He Missed Our Wedding, So I Married His Enemy Chapter 01

He Missed Our Wedding, So I Married His Enemy Chapter 01

ALESSIA

I waited outside the Manhattan marriage bureau for four hours.

Lorenzo Salvi never came.

Two black cars belonging to the Bellandi family sat across the street.

Every ten minutes, one of my bodyguards glanced at me.

No one came over to hurry me.

No one dared ask why the future heir of the Salvi family had left his fiancee standing alone on the sidewalk.

Several groups of newlyweds entered and left while I waited.

Every couple looked at me as they passed.

They might not have known who I was.

They still understood that my groom had abandoned me.

Before the office closed at five, I called Lorenzo one last time.

He did not answer.

I opened Instagram to message him.

Instead, I saw the photograph he had just posted.

A young woman stood before a floor-to-ceiling window.

Long golden hair fell over her bare shoulders.

Lorenzo’s hand rested on her waist.

The caption said:

You are my sunshine.

Smaller words appeared in the corner.

My true love.

I stared at those words and laughed.

Today, Lorenzo and I were supposed to register our marriage.

Next month, two hundred guests would watch us complete the alliance between the Bellandi and Salvi families.

Now my fiance was standing beside another woman and calling her his true love in public.

Comments had already appeared beneath the post.

Finally public. Congratulations.

The future Mrs. Salvi is beautiful.

You hid her well, Lorenzo.

Those people were Lorenzo’s closest friends.

Some were supposed to stand beside him as groomsmen next month.

Not one thought anything was wrong.

Not one mentioned my name.

Only one comment was different.

That isn’t Alessia.

Lorenzo, did you forget to switch to your private account?

The man who wrote it was Carlos Varela.

Lorenzo’s most feared enemy.

Within minutes, every other comment disappeared.

Lorenzo deleted the photograph.

It did not matter.

I had already taken a screenshot.

The location attached to the post led to a private club owned by the Salvi family.

The Silver Room.

It was less than twenty minutes away.

I put my phone in my purse and walked toward the cars across the street.

A bodyguard opened the door.

“Back to the Bellandi estate?”

“No.”

I handed the driver the address.

“Take me to the Silver Room.”

The Silver Room did not serve the public.

There was no sign outside.

Six guards in black suits stood at the entrance.

They recognized me.

No one checked my purse or asked for a reservation.

Until that day, everyone believed I was about to become the mistress of the Salvi family.

Male laughter came from the private room on the top floor.

The moment I opened the door, it stopped.

Lorenzo sat in the center of a long leather sofa.

There was only one woman beside him.

Camilla Rinaldi.

The woman in the photograph.

She leaned against Lorenzo’s shoulder with a glass of champagne in her hand.

One man rose, his face white.

“Alessia…”

I recognized him.

Half an hour earlier, he had congratulated Lorenzo and Camilla.

I looked at him.

“So you’re all here.”

No one answered.

Lorenzo finally stood and approached me.

“How did you find this place?”

I ignored the question.

“Do you know what day it is?”

He stopped.

So he had not forgotten.

Lorenzo took my hand and softened his voice.

“That photograph was part of a game. I lost, and they forced me to post it.”

“Did the game also make you miss our appointment?”

His expression tightened.

“The family has too much happening right now.”

“I’m trying to win the council’s support. Marriage would only distract me.”

He sounded completely sincere.

As if he were the one who had waited alone for four hours.

I withdrew my hand.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I planned to explain tonight.”

“After you finished drinking champagne with Camilla?”

Lorenzo frowned.

He disliked that tone from me.

Camilla stood.

“You should understand him, Alessia.”

“Lorenzo is about to take control of the Salvi family. He has more important things to consider than a wedding.”

I turned toward her.

“You understand my fiance that well?”

She lifted her chin.

“We’ve only spoken a few times.”

Only a few times.

Yet she believed she could decide whether our marriage was a burden.

Lorenzo and I had known each other for ten years.

We had been engaged for two.

To help him defeat his half brother, I convinced my father to open the Bellandi freight network to him.

I persuaded our family council to give Lorenzo its votes.

Now I needed another woman to tell me he was not ready to marry.

I looked at him.

“Is that what you believe too?”

He was silent for several seconds.

“I’m sorry, Alessia.”

I nodded.

“Then the wedding is canceled.”

Relief passed over Lorenzo’s face.

He took my hand again and even smiled.

“I knew you would understand.”

“When my position as heir is secure, I’ll give you a grander wedding.”

“Everyone will know you’re the wife of the Salvi family.”

I looked at him and wondered what kind of man I had loved for ten years.

“That won’t be necessary.”

His smile disappeared.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the wedding isn’t the only thing being canceled.”

I removed my engagement ring and placed it in his palm.

“Our engagement ends here.”

“The alliance between the Bellandi and Salvi families ends with it.”

Color slowly drained from Lorenzo’s face.