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Six years ago, billionaire Rhys Miller left Isabella Reynolds at the altar. Now, fate has brought them back together-and this time, Rhys will stop at nothing to win her back. But Isabella is hiding a secret-his children. As old passions reignite and new betrayals unfold, can they overcome the past? Or is their love doomed to repeat its mistakes? A billionaire, a second chance, and a love that might never be enough. Will they finally get their happily ever after?
Chapter 1 The Silence Before The Storm
ISABELLA
The soft notes of the string quartet echoed through the cathedral, each one pulling me forward like a thread tied to my heart. Guests rose from the pews, smiling, turning their heads toward me. My veil floated gently behind me as I took my first steps down the aisle, my fingers curled tightly around my father's arm.
This was it.
This was supposed to be it.
My fairytale.
My forever.
My happy ending in white.
I kept my eyes fixed ahead, searching for him- for Rhys. I could see the alter, the priest stood there waiting, his robes pristine and hands folded.
But the space beside him-the space where Rhys should have been-was empty.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
No sign of him.
Panic twisted in my stomach, sharp and cold.
Where was he?
The priest shifted uncomfortably, glancing toward the side entrance, then back at me. I slowed my steps, confusion rising like a tidal wave behind my ribcage. People were turning, whispering. My mother leaned forward in her seat. Elena's mouth was open in shock.
My father's grip on my arm tightened as he muttered under his breath.
"Keep walking."
"But he's not-" I choked, my voice barely a whisper.
"He might be running late" he said, jaw tight.
But he knew.
I could see it in the hard lines of his face. Rhys wasn't late. He was gone.
He had never liked Rhys, but he'd tolerated him-for me.
Now he looked at me like he couldn't decide
between comforting me or chasing Rhys down himself.
By the time we reached the front, I was trembling. The priest offered a faint, apologetic smile as he leaned toward me and whispered,
"We've tried calling him. There's no answer."
I felt like the air had been punched out of my lungs. My heart pounded so loudly I was sure everyone in the church could hear it.
My fingers went numb around the bouquet.
This wasn't happening.
This couldn't be happening.
Rhys loved me.
In my mind, I replayed everything-the night Rhys proposed under the stars, his hand trembling as he slipped the ring on my finger, the way he whispered forever like he meant it.
He told me I was his world.
He made me believe in fairy tales.
And now? Now all I had was a half-written story and a church full of witnesses watching me unravel.
Rhys loved me. We've longed for this day.
I knew him.
I knew his heart.
He wouldn't do this.
He couldn't.
Unless....
My mind flashed to the look he'd had last night- tense, unreadable. He'd kissed me, but it had felt... distracted. Cold, almost. I'd told myself it was nerves. I'd kissed him back and told him I couldn't wait to marry him.
He hadn't said it back.
A slow murmur rippled through the crowd, louder this time. A woman cleared her throat. A child asked loudly if the wedding was still happening.
The embarrassment slammed into me harder than the grief. My chest tightened. Heat crawled up my neck, my cheeks burning beneath the makeup.
I was a joke in white, center stage in a performance gone wrong.
I turned to the side entrance of the church, hoping-praying-that the doors would fly open and he'd come rushing in, apologizing, explaining. Maybe he'd had an emergency.
Maybe his phone died.
Maybe I hadn't just been abandoned in front of everyone I loved.
But the doors didn't move. And neither did he.
The priest stepped forward again, his voice barely audible.
"Perhaps we should give it a few more minutes..."
A few more minutes for what?
For my humiliation to finish baking?
I blinked rapidly, hoping the tears wouldn't fall.
I couldn't cry.
Not here.
Not in front of everyone.
Still, I waited. One minute. Then two.
He didn't come.
No text. No call. No word.
Just... nothing.
My legs wobbled beneath the weight of everything. My dreams. My shame. The tightness in my chest.
This couldn't be real.
This wasn't real.
Rhys loved me.
We were supposed to start our lives today.
We had a home, plans, a future.
I felt a hand on my arm. My father's voice was gentler now.
"Come on, Bella. Let's go."
Go where?
Where do you go after getting left at the altar?
Still, I nodded. What else could I do?
As I turned around and walked back down the aisle, veil slipping from my head and tears threatening to fall, I realized something that hurt worse than being left-
He had made me believe he'd stay.
The guests began to sit again, murmurs growing louder. Elena reached for me as I passed, but I shook my head. I couldn't stop. If I stopped, l'd collapse.
Once we were outside, the sunlight felt cruel.
Bright, unforgiving. My father helped me into the car silently, and I stared out the window as the driver pulled away.
The moment the cathedral was behind me, I let the first tear fall.
Then the second.
Then I broke.
I cried the way a heart does when it realizes it's been lied to.
Abandoned.
I clutched at my chest, maybe it would ease the pain I was feeling.
I cried for the love I lost.
For the answers l'd never get.
For the man who walked away without looking
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