“One hour before my wedding, I heard my fiancé say some words that left us all speechless: ‘I never loved him…’”

“My fiancé didn’t walk me down the aisle to hug and kiss me on our wedding day. The guests started whispering and calling him a ‘runaway groom,’ a coward. But it seemed like everyone’s world stopped when suddenly the church’s giant LED screen opened and a live video feed from the hospital appeared…”

The Day of Dreams and Waiting.
I’m Clara, I’m twenty-seven years old. Today is my dream wedding to the man I love most, Gabriel. Gabriel is a kind, caring, and dedicated firefighter. Although he’s not as rich as my family, I fought for him against my prejudiced relatives.

I stood before the altar of a large, ornate church, wearing my beautiful white dress. Two hours had passed since the scheduled wedding time, but Gabriel still hadn’t arrived.

He hadn’t sent me any messages. He hadn’t called me. Nor could I contact his godfather.

The church was beginning to fill with noise. The five hundred guests murmured. The nervousness she felt in her chest gradually transformed into intense fear and trembling.

The Cruel Whispers
My aunt Sylvia, the relative I detested most, approached me. She had her arms crossed and a mocking smile.

“I’m telling you, Clara,” Aunt Sylvia said sharply, and the people in front heard her. “He’s a coward! You chose a runaway fiancé! That starving man must have thought he couldn’t match our wealth, so he ran away to avoid the shame!”

“Auntie, please, maybe something happened to her,” I replied, crying and clutching my bouquet of flowers tightly.

“What happened? Oh, he ran away from you! He humiliated our whole family in front of so many people!” my cousin shouted.

Some guests began to get up. They thought the wedding would never happen. I wiped away my tears. Gabriel wouldn’t leave me. He promised.

The priest was about to announce the cancellation of the wedding when the church door suddenly opened behind him.

The lights on the screen
turned on. Mark, Gabriel’s godfather, entered. His robe was wrinkled, he was sweating profusely, and his face was streaked with tears. He ran trembling toward the altar, his cell phone in his hand.

“Mark! Where’s Gabriel?” I asked through tears.

Mark couldn’t speak through his sobs. He handed a cable to the church’s audiovisual technician and connected it to his phone.

—L-Look… —Mark ordered, trembling.

Suddenly, the church lights went out. The large LED screen behind the altar lit up.

The entire church fell silent. The guests who had been laughing and cursing seemed to have lost their voices. I was speechless. I felt my heart stop.

A live video call appeared on the screen. But it wasn’t from the room where the groom was getting ready. It was from a hospital emergency room.

The Hero at the Altar
In the video, Gabriel lay in a hospital bed. He was still wearing his white wedding tuxedo, but it was torn and soaked with his own blood. He had an oxygen mask over his mouth and several tubes connected to his body. The heart monitor beside him emitted a rapid, weak beep.

“G-Gabriel… Oh my God!” I screamed and fell to my knees in front of the altar, sobbing. The people inside the church began to cry. My relatives who had insulted him covered their mouths, shocked and ashamed.

Gabriel lowered his oxygen mask slightly. Although it was difficult for him, he forced a smile when he saw me on the screen.

“C-Clara… I love you…”, Gabriel’s broken and hoarse voice echoed through the church speakers.

“W-What happened?! Mark, what happened to him?!” I yelled at Mark.

“W-We’re on our way…” the godfather sobbed. “A school bus lost its brakes and almost went over a cliff… Gabriel crashed our car into the bus to block it… He saved thirty children, Clara… but he got stuck.”

The weeping in the church grew louder. Aunt Sylvia, who had called him a coward, also fell to her knees and wept with deep remorse. The man they called the “runaway bridegroom” didn’t run from me; he ran toward death to save another life.

The final words:
“Honey… don’t cry,” Gabriel whispered in the video, reaching for the phone camera. “You look so beautiful in your dress… I’m sorry… I can’t hug you right now…”

“Gabriel, I’m coming! Wait for me! Don’t leave me!” I shouted, about to get up and run out of the church.

“N-No, Clara… n-no, he won’t be long,” he replied weakly. He coughed up blood, and the nurses behind him panicked.

An hour before my wedding, I heard my fiancé utter words that left us all stunned: “I never loved him… I only married him for his wealth.” I thought I would be an obedient wife, but I didn’t know that the altar he was walking to would be the thorn in his side, the cause of his downfall.

The Day of My Dreams.
I’m Isabella, twenty-eight years old. As the sole heir to the Vergara Empire, I own the largest chain of luxury resorts in Asia. Despite my wealth, I thought I’d found true happiness with Marcus. Handsome, loving, and always by my side.

Today is our big wedding. It was held in an exclusive glass cathedral overlooking the sea. We invited five hundred of the richest and most influential people in the country. I was wearing my million-dollar wedding dress and was ready to give my entire life and half of my company to the man I loved.

An hour before the ceremony, I thought about going to Marcus’s dressing room to give him my wedding gift: the key to the new sports car he had always dreamed of.

But as I approached the door of her room, which was ajar, the words I heard stopped my heart.

The secret behind the door
“Relax, darling. In one hour, that billionaire will be tied to me,” said Marcus’s familiar voice, mixed with a terrifying laugh.

“Make sure, Marcus. I’m bored,” replied a familiar female voice. It was Chloe! My best friend and bridesmaid!

I opened my eyes wide. I slowly peered through the crack in the door. I saw Chloe with her arms around Marcus’s neck, the two of them shamelessly kissing in their wedding dresses.

“Don’t worry,” Marcus whispered, stroking Chloe’s hair. “I never loved her. She’s a disgusting person. I’m only marrying her for her wealth. Tomorrow she’ll sign the bailout funds to save our bankrupt company. Then we’ll find a way to make him look like a fool and take over the entire Vergara Empire.”

“My husband is very intelligent,” Chloe replied, laughing.

My whole body was trembling. I felt like my soul was being torn apart. The man I was going to marry, my best friend, had plotted to steal me away and destroy me! A tear rolled down my cheek. I pulled out my phone and secretly recorded their conversation from outside the door.

The Cold Awakening
I quickly returned to my dressing room. I dried my tears and touched up my makeup. The pain and love in my heart vanished, quickly replaced by a burning, deadly hatred.

I called my lead attorney and my head of security. I gave them strict orders that they had to follow in just one hour. You want to play? Well, I’ll make sure you don’t miss a single button.

The wedding day arrived. The cathedral’s grand doors opened. Beautiful music filled the air. I walked down the aisle, radiant and perfect. I saw Marcus standing at the altar, smiling sweetly, pretending to cry tears of joy. Beside him stood Chloe, also smiling like an innocent friend.

Demons disguised as angels, I thought.

The Outburst of Truth
When I reached the altar, Marcus took my hand. His hands were cold, but he didn’t notice because he was so happy to receive my money.

The priest began. Upon reaching the most important part of the ceremony, the priest asked: “Isabella Vergara, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in prosperity and in adversity, until death do you part?”

The entire church fell silent. I looked into Marcus’s eyes. His smile was full of hope.

“No,” I replied coldly and firmly.

Marcus frowned. The 500 guests began to murmur.

“Honey? What are you talking about? You’re just nervous.” Marcus forced a laugh, trying to grab my hand, but I pulled it away firmly.

I approached the priest and took the microphone. I addressed the guests, who were bewildered. “I apologize to everyone. There will be no wedding today. Because the man before you is a parasite and a fraud.”

“Isabella! Are you crazy?” Marcus’s mother shouted from the front.

“Why don’t we listen to your son’s explanation?” I replied coldly. I signaled to the audiovisual team I had hired earlier.

Suddenly, the voice he had recorded an hour ago resonated through the cathedral’s large loudspeakers.

—I never loved him… After the marriage.