Chapter 1

• The large doors of the Cathedral opened as the bridal march began to play which was my cue. I walked down the red carpet that extended from the entrance to the altar in a white flowing wedding gown.
• On each side of me were seats filled up with the friends and family of the Mendez family from all over the world with a few of my friends and family scattered around in the seats on my right-hand side.
• Every girl's wedding day, she was supposed to have thousands of butterflies erupting in her stomach and excited to be trying the knot with the man of her dreams, but that wasn't the case for me.
• All I could feel was anger, hatred, and despair toward the man smiling at me from the end of the aisle because he was the man of my nightmares. A man I still used to love with all my heart a few hours ago but he repaid all my love with lies and deceit and expected me to spend the rest of my life with him.
• If I could have my way, I would stab him to death on our wedding night and flee far away from this country but I knew that would be the end of my peaceful and free life. The Mendez family would never let me go scot-free after murdering their son in cold blood.
• I climbed on the altar and stood opposite him. The constant smile on his face fuelled my anger but he couldn't see the angry expression I was wearing because of the wedding veil covering my face.
• "We are gathered here to witness the union of Dave Mendez and Aria Stephenson..." The priest started but all I could think of was what the Mendez family did to hurt me and my family, and there was the only way I could think of repaying them for what they did.
• The priest turned to Dave. "Do you Dave Michael Mendez take Aria Carter Stephenson to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and cherish in times of good health and bad health, rich and poor till death do you part?"
• "I do," Dave answered with a big smile on his face.
• He turned to me. "Do you Aria Carter Stephenson take Dave Micheal Mendez to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and cherish in times of good health and bad health, rich and poor till death do you part?"
• My fingers tightened on my gown as I turned to the side, searching through the crowd. I locked eyes with my brother who had a blank expression.
• "Aria?" The priest called my attention.
• Taking a deep breath, I turned back to look at Dave. "No, I don't."
• SIX MONTHS AGO
• ARIA'S POV
• "Mom, Dad, I got the job," I yelled, running downstairs with my phone in my hand as the wooden floor made creaking sounds under my feet.
• "Ari, slow down. You're going hurt yourself," My dad who was sitting in our portable living room shouted.
• I jumped on the maroon couch he was sitting on, shoving my phone to his face. "Dad, I did it."
• He took the phone from my hand and read the message I got from Styles Company, one of the biggest Fashion Companies in Chicago. Ever since I graduated from Fashion school earlier that year, I had hoped to get employed in a big company in Chicago. I applied to different companies over the months and sent them some of my ideas as an interview but I got rejected by two companies already.
• When I woke up that morning, my phone lit up with a message from Style Company, another company I applied in. At first, I ignored it thinking it was another rejection message, only for me to decide to check it out and get the shock of my life.
• "Honey, come here for a minute." My dad's grey eyes widened and he called out to my mom who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
• She came out with her brunette hair tied in a bun, wiping her hands on her apron. "What's all the fuss this early morning?"
• "Take a look at this." Dad handed the phone over to her.
• "Oh my God," she shrieked before pulling me into a hug. "I'm so proud of you. I've always known you could do it. Congratulations baby."
• "What are we congratulating her for?" My Twenty-five-year-old brother, Xavier came down the stairs all dressed for work with his heavily pregnant fiancee beside him.
• Xavier graduated as an Architect two years ago and got a job with good pay in Pittsburgh where our family resides. He earned enough money for him to move out of our parent's house and start a life on his own but he didn't because he squandered all his money on drinks and girls.
• His fiancee, Savannah was my best friend that I met when I got into fashion school. When she started visiting our house, I noticed she was getting too close to my brother, so I warned her to stay away from him.
• Little did I know that she was seeing my brother behind my back but the truth was revealed when she got pregnant at the beginning of our final year. She got thrown out of the house by her family, so she had no choice but to come to my brother to take her in.
• My brother who was not ready to settle down denied the baby but my parents who knew what was going on between them forced him to take responsibility. Being the middle child, Savannah was cut off from her parent's support which made her drop out of school. But my brother promised to get her back in school after she delivered their baby.
• "Your sister just got a job as a fashion designer in Chicago," Dad announced as Mom showed him the message on my phone.
• "Wow, that's amazing." He smiled and pulled my cheeks. "Congratulations, little sis. You are finally growing up."
• "Congratulations, Ari," Savannah said from behind my brother with a smile on her lips.
• "Thanks." I forced a smile back.
• After I found out the truth about Savannah and my brother, our relationship has been strained. I was mad that she disregarded my warning but I was madder than she ruined her future by getting pregnant.
• Savannah was one of the brightest and most talented students in my class. With her talent and her family's wide connection, Savannah was bound to have a great future in the fashion industry but she ruined all that by getting deceived by my brother and getting pregnant. I knew it wasn't my dreams that were put on hold but it didn't stop me from getting mad.
• "It's good to start a new week with good news," My dad said with a wide smile on his face.
• "As much as I want to keep celebrating, I have to get to work in thirty minutes," Xavier added, reminding everyone of their early schedule.
• My father works as a reporter in a struggling press company while my mom owns a small cafeteria downtown. Even with the little income they made, my parents made sure they gave me and my brother the education we deserved. They provided everything we needed without complaints even when things were not going well for them.
• I promised that I was going to repay them for everything they did for me because I couldn't have gotten to that point without their support.
• After breakfast, everyone left for their various workplace, leaving Savannah and me alone in the house. I was sitting in the living room alone, wondering who to call among my friends to give them the good news when Savannah strolled into the living room, rubbing her seven months old pregnancy.
• "It's going to be boring with you here." She sat on the couch opposite me, trying to pike up a conversation.
• "It's not my fault that you are stuck here." I stood up and walked away from her.
• Yeah, that was rude but It was already coming out of my mouth before I could stop it.
• As I got into my room, I received an incoming call from Lena, my senior from the fashion school who was more like a friend. Lena graduated a year before me and got a job at Styles Company. When I was applying to different companies in Chicago, she encouraged me to try my luck at Styles and I was happy I did.
• "Hi Lena," I answered in a happy tone.
• "Judging by how happy you sound, I assume you have good news."
• "Yes. I got the job." I squealed and she joined in.
• "That's awesome. When do you start?"
• "Next week but I have to find an apartment and settle down this week."
• "Instead of stressing yourself to look for an apartment, why not just move in with me? My apartment is a minute's walk to the company."
• "Really?" I asked with a wide smile on my face.
• "Yes. It's boring living alone, so I could use your company around here. What do you say?"
• "Sure. I'll let my parents know."
• "Okay then, let me know when you will be coming. Talk to you later." She hung up.
• Feeling overly excited, I stood on my bed and jumped on it. My life was falling into place and I couldn't be happier about it.