

The silence hit me harder than a scream.

In a panic, I shoved the album back into the drawer and locked it with fumbling hands. I had barely slipped the key back into his pocket when the bathroom door clicked open.

I turned just as Sebastian stepped out, water still glistening on his skin. In his hand was a stunning white dress.

He smiled at me, dark and pleased.

Get dressed, he said. We are getting married today.

Smile, Sebastian told me softly. Today is the happiest day of your life.

If he only knew.

I stood in front of the mirror while two women hurried around me with shaking hands and fake cheerful voices. Everything had been arranged too fast. The flowers, the makeup, the hair, the endless rushing in and out of the suite. It did not feel like a wedding. It felt like a trap being sealed shut around me, layer by layer, ribbon by ribbon, until there was no air left.

Sebastian had not given me a choice. The second he stepped out of the bathroom with that dress in his hands, my fate had been decided for me. He wanted me at the altar today, before I could think, before I could run, before I could tell anyone what I knew. He wanted me bound to him while the lie was still alive.

So I let him think I was beaten.

That was the only move I had.

I kept my face pale and my voice quiet. I let my hands tremble when anyone spoke to me. When Sebastian came close, I lowered my eyes and looked at him the way a frightened woman would look at the man she believed held her whole world in his hands. He seemed to enjoy that. It made him gentler. It made him careful. It made him certain that I was his.

The suite door opened behind me, and I didnt need to turn around to know who it was.

Maureen.

I saw her reflection in the mirror before I faced her. She stepped inside with a bright smile on her face, carrying herself like she belonged there. Like she had every right to stand in my bridal suite on the day my life was being handed over to a monster.

Oh, Vanessa, she said, rushing toward me. You look beautiful.

Her voice was warm enough to fool anyone listening. It almost made me sick.

She bent to kiss my cheek, and I forced myself not to flinch. Her perfume wrapped around me, familiar and ugly now. I remembered all the times I had cried on her shoulder. All the nights I had trusted her with my secrets. I wanted to slap her so hard her smile broke. Instead, I let my eyes fill with tears.

Thank you, I whispered.

She smiled wider, clearly pleased.

The women helping me left a few minutes later to fetch something downstairs. The second the door clicked shut, the air in the room changed. Maureens smile vanished. She walked slowly toward me until she stood close enough that I could see the triumph in her eyes.

You really are pathetic, she murmured.

I looked at her, letting fear shake across my face.

She leaned closer. Do you know what today is? she whispered. Its the day you walk into your cage and lock it yourself.

The words hit me hard, but I did not let the anger show. I swallowed and looked down at my hands. Why are you doing this to me?

She gave a soft little laugh. Because you made it easy.

My chest tightened. Even then, I made myself sound small. I trusted you.

I know, she said. That was the fun part.

For a second, I thought I might lose control. The hatred inside me was so sharp it felt alive. But I forced a shaky breath through my lips and let my eyes glisten. I even stepped back like she had frightened me. That only fed her cruelty.

You should be grateful, she said. Sebastian wants you. Most women would kill for that kind of obsession.

I stared at her as if she had just shattered the last piece of me. Please, I whispered. Dont do this.

She smiled again, slow and poisonous. Its already done.

Then she reached out and fixed a strand of my hair with mock affection. Try not to cry before the ceremony. Youll ruin your face.

When she walked out, I sat down because my knees almost gave out. I pressed my hands together in my lap until the shaking eased. She thought she had won. Sebastian thought I was trapped. Good. Let them believe it. Let them get careless.

A little later, someone came to tell me it was time.

The music started downstairs while I stood outside the doors with my heart pounding so hard it hurt. My father was already seated in the front row. I had seen him only briefly before the ceremony, but that had been enough. Sweat had clung to his temple. His face was too tight. His eyes kept moving. He looked like a man waiting for something final. Something he believed would set him free.

Poison.

The word came to me like a whisper from the dark. The hitman. The recording. The setup. My father had wanted me dead, and Sebastian had turned that threat into a performance. That was the game. That was the sickness all around me. Every person smiling downstairs had a knife hidden behind their teeth.

The doors opened.

I stepped forward.

The aisle stretched long beneath my feet, covered in flowers and candlelight, dressed up to look holy. Guests rose around me. Their faces blurred together as I forced myself to keep walking. My dress felt heavy. My breath felt thin. At the end of the aisle stood Sebastian, handsome and calm and waiting for me like he had not been stalking me for three years.

When I reached him, he took my hands in his. His touch was warm. My skin wanted to crawl.

The officiant began to speak, but I barely heard a word. I could feel Maureen somewhere behind the crowd. I could feel my father watching me. I could feel the whole room closing in.

Then came the vows.

Sebastian said his first. His voice was low and steady and full of devotion so practiced it might have fooled heaven itself. When it was my turn, every eye fixed on me.

I lifted my chin and looked at him.

I do, I said softly.

He smiled like I had given him the world.

The officiant turned to him. And do you

I do, Sebastian said without hesitation.

A ripple of warm laughter passed through the guests. The officiant smiled and finished the formal words. My father dabbed at his forehead. His hand was not steady.

Then came the moment.

You may kiss the bride.

Sebastians hands slid to my waist as he leaned in. I tipped my face up because I had to. But just before his mouth touched mine, I looked past his shoulder toward the sweetheart table.

And my blood froze.

Maureen stood there with her back half turned to the room. Her fingers moved quickly, almost neatly, as she uncapped a tiny vial and emptied it into my champagne glass.