Jilted Bride: Dear Ex-Fiancé, Your Friend Is My Husband

Ellen's POV

"Elly! Elly!" I heard my mom's voice call me as I slowly regained consciousness. "You are going to be late for your wedding." She whispered into my ears and I jumped up as the sleep instantly vanished from my eyes.

I looked at the time and it was 7 am.

"Mom! You should've woken me up earlier." I screamed as I stood up and began running into the bathroom.

" I tried my best, Elly, but I'm sure the drinks from the bridal shower last night did a good job on you." My mom muttered as she stood up from my bed and watched me running around, trying to find my towel and toothbrush.

"I didn't drink alcohol, mom. Shit! Talking about alcohol, please, help me wake my bridal train from the guest room. Thank you, mom. I love you!" I yelled at her as I ran into the bathroom to have a quick shower.

"Be quick! The make-up artists and hair stylists are already here." She screamed after me.

I had told Elfreda, my younger sister not to bring alcohol as part of the drinks for the bridal shower but she had refused and brought lot's of bottles.

"A little bit will not hurt anyone." She had said, but right now, I don't think she was right about that, because my whole bridal team was still asleep and I knew that.

Waking up late on my wedding day was already a bad omen and I felt a tinge of guilt in my heart.

I wasn't supposed to do this to the love of my life. If not anything, I should be the most punctual today.

In a few minutes, I was already out of the bathroom and rubbing lotion on my body. I put on the white underlays I had laid out the previous night before running out of my room.

"Make-up artists and hair stylists come up!" I stood up the stairs and screamed in my excitement and when I saw two ladies running up with assistance, I knew I was good.

A glance at my wall clock and it was 7:30 am already, so I sat on my seat like a molded creature and counted the seconds as both stylists did their wonderful job on my face.

"Elly! Are you with my eyeliner and lip gloss?" My younger sister, Elfreda asked as she ran into my room and I pointed in the direction of my make-up kit.

"I'm not with yours, but use mine to save time," I told her and she whispered thank you and ran in the direction I had pointed.

"And the girls?" I asked as she was about to take her flight the way she had come.

"Still dressing up, but they'll be done in time," she said and stared at me with a smile.

"What?" I asked, smiling sheepishly.

" They aren't through with you but you already look so dashing, sis." Elfreda stood at the door and commented as my smile widened.

She was my chief bridesmaid for the day and wasn't one that easily made comments or gave compliments to me, so I accepted it with all my heart knowing she was doing this because it was my special day.

" Thanks, Elfreda," I responded with a smile.

" See you soon." She said and winked at me before running out of my room.

*****

I was whispering Thanksgiving prayers by the time I got to church and my time read 9:30 am, which meant I still had thirty more minutes to calm myself down before the service commenced.

I watched the crowd I and Hammond had pulled to come to witness our wedding today and smiled inwardly. The paparazzi and newscasters were everywhere, waiting to capture the latest couple, as well as our business partners and colleagues.

Getting married to Hammond, my childhood lover, was one thing I knew my parents wouldn't think twice about, because Hammond was an independent entrepreneur who had built a powerful empire on his own, despite not having his father around.

"Elly! It's time. Are you ready?" My mom whispered and I nodded smilingly at her.

The next face I saw through the door was my dad's. He smiled proudly and gave me his hand which I held as he helped me down from the car. The photographers did their best to capture every smile and every move I made as I stepped down from the car.

"You know I'm proud of you." He whispered into my ears and I laughed.

"Thanks, Dad," I responded, smiling at him.

"Elfreda is in there and will be coming down soon." My mom said and just before she completed her statement, the door to the car behind mine opened and my childhood friends, Elfredas's friends and colleagues as well stepped down from the bus and waved excitedly at me, blowing kisses in the air and then my sister came out last.

She was in a simple white gown that hugged her curves perfectly, which made me raise my brows in thought. We had agreed she was going to wear a gold gown to compliment the color of the day, so, why the change of mind? I watched as she walked towards us.

"Are we good?" She asked and my dad nodded. I tried to meet her eyes but she refused to meet mine and instead went behind me to help arrange my long white dress and make sure it was well laid. Before I could say anything, the organ inside the church began playing and I allowed my dad to lead me into the church.

My mind left every other thing when my eyes met the handsome god that would be my husband in the next few minutes. He was smiling widely at me making my heartbeat pulmet.

"Hey babe," Hammond whispered when my dad handed me over to him and I smiled widely at him.

"Hey!" I whispered back, almost laughing.

" Has anyone told you how breathtaking you look?" He asked and I laughed.

" Now, we will commence the solemnization of holy matrimony between Mr Hammond Kent and Miss Ellen Bennet." The priest announced and the church sat down.

" You know I love you right?" Hammond whispered and I nodded smiling at him.

" I know babe, and I love you too," I told him as we faced the priest who kept talking and reading scriptures from the Bible.

"Do you Miss Ellen Bennet take this man whose right hand you now hold to be your lawfully wedded husband..."

I didn't have to wait for the priest to finish when I responded.

"Yes, I do."

The church giggled at my impatient response and my smile widened.

" Do you Mr Hammond Kent take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest said again but to Hammond this time and I sighed and closed my eyes, waiting for his response to complete my joy for the day.

" No! I don't." Hammond's baritone voice echoed around the church and my eyes snapped open as I could hear gasps from every corner. The photographers even took their videos more seriously at that moment.

"Hammond!" I whispered, praying it was a slip of the tongue.

"I'm sorry, Ellen. Believe me, I'm sorry." He said and left my hands.

I watched with a sinking heart and an embarrassed facial expression as the love of my life walked out on me on our wedding day.

If only he had walked out of the church into the street or his car, maybe, just maybe, it would've been less painful but I watched my Hammond walk up to my sister, Elfreda and took her hands in his.

Without saying a word, he led her out of the church, and all hell broke loose.

Ellen's POV

As I walked on the road like a stranded bride still in my white gown, I was aware of all the eyes that stared in my direction, but I didn't care. Being embarrassed was the least of my worries, it didn't compare to the pain that was in my heart at that moment.

I recalled vividly the victorious smile on Elfreda's face as she walked out of the hall with my groom. Now that I think about it more, I couldn't deny the fact that she wore a white gown because she knew exactly what Hammond would do to me.

Could it be that she had planned all of this? I asked myself as I kept walking on the road. But there was no way Hammond would hurt me this way. There must've been a reason for it. Yes! He must have a valid reason for ditching me at the altar while the whole San Francisco was watching us.

I sat on the nearest street seat and pulled out my phone at that moment and dialed his number. It rang and came to an abrupt end but he did not pick, but I wasn't giving up so easily. I kept calling till he finally picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hammond?" I said into the phone.

"Hello, sis." My sister's voice responded on the other end and I went quiet as my tears threatened their downpour.

"I know you are listening to me, as much as Hammond would like to pick up your call, he can't because he is currently signing his marriage certificate to me. Maybe he'll call you sometime soon. I hope you loved my wedding gown, I just wanted something simple." She said and I could hear her smile on the other end.

"Elfreda! What do you have on Hammond, I know he will not follow you blindly like that," I said in the most formal tone I could muster, trying my best not to give the sound of my broken heart away.

"Oh, that? He just found out he was in love with me. That's what. Goodbye sis, I hope you find someone who loves you more than he did, because this one is now mine." Elfreda said and before I could say a single more word the call went off.

For two minutes, I sat still with my phone still placed on my ear listening to nothing as I tried to process what had just happened to me. It all made sense now. Hammond had ditched me to get married to my step-sister.

I always knew Elfreda never had good intentions for me, but she was my sister after all, it didn't matter that we didn't share the same sadness, still, I loved her. But this? This was the highest level of her betrayal and I knew what she wanted but I wasn't going to let her break me.

I stood up at that moment and my eyes searched for the nearest boutique which I strolled in with my wedding gown following me behind.

"Welcome ma'am," the attendant greeted me in a surprised tone and I just nodded without responding to her before pointing at the black elastic gown I saw on one of her mannequins.

She quietly brought it down for me and showed me the price tag, I gave her my card and walked into the closet to change up, next, I picked a pair of short-heeled sandals to match the gown and put it on.

This black gown was a sign of mourning. I was mourning the love of my life, that night, Hammond had died in my heart and there was no changing anything.

"Waybill my wedding gown back to this address and send me the bills," I told them and walked out into the bright street once again.

It was almost noon and here I was walking around the estate like a crazy woman. I thought of where to go but no place came into my mind. I didn't have any friends I wanted to see at the moment, so I walked into a hotel and booked a room. I was going to regret the money I was spending today but I didn't care.

I asked for a bottle of wine to send to me before I got to the room. When it came, I pulled my clothes, sat on my underwear and drank alone, dried-eyed, in the quietness of the hotel room. And when it felt like the quietness was eating at me, I put on the television.

Immediately the newscaster began speaking. I knew it was a bad idea because the first thing I heard was my name.

"Early this morning Miss Ellen Bennet was ditched at the altar by her childhood sweetheart who walked out of the church holding her sister's hands like long lost lovers... the bride was..." I shut the television at that moment as I sighed deeply and fell on the bed.

*****

The next time I opened my eyes, everywhere was still as bright but when I looked outside, it was already dark. The time read 8 pm and I smiled to myself.

If I had slept for eight hours, what would I be doing for the remainder of the night?

I stood up, walked into the bathroom and freshened up before putting my outfit back on me. Immediately I stepped out of my room into the corridor, I saw people walking into a passage and I followed them without a care in the world. It was when I got in that I realized it was a clubhouse.

A wide smile played out on my face then. What better place to be than here?

As I walked in, my eyes roamed the hall filled with dancing bodies until they finally landed on a handsome-looking man sitting at the bar and sipping his drink quietly and my smile widened. I had found my prey for the night and so I began walking in his direction.

It was not until I got close enough that I realized that he was not alone, he had about four bodyguards standing a few feet away from him. I paused in my steps and was going to retrace them but his eyes caught mine in that moment.

He let out a devilish smirk and still held my eye contact as he sipped his drink more slowly and I knew that was my cue to go closer.

A voice in my head kept warning and threatening me, but my mind was already made up. When I took the next step, his guards began closing in on me, but my eyes didn't leave his as I kept walking and he raised his hands to stop them as I took the seat beside him.

I was going to regret this! Deep in my guts, I knew I would.

Ellen's POV

"Hello handsome, hope you don't mind me joining you?" I asked as I took the seat beside him.

He smiled in response without saying anything.

So, I made myself comfortable as I was suddenly grateful for the sexy black gown I wore. I remembered vividly that it hugged my body perfectly, accentuating my curves to all who cared to stare and this handsome stranger was no exception, I could see the way he looked at me while he kept sipping on his drink.

I watched him signal to one of his guards and in the next second the waiter was hurrying towards us.

"Get the lady what she wants." His deep masculine voice finally reverberated into my ears, shaking me up and sending chills down my spine as I turned to look at his face.

His eyes were on me and when they met mine he let out a small smirk by the side of his lips that made my insides churn in response.

"Hello, ma'am." I heard the waiter's voice from far away but I couldn't respond to him because I had drowned in this stranger's gaze and could not pull myself out.

"Lady?" He called again but there was no response still, not until this handsome guy nodded his head in the direction of the waiter did I snap back to reality.

"I'll have whatever he is having," I said in response and I saw his smile widen.

"Give her my favorite then." He chipped in and the waiter bowed and left.

I took my time to look at him closely. He was in a black suit that complimented his glowing skin. Even though I couldn't see his face clearly due to the dim blue light, I could still see the features on his face. His pointed nose stood out from every other feature making him look like a French god. He was one of a kind and very rare to find in San Francisco.

"Checking me out?" He asked when he noticed my eyes scanning him thoroughly.

"Nope. Just returning the favor." I said in response and he laughed. A short deep laugh that resonated again and again in my head, made me smile as well.

"You are a proud one." He said and I sighed and shifted more into my seat.

But suddenly it dawned on me what I was doing and my smile faded. I had been dumped on the altar and here I was playing words with some stranger whose name I didn't even know.

"When you come in here, you are supposed to let go of all your worries. Didn't you read that on the door?" He suddenly whispered in my ears, making me jerk in response, his voice going all the way to curl my toes up.

When did he get so close? I asked myself as I turned immediately to face him, almost bumping into his face which he didn't attempt to take away from mine.

To hell with Hammond, I was going to do whatever I liked tonight and regret it later. After all, he was somewhere with Elfreda.

The waiter returned with my drink at that moment and I turned to the table to pick it up, forcing him to shift away from me. I noticed also that all the guards had turned their faces away and I smiled as I took a sip of his supposed favourite drink.

"I have good taste, right?" He asked and I nodded with a wider smile.

"Not bad, I guess," I said taking another sip and he nodded in response.

"You don't have to be so polite about complimenting me." He said, picking up his drink one more time.

"And so, have you had someone tell you how mesmerizing and breathtaking you look today?" I asked with a smirk and he nodded with a serious look.

"I hear that every day." He responded in a serious tone and I laughed heartily.

This guy was fun and I was already loving his aura and pride. The next time I had my eyes open from my laugh, he was standing with an outstretched hand to me.

"A dance?" He asked and I raised an eyebrow at him before placing my hands in his.

That contact! It was the first time our skin was touching and the impact on me was greater than his voice whispering into my ears or his laugh reverberating through me.

My body was suddenly having a mind of its own by the time I was standing and my head was already light from the strong drink I had taken and so I swayed on my feet. Immediately, his other hand came up to steady me as he placed his arm firmly on my waist and pulled me into him and I snuggled deeper into the warmth of his embrace.

His scent enveloped me like a gentle caress. The scent of his skin was a subtle blend of earthy undertones, the natural sweetness of sun-kissed skin, with a little bit of mystery.

In its depths, I detected the faintest hint of vulnerability, a reminder that this strong, beautiful man was also fragile and human, though this was being hidden. His scent was a siren's call, beckoning me to surrender to the warmth he offered.

"Are you trying to fall for me?" He whispered into my ears and I laughed and steadied myself.

"No, Mister Handsome Stranger. I'm trying not to fall for you." I responded, despite my lightheaded state.

I could not ignore the huge smile that displayed on his face at that moment. He was impressed and I could tell that.

"I love that name and I love how you match my energy." He whispered in my ears as a new song began to play from the background and I placed my hands on his shoulders while he made his grip on my waist more firm, making me tense up.

"Let's dance." He whispered into my ears. "And... loosen up, I won't let you fall.... For me." He added and I giggled and finally surrendered to his arms as I let him lead me through the dance floor.

As we swayed to the music, his arms wrapped around me and I felt a fleeting sense of solace. Our bodies moved in sync with the rhythm of the music pulsing through us.

Without thinking, I tilted my head up to stare into his eyes knowing what those pairs would do to me, and I wasn't wrong because they compelled me to give in and I did.

I took my face closer to his, he met me halfway and our lips brushed, soft and gentle with a whisper of comfort to my turbulent mind. As our lips met, the world around us melted away, leaving only the gentle pressure of his mouth on mine. It was a stranger's kiss, yet somehow it felt like coming home.

It was a kiss that spoke of longing. His lips were warm and gentle, yet insistent, coaxing mine to surrender to the tender exploration he was giving and for a moment, I forgot my troubles, my heartache, my fears and all that mattered was the gentle pressure of his lips on mine, the offer of comfort in his arms. It was a kiss that asked for nothing, offered everything, and left me breathless.

And so, I cleared my mind of every thought and warning that would've come in that moment telling me to run before it was too late.