The Billionaire’s Wedding Trap - Chapter 1: Chapter 1

I was supposed to be marrying the love of my life—billionaire mogul James Calloway. But an hour had passed since I was meant to walk down the aisle, and he was nowhere to be found.
The flashes of cameras blinded me as reporters circled like vultures, hungry for the latest scandal. I tried calling James, praying this was some cruel joke, but his phone was dead. Meanwhile, the crowd grew louder—whispers, gasps, and hushed judgments filling the grand cathedral.
My gown suddenly felt suffocating, the fabric clinging too tightly as my hands trembled around my bouquet. The realization hit me like a freight train: James wasn't coming.
My fiancé had abandoned me at the altar.
My best friend, my chief bridesmaid, was frantically dialing his number, leaving desperate voicemails begging him to show up. But deep down, I knew. He was gone.
I couldn't bring myself to look at my parents, but I heard my mother's furious murmurs—how I had disgraced her in front of high society. This wasn't just a humiliation. It was the scandal of the century.
Elle King, daughter and heir of business tycoon Macmillan King, left at the altar by billionaire fiancé James Calloway.
Tears burned behind my eyes, but before I could stop them, the crowd's phones buzzed in unison. Their pitying stares locked onto me. My best friend gasped, turning her screen toward me.
There he was—James, his lips pressed against another woman's. Her face was hidden, but the intimacy was undeniable. The headline blared:
James Calloway Spotted Kissing Mystery Woman on Hotel Balcony.
The whispers cut deeper than any knife.
"James never loved her. She forced herself on him."
"A playboy like him would never settle for someone so plain."
Their laughter sliced through me, my knees buckling under the weight of their cruelty.
Just as I thought I might collapse, the cathedral doors burst open.
All heads turned.
Through my blurred vision, I saw him—a towering figure in a black tuxedo, his presence commanding silence. Cain Blackwood. James's biggest rival. The ruthless CEO of New York's largest communications empire.
What the hell was he doing here?
His deep voice cut through the chaos. "Pathetic, isn't it?"
The crowd watched, riveted. Cain was a predator in a world of sheep—feared, brilliant, always ten steps ahead.
I clenched my fists. "What do you want?"
He stepped closer, lips curling into a smirk. "What I want doesn't matter. What do you need, Elle?"
I needed James to suffer. But right now, I just wanted to vanish.
"You want revenge," he murmured. "I can give it to you."
My breath hitched.
"I'm here with an offer." Another step. "Marry me."
I choked. "What?"
"James ruined you," he said smoothly. "But if you become my wife, you rewrite the story. Instead of the humiliated bride, you're the woman who married his greatest enemy."
"This is insane—I can't just—"
"Right now, they see you as a victim," he interrupted. "Walk out with me, and you become untouchable."
Could I really do this? Marry the man James despised most—just for vengeance?
"Think carefully, Elle," Cain warned, his voice dark. "If you say yes, I won't let you back out."
He had an agenda. But so did I.
And James would never see it coming.
"Fine," I whispered. "I'll do it."
His smirk deepened. "Good choice."
Before I could second-guess myself, he offered his arm. I took it.
And together, we walked to the altar.