XSTORIES4U: Tales of Love, Lies, and Betrayal - Book 2

Part 31 Stunning Wedding Surprise: Betrayal Unveiled!

Just as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with hues of scandal, I stood in my wedding dress beside my partner, ready to elope, when a frantic woman stormed through the chapel doors. Her voice sliced through the air like a knife, claiming to be my partner's long-lost spouse. My heart raced, pounding against my ribcage as the world around me imploded. My partner's face turned ashen, confirming the nightmare unraveling before me. The woman, eyes ablaze with fury, tossed a stack of photos at our feet—pictures of a life I had never known, filled with intimate moments and shared secrets. My partner stumbled over words, a pathetic symphony of half-truths. As my mind grappled with betrayal, a twisted realization crept in; had I been so blind, dismissing the late-night meetings and whispered phone calls as mere distractions? The room swirled, and in that chaos, I saw my own reflection of a woman who had built her life on a lie. My breath hitched as my partner, Liam, stood frozen, eyes darting between me and the woman who claimed to be his wife. Her name was Nadia, and she looked like she had been through hell—a mix of heartbreak, rage, and desperation etched into her features.

"What the hell is this, Liam?" I demanded, my voice trembling as I picked up one of the photos. In it, Liam and Nadia were laughing in a garden, their hands entwined. There was a warmth in his eyes I had never seen before.

"Please, just listen," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the pounding in my ears. "It's not what it seems."

"Not what it seems?" Nadia scoffed, stepping forward. "We were married. For three years. Then one day, he just disappeared, no explanation, no goodbye. And now, I find out he's with you? Getting married?"

I stumbled back, my mind reeling. This wasn't real—it couldn't be. How could the man I had spent the last two years with hide something so monumental? But as I looked into his eyes, I saw the truth he had desperately tried to keep hidden.

"I loved her once," he admitted quietly. "But I thought she was gone. I thought she was dead."

Nadia's eyes widened in disbelief. "You thought I was dead?"

Liam hesitated, the weight of his guilt palpable. "I got a letter. It said you were in an accident. That you didn't make it."

Tears welled up in Nadia's eyes, but they weren't tears of sadness—they were tears of fury. "So, you didn't even bother to check? You just accepted it? Moved on?"

"I was devastated," Liam said, voice cracking. "I didn't know how to handle it. And then I met her." He turned to me, his eyes pleading. "I never meant to hurt either of you."

I felt a wave of nausea. This wasn't the man I thought I knew. He had crafted a life of lies, and now, it was all crashing down around us. But as I stood there, something in Nadia's expression shifted—her fury fading, replaced by something darker, something calculated.

"This isn't over, Liam," she said, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "I'm not going to lose everything I've built."

Liam looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

Nadia stepped closer, her gaze locking onto mine. "You should know something, sweetheart," she said, a sickly sweet smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Liam didn't just leave me. He left behind something far more valuable than his love."

My heart sank. "What?"

Nadia pulled a folded document from her bag and tossed it at Liam's feet. "The money. The business. All of it. Legally, it's still mine."

Liam's face went pale as he scrambled to pick up the document, his hands shaking as he read it. "No... this can't be..."

"Oh, it can," Nadia said, her voice dripping with venom. "You thought you could just run away and start over? Well, think again. Everything you've built with her," she gestured to me, "it's all mine."

I staggered backward, the weight of the betrayal hitting me like a tidal wave. This wasn't just about love—it was about greed. Control. Manipulation. And I had been a pawn in their twisted game.

But then, a sickening thought crossed my mind. What if... what if they were both playing me? What if this entire scene was orchestrated, a performance designed to crush me, to steal away my life?

I looked at Liam, his panicked expression slowly shifting to something colder, more calculating. And in that moment, I knew. The late-night meetings, the hushed phone calls—it had all been part of the plan. Nadia wasn't some long-lost wife looking for closure. She was his partner in crime, and I was their mark.

With a cold chill settling into my bones, I stepped away from both of them, my heart pounding in my chest.

"You planned this," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "You both planned this."

Nadia's smile widened, her eyes gleaming with malice. "Welcome to the real world, darling."

I didn't wait to hear more. The chapel doors flew open as I bolted, leaving the life I thought I knew behind. The air was cold, biting at my skin as I ran through the empty streets. But with every step, I felt a strange sense of relief.

Because even though my world had just imploded, I had escaped before they could finish the job.

The wedding was over, but the nightmare had only just begun.