Chapter 1: The Wedding from Hell
The Florida sun was beating down on the lawn of the grand estate, but I felt cold. Freezing cold.
“Olivia, stop crying and pick up the broom!”
My future mother-in-law, Mrs. Karen Miller, shoved a rough straw broom into my manicured hands. I was wearing my wedding dress—a simple white gown I had bought off the rack because Gary, my fiancé, said we needed to “save money for the future.”
“Mom, please,” I whispered, looking around at the guests who were snickering. “It’s my wedding day. Why do I have to sweep the driveway?”
“Because you’re bad luck!” Karen spat, adjusting her oversized hat. “You’re an orphan. You have no parents, no lineage, no dowry. My son is a manager at OceanView Corp. He is a catch! You are a stray dog we are graciously taking in. Sweeping the dust is a tradition to ensure you don’t bring your misfortune into our wealthy home.”
I looked at Gary. We had been together for five years. Five years of me supporting him while he finished his MBA. Five years of me cooking, cleaning, and believing in him.
“Gary?” I pleaded. “Tell her to stop.”
Gary adjusted his tie, looking annoyed. “Liv, just do it. Mom is superstitious. Don’t embarrass me in front of my relatives. It’s just a broom.”
“It’s humiliation, Gary!” I cried.
“Don’t raise your voice at me!” Gary snapped, his face turning red. “Do you know how many women want to marry me? You should be grateful. Now sweep, or the wedding is off!”
My heart shattered. This wasn’t the man I loved. This was a stranger.
“And one more thing,” Karen sneered, pulling a document from her purse. “Before you walk down the aisle, sign this.”
I looked at the paper. It was a “Code of Conduct” for the Miller family daughter-in-law.
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The wife must wake up at 4:30 AM to cook breakfast.
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The wife’s salary belongs to the husband.
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The wife must produce a male heir within two years or accept divorce without alimony.
“I… I can’t sign this,” I stammered. “This is slavery.”
“Sign it!” Gary yelled, grabbing my wrist. “Stop being a drama queen! My family is elite. You are nobody. Sign it!”
“No,” I said, my voice trembling but firm. I threw the broom down. “I won’t marry you.”
The crowd gasped.
“You little witch!” Karen shrieked. “Grab her! Don’t let her leave! She ruined the ceremony, she pays for it!”
Two of Gary’s burly cousins grabbed my arms. Gary loomed over me, his face twisted in rage.
“You don’t walk away from me, Olivia,” he hissed. “You’re going to march down that aisle, and you’re going to smile.”
Just as he raised his hand to strike me, a thunderous roaring sound filled the air.
Whirrrrrr-thump-thump-thump.
The wind from the rotor blades sent hats flying. A sleek, black helicopter with a gold crest on the side was descending right onto the wedding lawn.
Chapter 2: The Savior
The helicopter landed, crushing the flower arch. The door flew open, and a man stepped out.
He was tall, with broad shoulders and eyes like polished steel. He wore a tuxedo that cost more than Gary’s entire life savings. He moved with the grace of a predator.
Behind him, a dozen men in black suits and earpieces fanned out, surrounding the wedding party.
“Who the hell are you?” Gary shouted, trying to look tough but failing. “You ruined my lawn!”
The man ignored him. He walked straight toward me. The cousins holding me let go, terrified by the sheer aura of power radiating from him.
“Allie,” the stranger whispered, looking at my face with an intensity that made my knees weak.
“I… my name is Olivia,” I said, confused.
“To the world, perhaps,” he said gently. “But to me, you are Allie. And I have been looking for you for fifteen years.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a jade pendant. It was shaped like a half-moon.
My hand flew to my neck. Hidden under my dress, I wore the other half. I had it since I was found at the orphanage.
“You…” I gasped. “Who are you?”
“I am Mason Sterling,” he announced, his voice carrying over the silent crowd. “CEO of Sterling Global. And this woman… is my fiancée.”
“Fiancée?!” Gary screamed. “She’s marrying me! She’s a broke orphan!”
Mason turned to Gary. The look in his eyes was terrifying.
“Broke?” Mason laughed, a cold, dry sound. “You idiot. She is the lost daughter of Victoria Stone, the owner of OceanView Corp—the company you work for. She is worth billions.”
Chapter 3: The Revelation
The color drained from Gary’s face. “OceanView… the Chairman’s daughter?”
“Impossible!” Karen screeched. “She’s trash! Look at her cheap dress!”
“She is a diamond wrapped in rags because she was stolen from us,” a commanding female voice rang out.
A black limousine pulled up to the edge of the lawn. A woman stepped out. She was older, elegant, and radiated authority. It was Victoria Stone, the Iron Lady of the business world.
She walked up to me, her eyes filled with tears. “My baby. My Allie.”
She looked at the jade pendant around my neck. “It’s really you.”
I looked at her, and a memory unlocked. A warm kitchen. A lullaby. A mother’s love.
“Mom?” I whispered.
We embraced, sobbing. The guests were stunned into silence.
But the moment was ruined by a man running from the back. It was Carl Henderson, the regional CEO of OceanView, and Gary’s boss. He was sweating profusely.
“Chairman Stone!” Carl panted. “What brings you to this humble wedding? Is… is there a problem?”
Victoria Stone wiped her tears and turned to Carl. Her face hardened into stone.
“Mr. Henderson,” she said coldly. “Is this your employee?” She pointed at Gary.
“Yes! Yes, Gary Miller. A rising star!” Carl beamed, thinking this was a good thing. “He’s marrying this… uh… woman.”
“He was bullying her,” Mason interjected, stepping beside me. “His family forced her to scrub floors. They tried to make her sign a slave contract. They assaulted her.”
Victoria’s eyes blazed. “Is this true?”
“She… she’s just a nobody!” Gary stammered. “I mean… we didn’t know she was your daughter!”
“So if she wasn’t my daughter, it would be okay to treat a human being like cattle?” Victoria slapped Gary across the face. The sound echoed across the lawn.
“You are fired,” Victoria declared. “And you, Mr. Henderson. You hired this misogynistic trash. You are under investigation for corruption. Get out of my sight.”
“No!” Gary fell to his knees. “Please! I’m sorry! Olivia… baby… tell them! We love each other!”
I looked down at the man who had tried to force me into submission minutes ago.
“I don’t love you,” I said quietly. “I pitied you. And now, I don’t even feel that.”
Chapter 4: The Past and The Future
Mason took my hand. “Let’s go home, Allie.”
“Wait,” I said, looking at Mason. “You said… fiancée?”
Mason smiled, and for the first time, he looked like the boy from my fuzzy childhood memories. “Our parents betrothed us when we were five. Before you were taken. I promised I would find you. I promised I would protect you.”
He knelt down, right there on the ruined grass.
“I know this is sudden,” he said. “But I have loved the memory of you for fifteen years. Today, I fell in love with the reality of you—the woman who stood up to bullies and refused to break.”
He pulled out a ring. It wasn’t a simple band. It was a massive, flawless blue diamond.
“Olivia Stone,” he said. “Will you give me a chance to be the man who cherishes you?”
I looked at my mother, who nodded encouragingly. I looked at Gary, who was crying in the dirt while his mother screamed at him.
I looked at Mason.
“Yes,” I said. “Take me away from here.”
He scooped me up into his arms, bridal style, and carried me toward the helicopter.
As we lifted off, leaving the chaos and the cruelty behind, I looked down at the shrinking figures of the Miller family. They looked so small.
“Where are we going?” I asked Mason.
“To the future,” he kissed my forehead. “And first… to get you a better dress.”
Epilogue
Six months later.
The wedding of the century was held in New York. I wore a custom Vera Wang gown. My mother walked me down the aisle.
Gary Miller was blacklisted from every major company in the state. He was currently working at a car wash. His mother, Karen, had been sued for harassment and had to sell her house to pay the legal fees.
I stood at the altar, looking at Mason.
“I do,” I said.
And this time, no one asked me to sweep the floor. I was finally exactly where I belonged.
THE END
