Echoes of Betrayal: The Billionaire's Regret

Elena's POV:

I stood in front of the mirror, admiring my reflection. The wedding dress glittered under the soft lighting on my body.

A long white mermaid dress adorned with silver crystals sparkled against my pale skin. My hair was styled in soft waves, and my makeup made me look flawless.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. "This is a day of new beginnings," I muttered silently.

I couldn't believe that this day would truly come to pass. The day that I will finally get married to the love of my life, Caleb, and step into my long-awaited freedom.

For so long, I had followed my father's orders and done everything he demanded. Now is the time to take control of my life.

"Elena, you look stunning! You are going to take everybody's breath away," Zoey spoke with a warm smile on her face as she fixed the diamond necklace on my neck.

"Thank you so much, Zoey. I can't believe that day has finally come. A day of freedom and new beginnings. I have dreamed of this day for so long."

"I can't wait to see the look on Caleb's face when he finally sees you. You look divine!" Zoey grinned.

There was a gentle knock on the door that drew our attention.

"Elena," my father called and walked inside the room.

His face lit up. "You look so beautiful, my child," he smiled.

"Thank you, Dad," I replied.

"The guests are waiting already. Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes, father. I'll be ready in a few minutes," I said while looking in the mirror once again. "Is Caleb at the altar already?" I asked.

"No," my dad responded. He looked at the watch on his wrist. "He should be here any minute; you need to hurry up. We don't want to keep everybody waiting." My dad spoke.

I hurriedly grabbed the bouquet before exiting the room with my dad. Zoey followed us from behind.

I stood with my father at the entrance of the Isle, patiently waiting for Caleb to arrive.

My father turned to me, "Elena, Caleb is not here yet. What could be keeping him?"

"I don't know, Dad. Let me call him." I responded.

"Please do. We're running out of time," he replied.

Zoey handed my mobile phone to me, and I quickly dialled Caleb's number. it up.

I became nervous as the murmurs of the guests became louder.

"We are running out of time already, Elena," my father whispered to me.

My father turned to me. "Elena, this is unacceptable! I'm running out of patience. What exactly is going on?" he enquired.

"I don't know, father. He should have been here by now. Let's give him a few minutes. I'm sure he will arrive." I answered, my voice trembling.

My stepmother looked at me angrily from afar. Aunt Lily stared at me with a worried look on her face.

Just then, Sarah, my stepsister, walked up to my dad. She whispered something in his ear. My father's facial expressions hardened.

My dad let go of my hand unexpectedly. "Elena, you must follow me right now," he ordered.

"But, father, what's going on?" I asked, feeling confused.

I hesitated to leave the aisle before running off to catch up with my dad.

I ran into the room where my father and Sarah had entered. I froze when I saw Caleb standing with his fist tightened by his side. His eyes were blazing red with anger.

"Caleb," I called, "what's going on? Why are you here? You should be on the altar." I questioned him, feeling confused as I walked up to him.

Caleb's eyes narrowed. "You deceived me, Elena. I didn't know you to be a worthless bitch," he shouted.

"This marriage is not going to hold, and I have terminated the deal I have with your father's company," he declared.

"What? What's going on with you, Caleb?" I asked with a trembling voice.

"I don't want to ever set my eyes on you. It's over between us, Elena." Caleb shouted. His voice was stern.

My heart slammed against my chest, and my confusion grew stronger.

"Caleb, whatever the problem is, we can settle it after the ceremony. It hasn't gotten to that." I spoke up.

I tried to keep tears from rolling down my cheeks. I felt numb. I stared at my dad, hoping he could say something, but he kept mute.

"Caleb, please don't do this. I haven't done anything wrong." I pleaded, tears already rolling down my cheeks.

He hurriedly removed my hands from his, and I froze at that spot. I have never seen Caleb behave like this when he is angry. What could be going on?

He threw a file on the floor and walked away. I tried to go after him, but the pictures that floated in the air caught my attention, and they suddenly landed on the floor.

I got a glimpse of the pictures, and my deep brown eyes widened with shock.

Pictures of me and another man almost making out last night outside the club.

"No, this is all a mix-up." I spoke and ran outside to catch up with Caleb, but I received a slap on my cheeks.

I stood glued to the ground and held my burning cheeks.

"You dirty hoe. How could you sleep with another man a night before your wedding? Why have you decided to humiliate this family?" My stepmother shouted.

"It's not what you think, Father." I ran to my father and held his hands. He didn't alter a word. I looked him in the eyes, but all I could see was disappointment.

"Sarah? Sarah!" I walked up with Sarah. Tears are uncontrollably running down my cheeks. "Sarah, we were together last night. Please explain to them. You are aware of what happened last night. Please tell them the truth." I fell to my knees in front of Sarah, but Sarah didn't say a word.

Instead, she gave me a daring look and stared at me with disgust.

My stepmother interrupted again, "You low life... You are so shameless. Look at how you have ruined your life and your father's company. I've always known you were useless to us the day your father brought you into our home," she spat.

"What? I didn't sleep with him, Mom. I passed out last night while Sarah and I were clubbing." I cried out.

"Sarah, please tell them the truth. I'm pleading." But Sarah stood there, looking at me with disappointment. She didn't utter a single word to save me from this mess.

My mind circled around the events that happened last night.

Elena's POV:

I stood on my balcony and watched the beautiful sunset as it cast a warm glow in the city. Tomorrow was my wedding day, and I couldn't contain my excitement.

I walked into the room when the day became dark and laid on my bed, feeling the soft silky sheet under me after a very nice spa treatment.

I heard a knock on my door. "Hi Elena," Sarah, my stepsister, greeted me with a smile on her face as she walked into my room.

"Hi Sarah, what's up?" I responded, sitting upright. I felt surprised to see Sarah walk into my room.

Sarah's facial expression softened as she approached me. "Elena, I know that we aren't as close as sisters should be, but I want you to know that I am sincerely happy for you. Congratulations sister. You are going to become Caleb's wife tomorrow," she smiled. "Soon to me, Mrs. Smith."

Sarah is my stepsister, but we are completely different. We haven't had a good relationship since we were kids, and we barely get along with each other.

I smiled at Sarah. "Thank you so much, sister." I hugged her tightly; tears welled up in my eyes and I felt a lump form in my throat. This is the first time Sarah has said something meaningful and nice to me.

I pulled away from her and wiped my tears.

"Sorry about that. I'm just overwhelmed with everything." I chuckled dryly.

"I understand, Elena. Enough of the emotions; how about we hang out tonight? Let's go clubbing!" Sarah exclaimed in excitement.

Clubbing has never been my thing. I shrugged and looked at her, ready to oppose her, but she pressed on.

"Elena, today is your last day of being a single woman. Why don't we go out and do something crazy? You won't get to do more of this when you are married." she said:

I thought about it for a while and shook my head.

Sarah pressed on, "Common, Elena. Just this night."

An invitation I rarely received from her. We haven't spent time together; our relationship has always been complicated.

I hesitated, my fingers were drumming on my lap as I gave it so much thought. I thought it might be a chance for us to connect and create memories together before embarking on this new journey in my life.

I love Sarah dearly as a sister, but I have never been attracted to her personality. She has always been my father's favourite because I wasn't his biological daughter, even though I am the eldest.

"It won't be a bad idea." I nodded in agreement with a little smile.

Hanging out with her won't be a big deal, and besides, she is still my sister even though we are not related by blood.

Mr. Williams adopted me when I was dumped by the roadside. I was barely 5 months old. After a few months, Sarah was born, and we grew up together as a family.

I wanted to connect with her before my wedding.

I walked up to my closet and changed into a short black dress, which revealed my hourglass figure, and my heels clicked to the floor.

My make-up was flawless, and my black, long hair rested on my waist.

Sarah dressed up in a short dress, and her blond hair was curled.

We arrived at the club, and the party began. The spinning lights from the ceiling emitted beams of light that illuminated the dancing floor. The club was packed with people dancing and jumping to the loud music.

I slowly sipped my drink and kept drinking until I loosened up a bit, and my usual uptight conduct was melting away gradually.

Sarah seemed to mingle in the lively crowd, her eyes scanning the room. She seemed to know her way around.

The loud music made it almost impossible to have a proper conversation with her.

"Look at this hottie," she spoke up, pointing to a guy across the room. "I want to have him tonight. What do you think?" she asked.

"Sarah, you can't do that with a stranger. Are you sure about this?" I held her arm, giving her a disapproving look.

She smiled at me and arranged the strands of my messed-up hair.

"A one-night stand won't hurt," she responded.

I shook my head, disagreeing with her suggestion.

"We came here together, and we will leave here together. It's getting late already. We should leave already." I responded.

"Alright sis... I'll be back in a bit." She said and stood up from her seat.

"I'm serious about it, Sarah," I responded, my eyes fixed on her.

"Okay, fine. Give me a few minutes; I'll be back," she said as she walked away and disappeared into the crowd. I carefully watched her as she approached the guy and gently caressed his body.

As the night went on, I had a few more drinks and enjoyed the loud music.

That's when I began to feel tipsy. My eyes were rolling. Sarah vanished in the crowd. I brought out my phone and managed to text Sarah.

"Can we go now? I think I'm a bit tipsy," I typed.

She didn't respond, so I called her mobile phone, but there was no answer.

My phone buzzed later on. "I'm in the bathroom; I will be with you shortly," she replied.

I waited for what felt like forever. Time began to move faster, and I couldn't wait any longer. When I turned to leave, I bumped into a strong guy. He seemed to look at me lustfully, and I managed to ignore him and make my way outside.

I stood outside trying to order a ride back home when a guy grabbed my waist.

"How dare you?" I shouted, turning back at him. He grabbed my wrist and forcefully tried to bring me closer to him.

I screamed and struggled with him. I tried to move away from his grub, but he held me tighter. Suddenly, he left me and fell to the floor.

I turned around to see a guy with cold, piercing blue eyes. His hair was perfectly curled, and he had a muscular body. He had punched the strange guy.

He saved me from the guy, and I managed to grab my purse and quickly walk out of the scene. I was too drunk to walk, and I almost lost balance. He rushed to me and held me by the waist.

"Hey! Where do you live? It's not good for you to be out here alone," he voiced out.

"Uh..." I forced myself to speak, but the words didn't seem to come out. Just then, I passed out and saw darkness everywhere.

****

I woke up from my slumber when the morning sunrays fell on my skin. My mind was so cloudy that I did not feel like myself. The soft silk sheets that covered me were not the usual ones that I woke up to.

I slowly blinked my eyes open, and my eyes were fixed on an unusual ceiling that I wasn't used to waking up to which made my skin crawl. My body and my head ached badly.

My eyes widened, and I lifted the blanket to see that I was putting on a white shirt without pants. I almost screamed when I realised that I was in a strange room.

"This is not a dream. Where am I?" I muttered silently to myself.

I had no clue about the time or my whereabouts.

Suddenly, the door swung open. A man with a muscular body walked into the room. His curly hair was messy, and his blue-piercing eyes were fixed on mine. I felt a spark inside of me and my heart raced. His piercing gaze left me breathless.

He was holding a glass of water and some tablets. "You passed out in the car," he explained.

"Where am I?" I asked; my voice was hoarse.

"You are at my place. I couldn't get your address," he answered. His voice was deep and firm.

My heart raced. "I hope we didn't," I asked, making sure that I didn't mess up with a strange guy.

He smiled, shaking his head. "Not at all," he said.

He looked so sexy. My gaze was on his soft lips. I drifted my head and took the drugs off the table.

I swallowed the tablet and drank the water, but my eyes widened in shock. My mind went plank and I panicked.

How could I have forgotten? It's my wedding today!

Elena's POV:

My whole family stood before me. I could see the stern look on their faces. The guests were waiting, and everybody was beginning to talk.

Sarah glared at me with intense hate. Her first tightened by her side, and she clenched her jaw.

"Sarah, we were together. Please tell them I didn't do anything. Tell them I was drunk. I was waiting for you when a man tried to harass me, and this man in the picture saved me." I pleaded.

"How am I supposed to know? I left you to use the bathroom, and you ran off with another guy. Who does that? How could you've been heartless to Caleb? He has been there for you through thick and thin," she shouted.

My heart raced and I felt my chest tightened. Tears were rolling down my cheeks uncontrollably.

"Yes, the photos are horrible," I admitted, feeling desperate. "His hands were on my waist as we were leaving, and I didn't realise it was this bad. I was drunk. That doesn't mean anything happened at his place." I begged.

Sarah's accusations grew stronger.

"You weren't just drunk; your hands were all over him. The pictures don't lie. I never knew you always had eyes on other guys. I'm sure you lured him into sleeping with you." she spat.

I swallowed hard. "I swear nothing happened between us. I would never do that. He only helped me. Y'all have to believe me." I pleaded, tears and mascara streaming down my cheeks.

"I tried to reach you multiple times, Sarah. I passed out when he asked me for my house address. I only woke up in his house this morning.

"How disgusting. You left with him. Did you or did you not spend a night with him at his house?" Sarah demanded.

"I... I did," I stuttered, and I bowed my head in shame.

"That's it," Sarah concluded.

I turned to her in desperation, "Sarah, you have no right to treat me this way. You clearly know I was intoxicated, and I begged you repeatedly to head home." I voiced out in anger.

Zoey, who had been silently watching the confrontation, intervened. "Where did you get that picture? There must be a better explanation."

Sarah responded to Zoey, "Who are you to interfere in this matter? You should know where you belong."

My heart sank as I realised that I had been set up.

It can only be Sarah's plans.

My father, who had been listening to the conversation, finally spoke up. "Enough! I've heard enough." He paused and turned to everyone.

"Please, everyone, excuse us. I need to have a private conversation with my daughter." He said

Everyone walked out of the room, leaving my father and me alone in the room.

My father's facial expression was filled with disappointment.

"I can't risk the shame you've brought upon yourself. If this wedding doesn't hold, my family name is going to be the talk of the town. Most importantly, I can't risk losing the company and going to jail," he said.

I inhaled deeply, trying to catch my breath. "Dad, you have to believe me. It's not true." My voice cracked.

"I've decided to marry you off to Mr. Nicklaus Coleman today."