Chapter 1 The Wedding Crasher

Chapter One: The Wedding Crasher

Rain hammered the church roof like a war drum.

"I object!"

The words sliced through the air like a blade, silencing the priest mid-sentence. Every head turned. Gasps rippled through the pews like wind in dry grass.

Alessia Donnelley stood at the back of the church, soaked in rain, mascara bleeding down her face. Her black coat clung to her curves, a defiant contrast to the bride's pristine white gown.

The groom's jaw clenched. "Alessia?" he breathed.

"You forgot to mention something, Ethan," she said, voice trembling, but loud enough to reach the altar. "Like the fact that you're already married. To me."

Someone dropped a glass. The bride - porcelain-perfect and trembling - stared between them in horror.

"That's a lie," Ethan said quickly. "She's lying."

Alessia laughed - cold, broken, sharp. "You want to see the marriage certificate? Or should I bring out our son next?"

Dead silence.

Then, whispers. Mutters. Confusion.

"You said you had no family," the bride whispered, eyes wet.

"I didn't," Ethan muttered. "I don't-"

"Don't you dare," Alessia said, stepping forward, fury in her every movement. "You don't get to pretend we didn't exist. That I didn't spend five years waiting for you while you climbed the corporate ladder-using our story as your sob tale."

She opened her coat. Inside, she held a folder. She pulled out a photo and held it high: a little boy, with Ethan's ocean-blue eyes and her wild dark curls.

"He's five. He asks about you every night. And I swore I'd never ruin your life, Ethan. But then I found out you were planning this circus while lying to us both. So I'm done being quiet."

"Security-" Ethan barked, but the priest held up a hand.

"We are in a house of God," he said, voice grave. "And lies have no place here."

Alessia's voice broke as she met the bride's tearful eyes. "Don't marry him. He's good at making people believe he's the hero. But trust me-he leaves wreckage."

A beat of silence.

Then the bride turned to Ethan. "Is it true?"

Ethan looked between the two women. For a moment, everything in him cracked.

And then he said the worst thing possible.

"She's nothing."

Alessia flinched as if he'd slapped her.

But her chin lifted. Her voice came out quiet, razor-sharp. "Then nothing just destroyed your perfect day."