The Billionaire's Runaway Bride!

Nadia O'Hara found herself stuck in what felt like a living daytime nightmare, she forcefully attempted to subdue the huge wave of panic surging up her throat as her mother pulled down the white veil to cover her face.

"You look perfect dear." Her mother said warmly. But for some reason, that only amplified the panic she was feeling. She couldn't even muster the forced smile she'd been using for the past few days during the wedding preparations.

Glancing up at her mother, the woman held a soft expression, tears gleaming in her light grey eyes exactly the same as hers, which she had inherited from her mother of course.

She wanted to voice some soothing words but couldn't bring herself to say a word.

With a joyful sigh her mother led her out of the inner room, inside of the main bedroom sat a few ladies dressed in dark green dresses, the color for the bridal train.

"Oh_my_Gooooood!" Someone squealed the minute she stepped out of the inner room.

"Dia, you look... Wow!" Serene, Nadia's best friend and bride's maid came forward as she sized Nadia up in admiration, the other ladies in the room also followed in their words of praises for Nadia, but the nervous feeling just seemed to surge within her.

What was wrong with her? Why was she feeling this way?

Hadn't she already come to terms with the reality of her decision? Then why was she feeling so nervous?

Since the veil had hidden her face she was relieved they wouldn't see through the awful grimace that surfaced on her face when she tried to conjure a smile.

"Alright ladies, it's time, let's head out!" Someone yelled from the entrance.

Serene flashed Nadia a grin looking excited, she'd turned to leave but then as if noticing something she paused her steps, turning towards Nadia again she asked with slight worry in her tone, "Dia, you alright?"

"Am great." Nadia managed to speak composedly.

"Good, break a leg at the altar." Serene smiled relieved then muttered before following the line of ladies out of the room.

Nadia would have laughed at Serene's remark had she not been bothered by the nervous twist in her stomach.

"Let's go dear." Her mother said as she led her outside towards the entrance to the large hall where her fiance was currently waiting to make her his bride.

She took deep steady breaths as she stubbornly fought the urge to break free from the pressure that currently overwhelmed her to run away from it all, but she reminded herself once again for the thousandth time that she was the one to be blamed for this predicament she'd currently found herself in. If she hadn't been blinded by her own stupidity, then she might just not have ended up in this situation right now.

Nadia felt her mother's loving presence supportively guiding her towards the Hall's grand doors.

Silence descended upon the entire crowd inside the hall as the doors were pushed open to reveal the bride standing graciously at the entrance.

And straight up ahead, standing handsomely tall at the altar was the man with whom she was soon to be wed wearing the black suit perfectly against his fine body, her fiance and soon to be groom, John Adler.

She didn't even realize when her mother had silently left her side and now standing in front of her obstructing her view of the groom was her father who extended his hands towards her to escort her down the isle.

She could see the emotion in his eyes and the pressure upon herself escalated. She silently placed her dainty palm in his large one and he placed her hand on his arm and they slowly began to walk on the beautiful isle.

The hall was fully lit with the beautiful glow of colorful lights, pink petals sprawn beautifully along the floors on the thick red carpets down the isle, the whole hall was spacious, glittering in utter magnificence, just the design of the wedding hall alone told of the high poshness of the people getting married.

The beautiful hall was the centrepiece in one of the most exclusive hotels in Blakewood city, it could be considered the most shining emerald in the hotel's crown.

Looking at the magnificently designed hall she felt the weight of what she was just about to get herself into Dawn on her afresh.

With a disturbingly sick feeling that sent a chill down her spine, Nadia reluctantly moved forward following her father's lead, but just then, a small movement at the side caught her eye.

She glanced around for a while before she almost stopped in her tracks as her eyes landed on an icy gaze of a man, the deep stare from the piercing pair of blazing emerald eyes staring back at her, those eyes held an unmistakably dangerous chill as it seemed to scrutinize her.

Though the man was standing at a far corner of the room almost hidden within the shadows, it didn't conceal the fact that he was extremely tall and breathstoppingly handsome, he exuded an air of dominance. His presence somewhat distracted her from her surroundings momentarily.

Thinking of her upcoming marriage that would officially begin the moment she reached the end of the isle reality slammed back into her once again and her mind was filled with the same panic from earlier.

Her heart raced in her chest and the feeling seemed to heighten the minute she set her eyes on that man, a look in his eyes seemed to have pulled her into some sort of state where the desire to escape and seek freedom heightened to no end.

In that single moment their eyes met, she knew she had not been able to disguise the fear and turmoil in her eyes just like she'd done with her family and friends.

Even though her face was behind the veil his piercing gaze made her feel like he'd seen it all, and to her utter shock she felt that he had actually seen more than just her fear, it felt as if he'd seen right through her soul. For some reason, it made her feel wronged, like someone had finally seen through her pain and she wanted nothing more but to complain to that person and finally stop stuffing it all in.

As more tears threatened to gather in her eyes she quickly broke away from his gaze.

What was wrong with her? Was she seeking comfort in a mere stranger?

She'd never shown her weakness to other people before, even in front of the masses and billions of fans she could perfectly flash that smile, the one that made everyone believe that she was living the perfect life and no one had ever seen through it before.

She tried to calm her emotions, comforting herself with the fact that he was just a mere stranger, someone she probably would never set her eyes on again after this day.

She steeled herself with this thought and walked forward, whatever else her life could have been, she had taken this decision now, and this was her fate.

***

Evan Wilson finally broke off his searing gaze with the bride as she stepped onto the altar. His sharp eyes had caught her beautiful silver colored orbs moistened with unflowing tears behind the veil.

She had looked up as if sensing the weight of his gaze on her and after looking around for a while met his eyes and he didn't know why but in that moment, a prickling sensation rose in his chest but he quickly shrugged it off.

He had to admit, she was without a doubt the most beautiful bride he'd ever seen, though he'd seen many due to his line of work, a lot of weddings were held in all of his hotels, but he didn't plan or have any intentions of seeing a bride walk down an isle towards him.

He had never had any beliefs in love or marriages having been from a large family with an astounding number of half siblings from a father who got divorces as if it were breakfast, it was basically like the man's second nature, not to talk of the countless illicit affairs he'd had outside marriage, Evan was quite certain that he might still have a sibling or two he still wasn't acquainted with due to his father's wayward nature.

To a man like Evan Wilson, the so called holy sanctity of marriage was something not short of a big joke and a complete waste of two people's time, not to talk of the trouble one would subject the family to in order to prepare the demanding ceremony. It all had never made sense to him.

He shook his mind off from wandering towards his insane family who had all dispersed into different corners of the world each searching for a life of their own, their father had attempted countless times to assemble all his children in their ancestral home the Wilson family mansion at least once a year and well... The ones who showed up could be said to have been the devoted ones of the bunch.

Standing on the ornately decorated platform, the priest stood behind the altar speaking words that Evan didn't bother paying attention to. The bride was standing firm with square shoulders holding a regal and graceful bearing that made her appear taller despite her average height.

Her face behind the veil was a smooth mask of intent concentration, he couldn't blame her, the endless ceremonies a marriage entailed coupled with the arduous task of preparation must be quite tiring, and no matter how much he looked at it he couldn't make sense of the idea of two people standing before a crowd throwing everlasting vows of love and devotion to one another which in the later part of their lives might end up in a terrible divorce.

Earlier, Evan had watched the arrival of the groom into the hall as he strode happily to the altar escorted by his groomsmen, a few people also came in after that, the ladies dressed in the same colored dresses, laughably even little kids were decked up in small suits and little girl's wearing little dresses holding bouquets of roses, after the arrival of everyone else came the bride.

She was donned in an all white wedding dress, the fitting dress clinging perfectly to her distractingly sexy curves, he never would have thought that the simple white attire worn by many brides in the world would have him consider a woman beautiful, yet this bride had solidly taken the spot of the most beautiful bride he'd ever laid his eyes on.

He never thought he'd be the one thinking this, but he found himself comparing her to an angel descended right from the heavens with the flickering lights and the sheer white veil covering her face she looked like a celestial being, and damn he never believed in their existence either.

The memory of that single glance they'd shared hit him again with the jolt of a sensation in the depths of his chest, it astounded him, but not more than that moment he thought he'd seen something like panic and desperation in her silver eyes.

A frown made it's way onto his immaculately handsome face, he couldn't help but think that he had been mistaken as the bride currently standing upon the platform right now looked nothing short of calm and composed as she listened to the priest speak.

But he caught a small movement from her that put him in a state of doubt once more, her fair and delicate hands were stealthily clenched beside her, though she looked composed, that small action made it quite evident she was slightly agitated.

Evan quickly composed his thoughts, mentally criticizing himself.

Why would he care about whatever she was feeling?

She was a complete stranger he shouldn't find himself bothered about her emotional state. All he should be caring about was for everything to go smoothly and they shouldn't find a single fault with the venue. Being the main founder and CEO of the Wilson group of hotels he prided himself with perfect client satisfaction, especially to high class clients who are considered important people to the public eye.

This particular hall was one of the event halls within the large hotel, and the hotel itself was just one in his successful chain of hotels around the world, the luxurious Evermore hotel in Blakewood city. And he was merely on a whirlwind tour to oversee the popularly acclaimed wedding of the decade between Nadia O'Hara and John Adler, both currently the hottest movies stars in the country.

From the report his personal assistant had given him about the wedding, he came to know that Nadia O'Hara had been crowned miss universe some years before and following a successful modelling career, she plunged into the movie industry and had since become a famous star with an uncountable list of number one ranked movies to her credit.

Her romance and upcoming wedding with fellow movie star John Adler had made them the power couple of the entertainment industry for years to come, they were adored by the masses and millions of people all over the world which was no small feat.

"Sir, the security has been tightened as per your instructions." His assistant came up to Evan and reported.

Evan took a quick glance around nodding in satisfaction at the heavily armed guards and plain clothed police officers amongst his own highly trained security team. The couple might be famous and loved by the masses but it wasn't a hidden fact that they would have enemies as well, there was no taking chances when it came to security measures, his hotels confidently boasted of the strict security measures and discretion they could guarantee.

It was one of the reasons his hotel had been the number one option to hold the wedding of the decade.

Another reason could be because of the ultra lavish and stylish surroundings. The floor to ceiling length glass showed the perfect view of the sea with the moon shining right over it.

Even with the sense of satisfaction seeing the beautiful fruits of his hard earned labor, he still found himself feeling slightly disturbed, his eyes unconsciously glanced towards the platform again where the bride and groom now stood facing each other, the bride's exquisite face was still a cool mask of calmness as she watched her groom in front of her his lips moving as he began to say his vows.

Evan couldn't tell why he suddenly had the feeling that the bride's calmness was just a facade, that underneath it all she was forcing herself to maintain the stillness on her face, that further increased the feeling of frustration building up inside of him, and he looked away only to have himself looking at her once more the next second.

His eyes trailed over her silky smooth skin on her bare shoulders her beautiful collar bones slightly prominent, down to her arms, he could only wonder how soft and supple her skin would feel to the touch he was certain it would be nothing short of the soft freshness of rose petals.

He felt a pull of something in his groin and to his own chagrin and disgust he realized that he was ogling the bride at her own wedding ceremony and that merely looking at her was arousing him to a level he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Damn it!" He cursed out loud.

"What sir?" The assistant curiously asked not having heard what he said.

"Nothing." Evan came back to his senses. He eyed the groom standing on the platform with a cold expression in his green eyes, for some reason he had the urge to punch the guy in the face. The scoundrel would be the one to end up uncovering the lush secrets of his new bride's ravishing beauty, the idea somehow infuriated Evan and he couldn't help but be quite mad at himself for having such thoughts.

What the hell was he thinking? This was definitely unlike himself, when had he ever found himself so strongly attracted to a woman that he even developed the unthinkable desire to steal her right from the groom?

No doubt Nadia O'Hara was like every other girl of pampered upbringing, a little princess, her marriage to this man was merely a next step in the life of luxury, despite her career as an actress, Evan was damn certain she would be no blushing virgin on her wedding night.

Despite the faked love making scenes depicted in the movies, in real life the stars were likely to be immoral and prone to a wild sex life, and she'd had a highly publicized relationship with this man for months.

Regardless of his thoughts, he still found his eyes glued unto the bride, it took a lot of effort for him to break his eyes away, turning to his assistant to issue a set of instructions.

The distraction wasn't at all helpful as the images of beautiful silver eyes that emitted what he thought to be distress behind the sheer white veil would repeatedly flash in his mind, he shook his head lightly to discard the unwanted thoughts and the next second, images of her downright sexy figure appeared in his mind along with a vivid imagination of what it would look like without the white wedding gown, and the tips of his ears burned red along with a firm tighteness in his pants.

'Damn it! Am i loosing my mind?'

Since pulling his attention away from the bride wasn't working to distract him and merely served as a fuel to the burning flame inside of him, he decided to walk out of the hall leaving the wedding behind while he assigned his assistant to oversee the event.

He clenched his jaw in frustration at the tiny tug he felt in his chest.

What was going on with him? Could it be his mind playing tricks on him? It must be because of the stress, because it wasn't as if it had been too long since he last had a woman for him to be feeling this strongly attracted to the bride, that too at her own wedding.

Striding across the main reception area, which was a glorious fusion of classic Roman and exquisite Italian architectural design, he coldly ignored the admiring looks the women were sending his way, it was something he'd been already used to.

Without a single effort on his part, he'd realized his looks had drawn a lot of attention from the opposite sex even before he had been old enough to know what it meant. And having women send flirtatious glances his way wasn't something new to him.

However just before he'd walk away ignoring them as usual he stopped in his tracks, glancing at the women who were sending suggestive looks at him.

He was quite irritated with the lewd looks in the eyes of the bunch for a second so his eyes travelled across the room before it landed on a gorgeous woman in red at another end of the room.

Thinking for a while he strode towards her, it was as if she head his footsteps then turned, seeing him she beamed.

"Mr Wilson, long time no see." She called in a familiar manner.

Evan didn't have any recollection of meeting her before, but that was normal, he never put the faces of the females he'd met in his mind anyway, but he still played along, "Hmm."

"Mr Wilson I must say, I never knew we would bump into each other in Blakewood city, such an awesome coincidence..." She continued to speak on but Evan hadn't listened to a word she said.

He surveyed her from head to toe, a perfect specimen, she was smoking hot with a sexy body with perfect curves, he looked at her for a while her skin was nice, all in all she was pretty attractive, how come he didn't have the feeling he had with the bride earlier? It was strange.

When it came to looks and body, the woman could be said to not be lacking, though compared to the bride Nadia O'Hara This woman's look paled.

Evan quickly dismissed it as the fact that the woman probably wasn't as good looking as the bride which was why he didn't feel anything.

"Actually Mr Wilson, if you have some free time tonight, I was wondering if we could grab dinner together." There it came again, Evan thought. The woman had been excited that he approached her and she took chances to ask him out on a date.

She bit her lips seductively, as she glanced up at him.

"Am busy." He said coolly then turned to leave without sparing her a second glance.

The woman was left shocked as she watched him stride out of the main reception.

Frustration bubbled within Evan as he repeatedly tried to get the image of the bride out of his mind.

About half an hour later, after speaking to his hotel manager and handling a few more work related issues, he walked to the end of the quiet yet luxurious looking hallway, pressing a button he stepped into his private elevator.

His expression looking stoic as he slightly loosened the tie around his neck feeling the constriction of being in a suit. He suddenly felt the familiar need to engage in some sort of physical activity that would clear his mind, he would probably do a few laps on the treadmill.

On that Thought, the elevator doors opened with a 'ding' sound, and Evan walked into his penthouse, his very own luxurious private suite the best in this hotel.

He pulled off his tie, then his coat throwing it upon the standing rack by the door and headed straight for the bar downing one solid glass of whiskey and another, he finally pushed the image of the luscious bride to the back of his mind.

***

Nadia's mind was a mess that she was completely absent-minded as the wedding progressed, it was as if she was a robot and would move according to the programming. Somehow she felt numb on the inside and her head was aching badly as the moment her comfortable, privileged, and secure world had been suddenly shattered like glass into a hundred pieces a week ago replayed in her mind.

The priest said something but her mind didn't process his words still lost in thoughts until John shifted closer to whisper, "Dia, Dia," he called twice before she came back to her senses looking up at him blankly.

"Let the bride and groom please face one another," the priest repeated himself and she finally understood what was going on as she turned to face John. He'd probably sensed the oddity in her as his smiling expression turned firm as he shot her a familiar stern look with an unmistakable warning in his eyes.

She lowered her head a bit and couldn't help but remember the events that happened on that night.

Nadia had gone to John's apartment with a firm resolution that night to surprise him, she was finally willing to take their relationship to the next level.

She had planned on remaining a virgin until the wedding night, she was aware that the relationship she and John shared was not normal. The deepest level of physical intimacy they had shared did not exceed a kiss, it wasn't as if he didn't desire her but it was her who had been reluctant.

Even though she was an actress, she'd been born in a conservative family, she'd had strict learning and had never thought of crossing the line with a man until the wedding night.

But seeing all the effort John had been putting into their relationship, she felt guilty for treating him that way, after all he was still a man and he'd have needs and desires.

Besides he was already her fiancee, and their wedding was in a week, the night before he had deepened their kiss that she had been frightened of what he was going to do next so she had pushed him away, this was why she decided to go and meet him at his apartment to surprise him by telling him that she was ready, she was ready to take their relationship to the next level.

But what she found upon reaching his apartment left her gobsmacked, and frozen shocked.

Instead of finding him studying the script to his upcoming movie just like he told her he'd be doing over the phone, she'd found him in bed with another woman, but what shattered her the most wasn't the fact that he was cheating on her but the person she found in bed with him.

Her very own best friend, Olivia, a girl she'd trusted with her life.

Nadia and Olivia had been best friends since middle school, when they got to high school Serene joined the group, but she had always been much closer with Olivia.

The stabbing pain she'd felt at the sight of those two people in bed was jarring, she suddenly felt overwhelmed by a deep sense of betrayal from her fiancee and her best friend who had been more like a sister to her.

"Shit! Dia what... What are you doing here?" John had exclaimed as he frantically grabbed the sheets, then quickly began picking his clothes.

There was a shocked and frightened look on Olivia's face but Nadia didn't care to remain there anymore.

She didn't know how she dragged herself out of the apartment amidst the painful shock she was feeling at the moment, a cold gust of wind blew against her face as she stepped outside and she was finally awoken to reality.

She suddenly felt sick in the stomach, she knew it was her fault, was she expecting the man to stick with her who wouldn't satisfy his needs? Of course he would seek for pleasure elsewhere since she wouldn't provide it.

It was just that, she'd thought he'd loved her enough to wait for her till the wedding, had he loved her enough to have been just a bit more patient with her, but with this she doubted if he'd even loved her at all.

In fact she'd proved just that when he ran after her out of the apartment.

He'd pulled her arm turning her to face him, though he remained calm the ruthless glint in his eyes betrayed the words he spoke next, "Dia, I didn't mean to do it, please don't break off the engagement." He'd pleaded but the minute she glanced into his eyes, she knew what he was doing was just to reduce the level of damage a scandal like that could bring.

"You didn't mean to? John please don't lie to me, I already saw everything, you were with her willingly, how could you do this to me?" She ran her hands through her brown hair frustratedly and continued, "Even if you had to, you could have found another girl, any other girl out there but my..." She felt even more pained at the fact that he'd cheated on her with a girl she really trusted more than the actual fact that he'd cheated on her, she couldn't even bring herself to utter the words best friend anymore as it would feel like acid in her tongue.

"Am sorry Dia, you know that I would never do this to you right?"

Hearing his words Nadia suddenly had a realization. Yes, she did believe he would never have cheated on her had he truly loved her.

It wasn't as if she had never had her suspicions before, she was a woman after all and she had her intuition, but she had purposely ignored it because she repeatedly told herself that she didn't want to ruin this perfect thing she had with John.

The county's hottest top actors getting together brought a huge boost to both their careers, she had been blinded to not see that more than anything that was what John cared about the most. That suspicion that she was nothing more than just a ticket to a stable future for him in the entertainment industry which she had ignored countless times couldn't be more true.

"Tell me John, what am I to you? Am I your lover, your fiancee, or just a popular and influential actress you wish to use in order to stabilize your career?" She questioned, her voice rising in anger.

"Dia..."

"Answer me!" She cut him off, along with the feeling of betrayal, she was feeling the rage rising up within her.

But to her disappointment, her yell further unleashed the beast he had been taming inside of him, there was rage evident in his dark eyes, she couldn't help but let out a disappointed scoff, but not at him, at herself for having been so stupid all this while, because in that one moment she had just confirmed that John wasn't the type of man she would want to spend the rest of her life with.

It had all seemed so perfect, how they met on set, the sweet things that happened between them, how kind and loving John had been, but now, in this moment she suddenly realized how shallow all of it had been.

She realized it was nothing but a union of convenience between them.

The idea that the audience would go crazy about the fact that the two top actors getting together, not to mention how it would boost their films, the fans would love the fact the MCs in a movie were actually a real life couple.

The directors had encouraged it, their managers had supported it, the fans had crazily wanted it, everyone made it sound so perfect, with a union like this their careers would never end.

Most actors careers would flop if they decided to get married, but for both of them, the marriage was the sure mark to stabilize their careers, they would become the power couple of the entertainment industry.

Nadia somewhat detested herself for being so shallow as to have fallen for something like that, with how everyone made it seem like the one and only destiny for her she had made herself believe that she was madly in love with John.

She probably never loved him either and was just enticed by the words and the encouragement of everyone around her who had made it seem like there was no better person she could end up with.

Every girl had the feeling of waiting for the man of their dreams, their soulmate, the one they were destined for, and everyone made her believe it was John, so much so that she had forced herself into believing that she was in love with him because in that moment as she stared at him, she could see nothing else but the selfishness in his eyes, and she could feel nothing else for him but utter disgust.

With a firm resolve in her heart, Nadia pulled the ring off her finger smacking it against his chest, "This was a result of my stupidity, let me rectify that... It's over." To her surprise what she felt after saying those words was relief.

Yes she did feel betrayed, hurt even, the heartache she felt from her friend's betrayal was jarring, but with John, the fact that she had allowed so many people around her influence her life she suddenly felt like she had been woken up from a burdensome dream, and in that dream she had been floundering in her career, the Fame, how she had been cherished by all, she had sought to follow the only path right for her, she thought that path would be to marry John.

She must admit, she had hoped for a happy life with him since it was so convenient, she had been ready to build a life with him because he was the best bet for her career to be stable, but as for love... She was now certain what it was she felt for him, because she probably had never thought about it this way in the past, but the pain from her best friends betrayal had woken her up.

She wasn't ready to give it all for the sake of her career, for the sake of the people she didn't want to disappoint, this action of his had brought her this sense of realization that her suspicions which she had overshadowed hadn't been wrong.

He wasn't in love with her, and she wasn't in love with him either, so it was best they both ended it before they made an irrepairable mistake.

But just when she turned to leave after saying her piece, John had suddenly grabbed her roughly, forcefully pinching both her shoulders in his large palms,

"If you think for even a second that you can walk away from this marriage then you're dead wrong, if you even attempt to do that then you can kiss your career goodbye forever." His smoothly handsome face glowered with rage and ruthlessness as he threatened her fiercely,

"Just think about it, nobody would be willing to marry you after this, the scandal will ruin your career, and if you think that you can just expose me to save yourself then I will just deny it, and I can accuse you of the same thing, there is no way you can prove yourself innocent to the public,"

"This marriage is my ticket to a perfect career for the rest of my life, so don't even think about ruining it for me, before you take any action, think twice, we're both award winning actors, let's see who between us will be able to gain public sympathy,

"In the end, no one is going to believe you over me so don't even try it!" He'd pushed her away with a threatening glare in his eyes.