The Runaway Bride and the Billionaire

1. Amelia

Chapter 1

Amelia

I rolled over in my bed and stared at the ceiling. The glittering chandelier stared back at me. It was early in the afternoon. I could tell from how aggressive the sun was. It poured into my room, making my white bed sheets seem almost angelic.

Five years have passed since my parents forced me to walk away from the only man I’d ever loved. Five years since I had to let go of a love so pure, it restored my faith in the word. Even today, the pain of losing Matteo was still an ever-present heartache. It hurt to say his name, but I said it anyway as though speaking it out loud would somehow change things.

Five years since I broke his heart. Even today, the pain I saw in his eyes was still as vivid as ever as though they were a part of me.

With a deep sigh, I pulled myself out of bed. I’d grown used to getting up late because I spent most of my days handling menial tasks for my father. It wasn’t a real job, exactly, but it was better than doing nothing.

My parents didn’t expect me to be employed. My only purpose according to them was to marry a man whose family was in the same social class. They wanted a marriage that would help the family business. That was all that mattered to them. It was the reason they wouldn’t allow me to marry Matteo. My marriage to him would do nothing for the company. They’d asked me to break up with him and because I always complied with my parents’ requests, I did.

I got dressed in a simple shift dress, trying to rid myself of thoughts of Matteo. A few hours later, I walked into my father’s study prepared to handle whatever banal job he gave me today. What I wasn’t prepared for was the sight I saw when I walked in.

My father, Joseph Pierson, sat at his desk wearing his glasses. Across from him my mother, Nora, sat with her dramatic white sun hat. Why she was wearing it indoors was beyond me.

Beside my mother sat a man I’d only known from a distance. I would give anything to keep it that way. Lucas Everett faced me with the type of arrogance that could only be found in a billionaire’s son. Our fathers had been business partners for years, so I’d known him for most of my life.

Thankfully we’d managed to stay away from each other and I was grateful for that. I’d heard enough about the man to want to keep my distance. I wasn’t usually one to believe in gossip, but everyone couldn’t be lying. I’d never heard a single good thing said about him.

On the other hand, I’d heard all about his womanizing exploits all over the city. I had no interest in being involved with a man like that. Seeing him in my house, in my father’s study, talking to my parents alone, made me incredibly uncomfortable.

I forced a smile onto my face and walked deeper into the room. “Good afternoon.”

“Hello dear,” came my mother’s response. She looked pleased about something. I immediately felt worried.

My father took off his glasses and placed them on the wooden table in front of him. Unfortunately, he made no move to explain the situation I’d just walked in on.

I could feel Lucas looking at me, but I avoided his gaze, choosing instead to focus on the variety of books in my father’s study. Some were so big I struggled to pick them up only a few years ago.

The books were arranged on the wooden shelves in the study and the shelves covered two floors. A staircase in the corner led to the upper library. I remember sliding down the staircase when I was much younger. I wasn’t allowed in my father’s study back then, but I snuck in anyway.

His mahogany desk sat in the center of the room ladened with paperweights, books, a lamp, and a giant globe. I stared at the replica of the earth and willed myself to be anywhere but here.

I didn’t know what had brought Lucas here, but somehow, I knew that it couldn’t be good news. As if sensing my discomfort, my father finally spoke.

“Take a seat, Amelia,” he said as he gestured to the chair in the corner.

I nodded and walked over to it. I placed my hands on my lap and forced myself to keep them there so I wouldn’t disclose how nervous I was. My fingers itched to fidget and I could feel my legs starting to bounce.

“What’s going on?” I finally asked.

My mother smiled brightly. “We have a wedding to plan.”

“A wedding?”

“Yes,” my father answered. “You and Lucas here will be married within a month.”

It was fascinating, the way he proclaimed that statement. It wasn’t a question, and there was no invitation for me to share my opinion on what would be the biggest decision of my life. As always, my parents had decided for me. They were simply informing me of their choice. Informing me that I had no choice.

My choices had never been mine to make. They were thrust on me by my parents. Every path I’d followed in my life had been predetermined by them. My path into married life was no different.

I’d expected my parents to set me up with someone. That was how things were done in families like ours. Arranged marriages were the order of the day. Still, I never expected they would set me up with Lucas of all men.

I was certain they knew of his reputation. They knew he was the biggest womanizer in the city, but they still didn’t mind chaining me to him for the rest of my life. For my parents, all that mattered was Lucas’ social class. As the son of billionaire Thomas Everett, Lucas ranked very highly.

I sat still as I contemplated what this meant. Marrying Lucas was the last thing I wanted to do, but I’d never gone against my parents before. I’d always done what they expected of me even when it went against what I wanted for myself. I have always placed their needs above my own.

And this time was no different.

Even though I wanted to run out of this study, this house, out of my family’s estate, run from Lucas, run from the farce of marriage we would likely have, I wouldn‘t. Despite all my misgivings, I sat still and accepted my fate as I always did.

The following month was spent preparing for my wedding for Lucas. I numbly attended dress fittings and absentmindedly listened to my mother’s advice for married life. I didn’t contribute to any of the decision-making for the decorations, not that my opinion was asked anyway.

We were at the wedding venue, looking around and making plans. Or rather, my parents and Lucas were making plans. I was basically just watching it all unfold. “I was thinking white rose petals scattered all over the floor and pink magnolias on each table,” my mother said as she walked around the venue. She gave instructions to the event planner who scribbled away, endlessly taking notes about everything my mother wanted for my wedding.

I walked behind them, glancing around at the place where I would tie myself to Lucas Everett and condemn myself to a miserable life. A voice inside me begged me to speak up, begged me to end this before it got too far. But that voice was overshadowed by the part of me that needed to please my parents, even when it was at my own detriment.

And so I walked behind my mother and the event planner, and I tried to pretend like despair wasn’t eating at me from the inside out.

When the day of the wedding arrived, I’d grown completely numb to the whole thing. I expected I would remain that way for the rest of my life; numb to my marriage to Lucas and the things he would likely do when we were married.

Three women had to help me into my dress, a dramatic white ball gown with a sweetheart neckline and a cascading lower half. It poured out below me, sweeping the floor and flowing behind me. Lacy fabric decorated the bodice, making the dress look even more magnificent. It was beautiful, but it wasn’t my style. My mother chose it.

Everything about this wedding had been chosen by my mother. I felt like a guest and not the actual bride. This wedding was nothing like the wedding I’d imagined for myself. Everything was different and the groom was not the man of my dreams. When I dreamed of getting married, the only man I imagined was Matteo. It broke my heart to know we would never have the future I’d envisioned for us.

Once the makeup artist was done with the finishing touches, I walked out of the dressing room with my mother. My dad was waiting outside. I held onto his arm as we walked to the hall doors and down the aisle. I knew I was gripping on tighter than I should, but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to let go. I didn’t want to marry Lucas.

My husband-to-be stood at the end of the aisle with a look of pride on his face. I knew he wasn’t necessarily proud of marrying me but rather what his marriage to me would signify. It would be beneficial for his rocky reputation if he married me, the daughter of a billionaire. It would show that he knew what he was doing with his life, and he wasn’t the failure everyone thought he was.

I knew better than to assume the pride Lucas displayed had anything to do with me. He was simply proud of himself for managing to secure such a deal. His father must be proud of him too. The old man sat in the crowd beside my mother. His unsmiling features made me shiver with trepidation. I couldn’t imagine having a man like that as my father-in-law.

I shifted my gaze and did my best to focus on my surroundings rather than the vows I was about to take. As expected, my mother had done a wonderful job with the decorations. White rose petals covered the floors just like she had asked. The magnolia-covered tables were in the other room of the hall.

My parents had rented out the entire five-room building even though we only needed two. Lucas and I would say our vows in the first room. The priest would declare us husband and wife and then we would all move to the second room for the reception. I hadn’t seen it yet, but I was told it was even more beautiful than this one.

The walk to the aisle felt slow, or maybe time had slowed down to compensate me for what life would be like after I took those vows. After today, my life will never be the same. With that thought in mind, I willed time to go even slower.

I scanned the crowd, but I couldn’t find a single familiar face other than my mother and a few of her friends that I’d seen over the years. I could tell from all the pinstriped suits in the crowd that my father had invited a lot of his business partners. The sight served as a reminder that this wasn’t my wedding.. This was a business deal. When we finally got to the end of the aisle, my father extricated himself from me and walked away. Lucas offered me his hand, which I begrudgingly took. I stood beside him as we faced the priest. The music ended and silence fell in the room.

“Dearly beloved,” the priest began.

His words faded after that. Sadness clouded my heart, and I looked into the crowd as if I might find some sort of comfort within the sea of strangers. Except one wasn’t a stranger at all. My eyes widened when I saw him. I blinked repeatedly, certain that I had to be seeing things.

“Miss Pierson,” the priest called my name, forcing me to drag my gaze away from the man in the audience. “Do you take Lucas Everett to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I…”

I looked into the crowd again. I was determined to prove I’d imagined it but when I looked again, he was still there.

Matteo Hayes.

His brown eyes met my own and they held for what felt like an eternity. I blinked again, but he didn’t disappear. He was really here.