My father thought he had won. He walked out of the room with a cold smile, thinking he had scared me into being a puppet for his business deal. He thought I was just a weak girl who would do whatever he said to keep her money and her fancy name. But he was wrong. He did not know that the old Zara was gone. I was going downstairs, yes, but I wasn't going to that altar. I was going to find a way out.
As soon as the door clicked shut, I moved. I didn't think about the money. I didn't think about the famous Thorne family name. I only thought about escaping the two monsters who wanted to sell my life.
I ran out of the wedding hall as fast as my legs could carry me. My heavy white dress felt like a cage of silk and lace, catching on the corners of the walls. I felt like a monster was chasing me, breathing down my neck. I didn't look back at the flowers, the cake, or the hundreds of people waiting to see a fake wedding.
My chest hurt so much it felt like I was breathing in broken glass. My heart was in a million tiny pieces. In just a few minutes, I had lost everything. I lost the man I thought loved me, and I lost the father who was supposed to be my hero. I was truly alone.
I reached the parking lot, gasping for air. The sky was grey and the air was freezing. I stood there, a bride in a giant, dirty white dress, looking at my car. My hands were shaking so hard that my car keys slipped from my fingers. They hit the pavement with a loud clink. I bent down, sobbing, and picked them up with trembling fingers.
I finally got inside the car and slammed the door. I stared at the steering wheel, my vision blurry from tears. My throat felt so tight it was hard to swallow. I turned the key in the ignition. Sputter. Sputter. The engine tried to start for one second and then it died. I tried again, crying out loud in frustration. The same thing happened. The car would not start.
"Please... please start," I whispered, hitting the steering wheel. "Please don't leave me here."
I took one long, shaky breath and tried one more time. This time, the engine roared to life. I shifted into gear and drove away from the hotel gates. I didn't look in the rearview mirror. I didn't want to see my father or Aiden running after me. I drove onto the main road, my eyes so full of tears that the streetlights looked like messy yellow stars.
I drove for a long time, not knowing where I was going. I just wanted to be far away from the "Thorne" life. Eventually, I saw a small wine shop at the corner of a dark road. I stopped the car and stepped out. My beautiful wedding dress was filthy now. The bottom was black with mud and grease, dragging behind me like a broken dream. The man inside the shop just stared at me. He saw a bride who was messy, alone, and crying, but he was kind enough not to ask any questions.
"Give me any bottle," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Anything."
I went back to the car and started to drink. The liquid burned my throat, but I didn't care. I wanted that burning feeling to be stronger than the hole in my heart. Soon, the world started to look blurry and soft. My phone, lying on the passenger seat, started to buzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz. It didn't stop. It was my father. It was Aiden. I looked at their names on the screen and felt a wave of hot, white anger.
"Leave me alone!" I screamed at the empty car. I grabbed the phone and threw it onto the floor mats. I didn't want to be Zara Thorne anymore.
I drove without thinking until the bright city lights were far behind me. The road was quiet and dark. That was when I saw him.
Under a single yellow streetlight, a young man was sitting on the curb. He had messy, dark hair and wore old, torn jeans. He looked like he didn't have a penny to his name, but he was holding a guitar. His name was Romeo. He was singing a very soft, beautiful song, and nobody was there to listen to him but the wind. I felt a strange wave of jealousy. He looked so free. He didn't have a father selling him for a deal. He didn't have a cheater waiting for him.
Suddenly, the alcohol hit my brain like a hammer. My head started spinning in circles. The steering wheel slipped from my sweaty hands. The car swerved toward the side of the road—right toward the man!
Romeo jumped away just in time! He was safe, but the car clipped his guitar. It fell onto the road and broke into a hundred wooden pieces.
I stepped out of the car, feeling dizzy and sick. My legs felt like jelly. I looked at Romeo, then I looked at the expensive diamond wedding ring on my finger—the ring Aiden gave me to trick me. I pulled it off and pushed it into Romeo's hand.
"Be my boyfriend for just one day," I told him, my voice slurring. "I will give you a hundred million. Just don't let me be alone."
Before he could say a single word, the world turned black. My knees gave out, and I fell onto the hard ground.
I woke up the next morning in a small, crowded room. It smelled like old wood and coffee. My head felt like it was exploding with a terrible pain. I looked around, confused, and then my heart stopped. I was lying on a small bed, and Romeo—the guitar player—was lying right there next to me.
I looked at the floor and saw my clothes scattered everywhere. A cold wave of fear and shame ran through my body.
"What happened?" I shouted, pulling the blanket up. I was terrified.
Romeo woke up and looked at me with sad, tired eyes. He talked very slowly so I could understand. He told me that I had been very drunk and that I had cried all night long. He said I was the one who kept pulling him closer, begging him not to leave me alone in the dark. He told me he tried to stop me, but I wouldn't listen. I was so broken that I was reaching out for anyone to hold me.
I felt a deep, hot shame burning in my chest. I couldn't even look at him. I quickly grabbed my clothes from the floor, put them on as fast as I could, and ran out of that house without looking back.
I disappeared after that day. I didn't go back to my father's mansion. I didn't call my friends. I didn't check my bank account. I rented a tiny, cheap room in a part of town where people didn't wear diamonds. I stayed in that room, hidden away, and cried myself to sleep every single night for months.
Then, one morning, everything changed again.
I started feeling sick. I felt like throwing up every single morning. When I finally went to a small clinic to see a doctor, my whole world collapsed for the third time.
I was pregnant. The baby belonged to Romeo, the man whose name I barely knew.
I sat on a park bench and cried for hours. I felt so helpless. How could I raise a baby alone? But then, I touched my stomach. I felt a tiny, strange spark of hope. I whispered to the tiny life inside me, "I will protect you. I will be better than my father was. I will love you no matter what."
But hope doesn't pay for milk or rent. My small savings slowly ran out. I had to find a job. I went to many offices, wearing my best cheap clothes, but everyone said, "No." They saw a woman with no recent work history and a growing belly, and they didn't want to help.
I was rejected again and again. But I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. I had a baby to feed.
And then, Henry... I met you.
Our first meeting wasn't perfect. We met at that small café, and I was so stressed that we ended up fighting over some spilled coffee. I walked away feeling angry at the world. I had no idea that the very next morning, I would walk into a job interview and see you sitting in the big chair. You were the CEO.
When I saw you standing there in your suit, my heart stopped. I was sure I would be kicked out. I was sure you would remember the girl from the café and tell me to leave.
But I decided to be brave. I didn't lie to you. I told you the whole truth. I told you I was pregnant, alone, and that I needed this job more than anything in the world. I didn't hide my mistakes.
And you... you were different from Aiden. You were different from my father. You actually listened. You didn't judge me or call me a business deal. You gave me a chance. You gave me a job.
For the first time in a very long time, I felt safe. I felt like I could finally stop running. But then, tonight happened.
We were in your car, and you were driving me home. Then your phone made that soft ding sound. I saw the message on your screen, Henry.
"Stay away from Zara."
The moment I read those four words, my body turned to ice. I knew that handwriting—even in a text. My past had finally crawled out of the shadows and found me.
That is why I am telling you all of this now, Henry. I am telling you about the wedding that never happened, about Aiden's lies, and about the father who sold me. I am telling you about the night I met Romeo and the baby I am carrying. I am telling you because I am terrified.
I trust you, Henry. You are the only person who has been kind to me. I feel like Aiden is coming back, and I know he doesn't want to say sorry. He wants to control me again. He wants to take whatever I have left. And I am so scared because I don't know how to protect my baby from a monster like him.
Zara has finally told Henry the truth. But the message on the phone proves that Aiden is watching them. What will Henry do now? Will he protect Zara, or will the "Stay away" warning be too much for him?
The journey is just getting started, and the next turn will be the most shocking of all! Don't miss the next episode!