My Fake Groom Is a Billionaire

The makeup artist gently placed the veil, its delicate lace cascading over Hallie Wade's chestnut curls.

In the mirror, a stranger stared back. A princess from a fairytale, with wide, hopeful light-brown eyes. She nervously touched the silver cloverleaf bracelet on her wrist, a worn heirloom from her grandmother. A grounding weight against the frantic fluttering in her chest.

The wedding planner, a woman with a smile as stiff as her posture, entered for the third time.

"Just a few more minutes, Hallie. The guests are seated."

Her voice was smooth, but a flicker of something unnatural in her eyes sent a cold prickle down Hallie's spine.

Her mother, Linda Wade, followed, her own smile strained. "Oh, honey. You look breathtaking." But her eyes darted away, refusing to meet Hallie's in the reflection.

Hallie saw her mother's hands clenched tightly together in the mirror. The unease in her stomach tightened into a knot.

"Mom? What's wrong? Is Ethan not here yet?"

"Men get nervous,sweetie." Linda's voice wavered. She wouldn't look at her daughter.

A crackle came from the planner's walkie-talkie. The officiant's panicked voice, though low, was sharp in the quiet room. "The guests are getting restless. Where is the groom?"

Hallie's face went white. The blood drained from it so fast she felt dizzy. She gripped the edge of the vanity, the rustle of her wedding gown sounding like a scream.

"Hallie, calm down." Linda rushed to her side. "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."

The door flew open, slamming against the wall.

Ethan's best man, Mike, stood there, panting. His face was slick with sweat, his eyes filled with a terrible, gut-wrenching guilt.

Every gaze in the room locked onto him. Hallie's heart stopped, then hammered against her ribs. She knew. The worst had happened.

Mike forced the words out,each one scraping his throat."Halli...Ethan's gone."

"Gone?"The word came out barely audible. Hallie's hand found the vanity edge,her knuckles white.

"What does that mean! It's his wedding day!" Linda's voice was shrill with disbelief.

Mike squeezed his eyes shut, the picture of misery. He held out his phone. On the screen was an email, received just moments ago. The sender: Ethan Carlisle.

Hallie's trembling fingers could barely take the device. She tapped the screen. Ethan's words, polished and cowardly, burned into her eyes.

Hallie, I'm sorry. I can't marry you. I've realized I can't live without Lily.

"Lily... Lily Hayes..." She said the name, and it tasted like betrayal.She'd spent three years watching Lily play the victim, watching Ethan fall for it every single time. Now Lily had won the final round.

"She called him," Mike added, his voice thick with disgust for his friend. "Said she was going to kill herself for him. He just... ran. I couldn't stop him."

An image of Lily's face flashed in Hallie's mind-always so fragile, so innocent, especially in front of Ethan. A professional victim.

The last line of the email was the true killer.

The Carlisle family will compensate you.

Compensation.

That single word ignited a fire in the ice of her shock. Her love, her dignity, her future-all reduced to a transaction.

Her mother's sobs and the planner's gasp faded into a dull roar in her ears.

Slowly, deliberately, she read the email again. The blood had left her face, but now something else replaced it. A chilling, absolute calm.

She handed the phone back to Mike, her hand shockingly steady.

She took a deep breath. When she looked up, her beautiful light-brown eyes, once soft with love, were now frozen into hard, sharp points of ice.

She faced the mirror. The woman staring back wore a wedding dress and hollow eyes. "Compensation?" she whispered.

"Compensation?" she repeated, her voice a low, venomous whisper. "Good. I'll make the entire Carlisle family pay."

"Hallie, what are you thinking?" her mother cried, grabbing her arm. "Don't do something foolish!"

Hallie pulled her arm away. "I'm not being foolish," she said, her voice flat and hard. "I'm just done being the victim they can walk all over."