I parked a little away from the registry and just stared at the doors. My black dress felt like armor and my sunglasses hid my face from anyone who thought they could read me.
Today was supposed to be my wedding day. Except Jeremy hadn't called. Not a text. Not a single "sorry." Typical. My hands were white on the wheel and my stomach twisting, but I told myself..don't run. Don't let your emotions get the better of you.
I picked up my phone and dialed Jeremy anyway, forcing my voice to be light, casual, like nothing was wrong. "Hey… what about our wedding today what…?"
"Oh, Bianca. Ella is sick, she has a cold..Let's postpone it, and also I've got a shoot that ran late, plus an interview back-to-back. I…"
I cut him off with a soft, even laugh. "Right. Of course."My tone was perfect. Calm and Polite. The kind of voice that would make anyone think I was oblivious.
Inside, I was fuming. Ella being sick is such a pathetic reason to postpone the wedding. But i pretended everything to be gullible.
"Okay," I said finally, tilting my head back against the seat. "ok…then." I hung up before he could stumble over any more lies.
"Bitch" I cursed.
I took a deep breath and slid out of the car, with my sun glasses on! And my heels clicking against the pavement. I walked toward the registry doors. Today, they would see a bride. But Jeremy would never be the groom.
I stepped away from the car, the sun catching on my black dress as I crossed the lot. A few people glanced up at me, then looked away.
Couples laughed near the entrance, there was flowers in their arms. A man in a navy suit checked his watch, another adjusted a tie in a car window. No one held my gaze. No one even paused. Fine. They ignored the bride in black.
I walked a slow circle near the registry doors. Maybe someone there could fit the plan. Maybe not. My chest felt tight, but my face stayed cool.
I stopped, slid a hand into my bag, my fingers brushed my phone. I was almost about to call my secretary to find me a groom, when..
Then a deep and sharp voice cut through the air behind me.
"I don't need an excuse, Daniel. My fiancée ran away, and I need a fucking bride within the next two hours or i won't get my inheritance. God! Why can't you do your job well?" he roared in fury.
I turned my head toward the voice, and then I saw him.
A tall, commanding man stood in the room, his presence was impossible to ignore. He was dressed in an expensive three-piece suit that screamed wealth and authority, he carried himself with the confidence of someone who always got his way.
His sharp jawline was set in firmly, as anyone could see frustration in his piercing blue eyes. The perfect suit did nothing to hide the broad shoulders and powerful frame beneath. Everything about him, his stance, his gaze, the barely restrained impatience in his movements—made one thing clear. He wasn't a man used to waiting. And right now, he wanted a bride.
His fingers were tightened up into fists at his sides as his jaw clenched so tightly I thought he might snap. The air around him was charged with extreme tension.
Daniel, the man he was speaking to, stammered in fear at his presence. "Sir, I..I'm trying, but it's not exactly easy to find a willing bride on such short notice."
The intimidating man exhaled sharply before taking a hand through his perfectly styled dark hair before shoving it back into his pocket.
"Trying is not enough, Daniel. I don't care if you have to pay someone. Hell, drag a woman in if you have to! But I am not walking out of here without a wife."
The desperation in his voice sent a chill down my spine.
A man desperate for a bride. A woman abandoned at the altar.
My heart pounded harder as a ridiculous, insane thought crossed my mind.
This was madness. Insane.
But wasn't my entire life already falling apart? Wasn't I standing here, about to be humiliated, because of Jeremy?
I squared my shoulders and inhaled sharply, before I could talk myself out of it, I took a bold step toward the man in the suit.
"If you need a bride," I said, tilting my head slightly, "I just so happen to need a groom."
His head turned toward me, and his blue eyes narrowed in surprise at my audacity.
For a second, he simply stared at me, taking me as he accessed me from head to toe
Then, slowly, his lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile but wasn't rejection either.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice waa now lower now, he was now more intrigued than angry.
I took off my sunglasses as I met his gaze head-on.
"Your solution."