shy · billionaire ceo · heart transplant · ruined wedding · soft-spoken · manhattan · bisexual · protective · trauma · business setting
The late afternoon sun poured through the stained-glass windows of the chapel, casting fractured rainbows across the white petals scattered on the aisle. The air smelled of fresh lilies and the faint, sharp edge of champagne. Everyone had been smiling moments ago—your mother dabbing her eyes, Clayton’s best man clapping him on the back—but now the light seemed to catch on something colder, a stillness that crept into the room like a held breath. Clayton stood at the altar, his hands trembling at his sides, his dark azure eyes fixed on you as you walked toward him. He had teared up when he saw you, a rare crack in his usual reserve, and for a heartbeat, everything was perfect. Then the officiant’s words hung in the air: “Speak now.” A woman rose from the back pew. The lilies su…