Flash Marriage: Accidental Marriage to the Billionaire

Sylvia POV

I turned around to see who was behind me, but the moment I did, my heel caught the hem of my gown.

A gasp escaped my lips.

I stumbled forward, already expecting the painful impact with the floor, but it never came. A strong arm wrapped around my waist and steadied me before I could fall.

For a brief moment, I found myself staring into a pair of dark eyes.

The man holding me looked unreal.

His features were sharp and striking, his expression cold, yet there was something about him that made it difficult to look away. Maybe under different circumstances I would have noticed more, but right now my mind was too exhausted to think about anything except the humiliation I had just suffered.

Realizing I was still in his arms, I quickly stepped back.

"I'm sorry," I said softly, lowering my head.

The last thing I needed was to embarrass myself in front of another stranger.

He was probably one of Vincent's associates anyway. Another person who had heard the whispers inside the hall. Another person who knew about the woman who thought she was getting married only to discover she wasn't the bride.

The thought alone made my chest ache.

I didn't want to stay here anymore.

I was tired of crying.

Tired of being stared at.

Tired of feeling like everyone was looking down on me.

All I wanted was to leave and figure out how to rebuild the life I had foolishly handed over to Vincent.

I had barely taken a few steps when a hand gently caught my wrist.

"I'm Vincenzo Morgan Sky."

I looked back at him.

The name doesn't sounds like someone I know.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," I said quickly. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble. And I'm not what those people said I was."

My voice almost broke at the end.

The laughter inside the hall echoed in my head.

The mocking looks, accusations and pity.

For a moment, it felt like I was standing in that hall all over again.

"I'll leave now," I added quietly.

But his next words stopped me. "I know you're not."

I blinked.

His gaze remained fixed on me.

"You're not what they think you are," he said calmly. "You're someone who trusted the wrong person and ended up paying the price for it."

Something tightened painfully inside my chest.

Because that was exactly what happened.

Not a crazy woman, a liar or a maid trying to ruin a wedding.

Just someone who had loved the wrong man.

And somehow, hearing a stranger say it hurt more than all the insults combined.

"Thank you for believing me," I said softly. "I'll leave now and stop humiliating myself any further."

I turned to go, but his voice stopped me.

"I can help you with this."

I looked back at him, stunned.."Help me how?" I asked. "How exactly can you help me?"

A faint smile touched his lips.

"I'm the enemy of the man inside that hall. If you join forces with me and bring him down, wouldn't that be satisfying?"

For a moment, I simply stared at him.

Then I laughed, not because it was funny, but it sounded impossible.

"You must be joking."

I shook my head and looked away.

"Even if I wanted revenge, even if I wanted to prove to the world that I'm not the woman he painted me to be, what exactly do I have?" My voice cracked slightly. "Nothing."

The word lingered between us. "You know what my biggest mistake was?" I asked quietly. "I refused to accept that Vincent was completely out of my league. I kept believing love was enough."

A bitter smile pulled at my lips.

"It doesn't matter how honest or hardworking a poor person is. The moment someone powerful decides to tell a lie, people believe them. We become the liars. We become the crazy ones."

Tears blurred my vision again.

I hated crying.

Especially in front of a stranger.

But today felt like one long nightmare I couldn't wake up from.

"The painful part isn't even that he married someone else." I swallowed hard. "It's that I spent months planning all of this."

My gaze drifted toward the hotel.

"I made the reservations. I picked the flowers. I chose the decorations. I handled every detail because I thought I was planning my wedding."

My chest tightened.

"And not once... not even once... did he tell me the truth."

The tears finally slipped free.

"He watched me work myself to exhaustion. He watched me get excited over a future that was never mine. For five years, I trusted him completely, and all he did was make a fool out of me."

I quickly wiped my face.

Crying wouldn't change anything.

Neither would standing here.

"You can't understand that kind of pain," I said quietly. "Someone like you probably hasn't experienced this before."

I took a step back.

"So thank you for your concern, but I don't have the money, power, or connections it would take to fight Vincent Sky. I'll leave, rebuild my life, and maybe one day I'll be strong enough to face him."

I turned to leave.

His hand closed around mine, the warmth of his touch made me pause.

When I looked back, his expression had changed,.there was something dark in his eyes.."I've experienced more betrayal than you can imagine."

His voice was calm.

The kind of calm that usually came after surviving a storm.

"You think you're the only person who's trusted the wrong people?"

My breath caught.

"You don't need resources," he continued. "I already have them."

A strange feeling settled in my stomach..Nothing about this conversation felt normal anymore.

"And what would that cost me?" I asked carefully.

His gaze held mine..For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then he finally answered.."You'll marry me."

I blinked.

My mind went completely blank.

"You'll get your revenge," he continued as if he had suggested something perfectly reasonable. "And in return, I get something I want."

I stared at him.

Surely I had heard him wrong.

"What?"

My brows furrowed as I searched his face for any sign that he was joking.

But There wasn't one..