Chapter 1 One

SYBIL EAGAN POV

Today was going to be the happiest day of my life, because despite all the opposition, the rejections of my parents, and all the trials I'd passed through, I was finally going to tie the knot with the only man that my heart had ever beat for.

Dian Angelo and I were finally going to be together, and I just wanted to scream for the whole world to know how happy I was.

My parents were not in support and had cut me off, so it was going to be a small ceremony at a small chapel with only our close friends in attendance, but it couldn't be more perfect. I only wanted Dian. He was my soulmate.

Kushi stepped into the room, a wide smile on her face, with a bottle of champagne. I raised a brow, my gaze pointedly on the bottle in her hand. Kushi scoffed, waving the bottle wildly.

"This is for the after-party girl, no need to give me that look. Anyways, you look freaking gorgeous. Dian is such a lucky guy, I swear" she gushed, moving towards me, an appraising look in her eyes as she took my hand and made me do a spin.

I giggled happily. "Enough of that, and we really need to get going, I do not want to be late for my own wedding. I do not want to keep Dian waiting".

Kushi smirked. "Gosh, love. Such a beautiful feeling, but you are right. We need to get going ASAP; I wouldn't want the priest having a fit 'cause the bride didn't show up," she got out with an exaggerated eye roll.

"No need to be so dramatic".

"Girl with all the stress we've gone through this week, we do need a lot of drama. I'm so exhausted, but I'm sure you have it worse, Bebe," she said, patting my hair gently.

I grabbed her hand and placed it against my cheek. "I'm perfectly ok, Kushi, and I want to thank you for staying by my side... I don't know what I'd have done without you".

"Aww," she gushed, then pulled me into her arms, her arms wrapping tightly around me. "I love you too, best friend," she choked out, then pulled back, her gaze widening when she stared at me. "Hey! Don't you dare cry, Sybil Eagan; you're not going to ruin four hours' worth of makeup just at the last minute; blink it back, blink it!"

I laughed, forcing the tears that had been gathering back. "You freaking suck at giving advice, you know that, right? If I blink, it's definitely going to fall," I joked, and Kushi made to reply when the doorbell rang.

Kushi's brows shot up as she met my gaze. "Did you order room service?"

I shook my head, and Kushi sighed before stepping past me. "I'll go check it out" she murmured more to herself than to me.

I sat back on the bed, my heart rate spiking as I waited for her. Her audible gasp reached my ear and I shot up from the bed as she reentered the room with my mother behind her. What was she doing here? She'd not spoken to me for six months, so why now?

Her sneer of disdain was the first thing that greeted me as she took in my appearance.

"I can not believe you are pushing through with this madness. How can you do this to your own family? You're going to give everything up for a man that is not worth half your existence".

I clenched my fist. "I love Dian. There is nothing that is going to change my mind from marrying him, and he might be worthless to you, but he is worth more than all the stars in the sky to me".

Her palm struck my cheek. It caught me off guard because I hadn't expected her to hit me. Kushi quickly ran to my aid.

"Mrs. Eagan... You can't hit... "

"Shut your mouth kushi! I should never have let you be friends with my daughter. You clearly influenced her to make such a reckless decision" she got out haughtily before leveling her gaze back on me. "This is your last chance, Sybil. Dian is no good for you. He's a monster just like his father. You're going to get your heart broken, and I'm sure he's not going to be with you now that we've cut you off".

"He was never with me for the money because he has his own," I yelled, finally snapping.

"And I know that" she snapped right back."But he's definitely not with you because of love, ok? It's because you are part of our family. He might not need our fortune now but he will have access to it once you are married"

I shook my head. "There is nothing that you and father do or say that will ever make me leave him. You both never cared about me; you treated me as if I were someone you picked off the street. You're only doing this because you want me to marry Damien, all because of his wealth and what he can do for your company. Get away from here. I don't want you freaking near me," I screamed, the tears slipping down my face.

"You are going to regret this Sybil. I told you so. Dian doesn't love you for you," she said, then smirked. "No one would ever love you for you, and you know that. Don't come crawling back to us when everything we warned you about happens".

"It won't! Get out of my life" I shouted, and her bodyguards rushed into the room because of the volume I'd used.

My mom gave them a reassuring smile, stared at me for one long moment, then walked out of the room.

I wanted to scream, I wanted to tear something apart, but I just stood there seething. She'd almost managed to ruin the happiest day of my life.

"We are already five minutes late, Sybil. We need to go now," Kushi's voice crashed through the roaring in my ears, and the softness of her palm gliding over mine brought me back to earth. She gave me a sympathetic smile as I turned to face her. I nodded, wiping at my tears, my eyeliner smudging in the process. Great, now I have to get rid of everything.

**********

We made it just in time because once we got out of the car, the piano was already playing.

Kushi smiled and linked her arms with mine.

"Are you ready to finally become Mrs. Sybil Dian Angelo"?

"Absolutely. Can't wait"I smiled back. Kushi grinned, then gave a soft tug forward.

"Let's not keep Dian waiting then". I nodded in agreement, my stomach fluttering with nerves as we stepped into the beautifully decorated chapel.

My heart drummed against my ribs, my palm sweaty. This was it, I was going to finally be with the love of my life. We'd planned everything we were going to do after the wedding and I was ecstatically waiting for it. The guests turned to face us once they heard our footsteps, and the smile on my lips slowly drained as I took in the faces of the men and women staring at me with puzzled looks on their faces.

There were too many guests and not one familiar face among them. Kushi also paused by my side as the people stared at us strangely.

Feeling like I was suddenly in a nightmare, I looked at the altar, hoping that it was a surprise from Dian and that the guest was from his side, but it was not Dian who stood there. It was a man I'd never seen in my life.

Was I in the wrong chapel? No, there was a familiar face rushing towards me agitatedly. Father Chris. I was definitely in the right chapel.

There was a ringing in my ear as he spoke, and then he thrust a paper into my hand and called for someone to escort us out of the building.

Kushi was yelling something but I couldn't hear her. The sound of my beating heart drowned out all the noises around me. My finger shook as I tore open the letter the priest had given to me. The ring I'd gotten Dian for the wedding fell away and I took out the only thing Dian had left, a piece of paper. His beautiful handwriting had tears blurring my vision.

It contained only seven words; The wedding is off, you lying whore.

I read the words again, the tears dropping from my eyes ruining the paper.

I gazed around at the pitying faces of the guests at the wedding I'd crashed. This was supposed to be my wedding. Dian should have been waiting for me.

Someone was trying to move me out of the way, and I turned to see that the bride for the particular wedding was coming in.

Dian had left me, without a proper goodbye, without a reason except for a stupid seven-word letter that made me question my sanity.

Kushi was yelling my name and shaking me, but I was numb to all sensations... Cameras started to flash in my face, and I noticed that some reporters had gotten into the building.

My heart stuttered in my chest, and breathing became painful, then everything stopped, and I was floating in darkness.