XANDER’S POVI walked gracefully to the podium, my heart pounding with every step. The hall was full and they all knew what I was about to do.I was going to propose to Sasha Armstrong, and everything was going perfectly. When I got to the podium, I took a deep breath and smiled at the crowd. I picked up the microphone, feeling its weight in my sweaty hands. I was unusually nervous; but maybe this is how every man felt before proposal.The room quieted down as I began to speak.“Good evening, everyone,” I said, my voice steady. “Thank you all for being here tonight. It means the world to me that you could join us…”The faces in the crowd beamed. I saw my mom sitting in the front row, giving me a reassuring nod. Sasha’s parents were there too, looking proud and hopeful. My friends from college filled the tables, whispering excitedly to each other.“I have someone very special I want to call up here tonight,” I continued. “Sasha Armstrong, could you please join me?”The spotlight shift
ADELINE’S POVEveryone in the hall was speaking at once, talking animatedly and pointing hands. I sipped my drink, watching the chaos unfold around me. The news had hit everyone, and they all seemed shocked.“Sasha Armstrong was married all this while. I couldn’t believe it. How did she convince Xander she wasn’t married? Was he lying? What the hell was happening?” They saidCamera flashes lit up the room like fireworks.I sat at a table near the back, sipping my drink, watching everything play out. My eyes scanned the room, taking in the chaos. Sasha, in the middle of it all, suddenly fainted. I didn't buy it. Fainting was probably her way of escaping the mess.Xander looked utterly bewildered. He was speaking to Andre, Sasha’s husband, who seemed to be showing him their wedding photos.The confusion on Xander's face was unmistakable. He kept shaking his head, mumbling something I couldn’t hear from where I was sitting.I knew it was time to leave. I stood up, grabbed my purse, an
ADELINE’S POVFIVE YEARS AGOI and Sasha were polar opposites. I was the ugly sister who wore the most horrendous outfits, while Sasha was the cute, pretty sister. And the next day, my cute, pretty step sister would get married to the man I loved most, Xander. I watched them date, but there was nothing I could do about it. I stood no chance with him because she had made sure to humiliate me countless times in front of him, making sure he saw me as frumpy and ugly before they started dating.Some days earlier, she had found my hidden stash of love letters I wrote to Xander but never sent.Instead of her normal attitude of beating me and punishing me with her mother, she just smiled and said "This will serve my purpose just fine," and took the letters away. I didn’t understand what she meant but I was glad I wasn’t receiving punishment.Wedding preparations were ongoing, but I was in my room, weeping profusely. There was nothing I could do to stop it. There was no one coming to save
SASHA’S POVI screamed, crashing everything in my room, crying profusely, and dragging my hair. What was all this? What just happened? Not only did I not get engaged, but I was also publicly humiliated and shamed. How did Andre, my broke husband I ran away from, find me? And it wasn’t just any day. It was on my engagement day.I was so scared to check the messages on my phone. I didn’t want to see the messages, the sympathy or the mockery. I was a public embarrassment.The scene kept replaying over and over in my head. I could still see Xander’s face when he asked if I had been truly married before.His eyes were wide with shock and hurt, his voice trembling with disbelief."Is it true, Sasha? Were you really married before?"I could only shake my head no, my voice caught in my throat. The room felt like it was spinning. The whispers, the stares, everyone was looking at me.The only thing I could do, instead of wishing the ground would swallow me whole, was to pretend to faint.I fel
SASHA’S POVI sat on the cold floor of my bedroom, clutching my knees to my chest. Tears streamed down my face, and I couldn't stop them. How did everything go so wrong after the plans I made? I pulled my hair from the roots as if that would somehow pull out the hurt and sobbed uncontrollably.The door creaked open, and my mom stepped in. "Sasha?" she called softly. She crossed the room and knelt beside me, her eyes filled with concern. "Please, calm down. Don’t cry yourself to death we can figure this out."I looked up at her, my vision blurry with tears. "Xander doesn't trust me anymore," I choked out. "I can't face anyone after what happened. It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, and now it's all ruined. I'm humiliated, Mom. How can I ever show my face again?"She sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Sasha, you brought this on yourself by lying to everyone and running away because of money. But it doesn't matter now. We'll fix it, okay? We'll find a way."
XANDER’S POVI had gone to my private house and locked myself in for three days, shutting everyone out. What happened at the engagement had been too much, and I needed time alone. I switched off my phone, ignoring the calls and messages. I knew everyone was worried, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak to anyone, not even my mom.For three days, the only person I saw was the nurse. She came and went quietly, tending to me. I had caught a fever, probably from the stress and lack of sleep. The first day was the worst. I was burning up, my body drenched in sweat. My private nurse Mary, had brought cool clothes to place on my forehead, spoon-fed me soup, and made sure I took my medicine.“Xander, you need to drink more water,” Mary said, holding a glass to my lips. Her voice was soft.I took a sip, wincing at the effort. “Thanks, Mary,” I mumbled, my voice hoarse.She smiled, patting my hand. “Just rest. You’ll feel better soon.”I kept thinking of how I met Sasha. We had moved the fam
XANDER’S POVBy the afternoon, I felt well enough to leave the house. It was time to face the world again. I switched on my phone, bracing myself for the onslaught of messages. The screen lit up with notifications, over a thousand messages and calls. My heart sank as I scrolled through them. Most were from my mom, my friends and Sasha. I didn’t bother opening any of the messages or calling back. I wasn’t ready for that yet.I packed a few things, took a deep breath, and headed home.Xander!” my mom called immediately I got home, rushing over to hug me. She wrapped me in a tight hug."Where have you been? I was so worried."I hugged her back, feeling guilty for ignoring her. "I'm sorry, Mom," I said, "I didn't mean to make you worry."She pulled back, looking at me with concern "Do you know how worried I was? Why have you been ignoring my calls and Sashas’ too? We were both worried."I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Mom, I really don't want to talk about it right now. I'm to
SASHA’S POV"Sasha, is it true you ran away from your first marriage?" someone had asked, thrusting a microphone into my face.My vision blurred, my head spun, and the next thing I knew, everything went dark then I woke up. I groan getting out of bed, my head pounding. Reality followed me to my dreams now. I was going crazy with everything that had been happening. Everything was spinning out of control, and I was just trying to hold on. Xander hadn't picked up my calls or replied to my texts at all. After telling me to never show up at his house anymore, he had completely cut me off. I still remembered his face and voice"Sasha, I don’t want to see you again. Ever," I stood there, stunned, unable to believe what I was hearing. I thought it was a joke and he’d soon change his mind but he didn’t and I had no choice than to leave.I also deactivated all apps on my phone. Every news page called my engagement a failure. My face was at every corner of the internet; “Engagement Disaster!"