The wedding was supposed to be in three days.
Melanie had imagined walking down the aisle in lace and white, the man she loved waiting at the end of the aisle with soft eyes and open arms. She had imagined joy and peace. Instead, she sat frozen in a quiet cafe, staring at the man she thought she knew.
Adrian wouldn't meet her eyes.
"I can't do this," he said.
The words dropped like bricks between them.
Melanie's lips parted, but her voice was gone. She stared at the man she'd been engaged to for almost a year. "What... what do you mean?"
He exhaled as if the weight of pretending was finally off his chest. "I don't love you. I never did."
Her chest tightened. "What are you saying right now?" she whispered. "You proposed to me. You planned a future with me."
"I'm sorry, but I can't live a lie," he said.
Melanie's hand clenched the edge of the table. Her nails dug into her palm. "You're sorry?" Her voice broke. "You humiliated me three days before our wedding and all you can say is 'sorry'?"
She stood up knocking the chair backward. Adrian didn't flinch.
"I gave you everything," she said, voice shaking. "I trusted you with everything I had."
But he only turned his gaze away again.
Melanie walked out of the cafe in a daze, the world spinning under her feet.
She went home, cried under her blanket, and of course... her parents and Rose didn't care. She wasn't the loved one.
***
Today was supposed to be her wedding day, but she had left the house very early. She didn't know how long she walked before her phone buzzed. The screen was blank _ Unknown Number.
"You deserve the truth. Go to the Palms Hall. Now."
Her heart skipped.
That was the venue. Her wedding venue.
Panic flooded her. She hailed the nearest cab and gave the address.
***
The Palms Hall was decorated in white and gold, just like she had planned. Only... it wasn't for her.
From outside the glass door, Melanie watched in disbelief as her sister, Rose, walked down the aisle toward Adrian.
Adrian, the man who just broke her heart.
Tears blurred her vision, but she didn't need clarity to understand what was happening. Rose was radiant, smiling like she had won. Adrian stood tall, eyes locked on her with no remorse.
Melanie's entire world collapsed in silence.
"Don't cause a scene," her mother's voice said behind her.
Melanie spun around. Her parents were there. Watching. Waiting.
"You knew?" she whispered.
Her mother adjusted her clutch. "Rose is better suited for someone like Adrian. You were always too soft."
Her father added coldly, "This isn't time for drama". Don't humiliate us more than you already have."
Melanie couldn't breathe. She stepped back like their words had physically hit her. Her chest hurt. Her throat burned.
No one had defended her.
Not her fiance.
Not her family.
Not even her sister.
She turned and ran, tears rolling down her face.
***
The bar she stumbled into was dim and quiet, tucked between the tall shadows of the city. She ordered whatever was strongest and kept drinking until her hands stopped trembling. Her mind was hazy. Her heart... numb.
She didn't know how long she'd been there when she spotted him, tall, broad-shouldered, stepping out of the bar with an aura that caught through the noise like a blade. He moved like someone who didn't belong there, like someone who owned everything he walked passed.
Melanie staggered to her feet. Her vision blurred, her emotions worse.
"Adrian..." she croaked, following him out the door.
He didn't turn around.
"Don't leave me..." she slurred, grabbing the back of his jacket and throwing herself against his back. "You promised... you promised you'd love me."
The man finally turned, his face cast in shadow under the glow of a streetlamp. Cold gray eyes locked onto her like ice settling over a battlefield.
"You're drunk," he said flatly.
Melanie clutched his shirt, sobbing. "Please... please don't go. You said you loved me..."
He stared at her _ no sympathy, no warmth, just detached curiosity.
"This is pathetic," he murmured.
"Don't say that..." she pressed her face against his chest. "I really loved you, you know?"
He smelled like cedarwood and cool cologne. Nothing like Adrian. But Melanie didn't notice, or didn't care.
She was far gone.
She felt his chest rise in a sigh. Then, without a word, he lifted her easily, like she weighed nothing, and carried her to a sleek black car that pulled up with perfect timing.
"Open the car door," he ordered his driver. "Take us to the Imperial."
*** Next Morning, Hotel suite
The scent of leather and crisp linen hit her first. Then the migraine.
Melanie opened her eyes slowly, taking in the opulent suite. Velvet drapes. Marble floors. A view that screamed wealth. Her head pounded as the memories tickled back.
She wasn't alone.
Across the room, the man stood near the window, dressed in new suit, talking into a phone with low, clipped authority.
"If the contract isn't signed by noon, terminate the deal. I don't tolerate indecision."
He turned when he noticed her stirring.
"Good, " he said, slipping his phone into his pocket. "You're awake."
Melanie stared, suddenly self-conscious in nothing but an oversized shirt.
"Where...?"
"Imperial Towers. Top floor." He approached, each step echoing on the floor. "You were drunk. Making a scene. Clinging to me like a lost puppy."
She flinched. "I thought you were someone else..."
"I know," he cut in. "Adrian. Your ex-fiance."
Her eyes widened. "How do you know?"
"You talked a lot when you were drunk," he said simply. "I tuned most of it out."
His tone was like glass... cold, smooth, and dangerous.
Melanie tried to sit up. "Thank you for... for not taking advantage of me."
He raised a brow. "Miss...?"
"Melanie," she murmured.
"Melanie," he repeated. "Right, I don't do favors. I don't save damsels. I hate drama. But last night, you latched onto me, in a place full of private reporters. If I hadn't saved you, your little meltdown and of course my reputation would've been today's headline."
Her heart stopped. "Reporters?"
"I own the bar," he said lazily. "And the hotel. And most of this block."
She blinked.
"You're... Leonard Westwood," she breathed, realization drawing like a storm.
"Very good," he said, like a professor mildly impressed. "Now that you've embarrassed yourself in front of half my staff, let's get to the point."
He took a card from the desk and dropped it beside her on the bed.
"I need a wife. You need a way out. Two-year contract. Clean terms but I don't share what's mine. If you're as desperate as you looked last night, you'll consider it."
Melanie's mouth fell open. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," he said.
"Why me?"
Leonard shrugged. "You're reckless. Alone. You have nothing to lose. And I'm attracted to you. That's rare."
She looked at him like he was insane. "You're out of your mind."
"Probably," he said, already turning for the door. "But I get what I want."
He paused at the threshold, glancing back.
"If you change your mind, come to Westwood corp." His eyes dropped to her. "And wear something less pathetic."
Then he left, fully aware she was already his.