I stood in the middle of the hall. My dress soaked in wine. The sharp sweet smell clung to my skin like a second humiliation. I stood there, trying to process it all.

I tried to understand what I had done wrong. Nothing came.

The air conditioning felt cold against my wet chest. But it was nothing compared to the burn in my chest.

I finally looked up. And looked at all the people in the room. One after the other. My eyes finally landed on Alessia.

My sister.

A small, broken laugh slipped out of me. Then I looked at the man standing beside her.

Vincent Grant.

The man I had spent years loving. And he just destroyed me in front of everyone who mattered in this city.

My eyes felt heavy, My mouth was dry. My heart felt like it was being pulled out of my chest, while I stood there and watched.

Tonight was supposed to be one of the happiest nights of my life. I was finally getting engaged to him. The man of my dreams. A man I had spent years chasing after. And finally, we were getting engaged and I was to become Mrs Grant.

If you were wondering how I got here—

I had gotten off work early so I could get ready. I didn't want to risk being late for my own engagement.

I had called him several times to check in and see how things were going on his end. But every call went straight to voicemail. I told myself it was nothing. Men like Vincent were always busy.

The engagement party was set for seven PM and I was ready by six-thirty. I quickly left my apartment and drove off to the venue. I was excited that what I had waited for, for so long, was about to happen.

By the time I got there, the guests had started arriving. I got in and started greeting them while trying to hide how awkward it was that I didn't arrive with him.

The waiters were moving around and serving everyone drinks while I had to draw myself away from the guests, as it was getting tiring and exhausting. My father finally arrived. With his 'wife'. But there was still no sign of the man I was to be engaged to.

I walked up to meet my father. "Good evening, Dad. Thanks for coming. Thank you, too." I forced the words out, referring to my stepmother. She just ignored me and walked off. I was now left with my dad.

"I don't see your fiancé anywhere."

"He'll soon be here, Dad."

"I sure hope he does. I do not want any embarrassment tonight." I just looked at him and said nothing. And he left me to go be with his wife.

Vincent wasn't here yet. I was starting to get very anxious. I instructed the band to play a very nice piece to keep the guests entertained.

It was past eight when Vincent finally walked in. He wasn't alone.

Alessia was on his arm. He came late for what was supposed to be our engagement party and still had the nerve to show up with my pretty, glammed-up sister.

The room shifted toward him the way it always did. Money and power had that effect.

When I reached him, I smiled at him and tried taking his hands but he looked at me so coldly and moved away from me.

Um...okay. I looked at my sister and saw her looking at me with a smirk on her face.

I wondered what was going through her mind. As if it wasn't weird enough that she arrived at my engagement with the man I was supposed to marry, she was dressed like she was the star of the occasion. I decided to ignore her and focus on Vincent, who was now walking away.

I walked towards him in hurried footsteps and caught up with him. He glanced at me, standing beside him. His eyes were stone cold.

Vincent wasn't one to show affection but tonight he seemed distant. Like a total stranger, even.

I masked whatever I was feeling with a smile and gestured for us to start. Again, he totally ignored me and cleared his throat.

The band got the signal to stop, and so did everyone else. My father was seated, watching us. Soon the room went silent.

"Good evening, everyone." His deep voice rang out. "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to be here. I'm sorry for being late. I got caught up with some issues." His eyes flicked to me for half a second.

I looked back at him in confusion. Little did I know that I was about to receive the greatest surprise of my life.

"The engagement will no longer be happening."

The room went dead silent at first before the whispers started.

"Did he just call off the engagement?"

"I think I heard wrong. What?!"

"Oh, the poor girl..."

And just like that, he sent my whole world spiraling. I tried to process what I just heard. I looked at him and saw that his eyes were elsewhere.

"Vi... Vincent." I stuttered. "Tell me you don't mean that." And he looked at me with an icy look on his face and ignored me again.

My father stood. "Would you mind explaining why?"

"I found out that your daughter slept with some man a few days ago. And from what I saw, it seemed like it wasn't the first time."

Gasps rippled through the room. I stood there, frozen. Unable to grasp what was happening right now. Before I could think of something to say, a screen lit up in front of the room. Blurred images of me and a man were being displayed.

The comments turned ugly fast.

"Is that really her?"

"That doesn't look fake."

"She's really disgusting. Oh my God."

"And to think I was pitying her a few seconds ago."

My father walked up to me. I finally found my voice.

"Dad, I didn't do it. You have to believe me—"

He slapped me across the face. My cheek started to burn. I felt my head sway from the impact.

"There's nothing to say. We can all see the pictures."

"That's right." Alessia chimed in. "With how highly you parade yourself, I never thought you could stoop this low."

Vincent's voice was heard behind her. "What she has done is unforgivable. But I will honor the agreement between our families and pardon her."

"Thank you. I'm terribly sorry for the embarrassment she has caused."

My stepmother spun out of nowhere, grabbed a glass of wine from the nearby table, and splashed it all over me. "You're such a disgrace."

She turned to Vincent. "I'm sorry for my daughter's actions. Our second daughter, Alessia, is well-mannered, intelligent, and very much single. Perhaps, you might consider her instead."

And I just stood there...

"I will bear that in mind." In a span of seconds, my body moved faster than my mind, and I gripped him. "I didn't do it. Vincent, you have to believe me. I didn't do it. This was a setup. It has to be-"

And without so much as a glance at me, he yanked my hand off and strode out. His escort following right behind him.

My Dad's voice reached my ears. "You shall be thoroughly dealt with for the humiliation you've brought us today." And he walked past me and left.

Alessia was smiling at me. She came close and whispered in my ear, "You don't always get what you want. Dear sister." And she too left.

So I was left standing alone. Under the judging eyes of the guests. Their mocking glances and their hateful comments.

Trying to process what just happened, while trying not to get buried under the immense pain and shame I was feeling.

I broke.

But even as I broke, something colder and older stirred under the pain.

My name is Leighton Reed.