MELISSA'S POV
"Let's give them a wedding they'll never forget," I said, squeezing Dominic's hand.
We ran down the hotel stairs as fire alarms screamed around us. Hotel staff rushed past, evacuating guests. Through the windows, I could see two hundred wedding guests gathering in the parking lot, confused and scared.
And in the middle of them stood Sienna with a microphone.
"She's already started," Grace said, running up beside us. She'd found us in the chaos, her face flushed with anger. "Melissa, she's telling everyone you seduced Dominic months ago. She's saying you're a gold digger who planned this whole thing!"
"Then we need to get out there before she destroys us completely," Dominic said.
Charles Romano moved surprisingly fast for an old man with a cane. "Marcus, you're coming with me. We're going to have a very long conversation about loyalty and betrayal."
"Father, please—" Marcus begged, but Charles just glared at him.
"Move."
Blake stood frozen, staring at his mother. "Are you coming or staying?"
Elena looked torn for the first time since she'd arrived. "Blake, honey—"
"Don't call me that," Blake said coldly. "You're not my mother anymore. My mother died ten years ago. You're just a stranger who looks like her." He turned and followed us down the stairs.
I felt a strange twist in my chest. Blake had betrayed me, humiliated me, broken my heart. But watching him reject his own mother—even a mother who'd faked her death—made me see him differently. He wasn't just a spoiled rich boy. He was someone who'd been hurt too.
We burst through the hotel doors into the parking lot. All two hundred guests turned to stare at us. Camera phones came out immediately. Flashes went off like lightning.
Sienna stood on a makeshift platform—probably meant for the wedding photographer—with her microphone and speakers. "—and that's why Dominic Romano is a predator who seduced his own son's fiancée!" she was saying. "Melissa Hart is a—"
"A woman who's had enough of your lies," I said loudly, walking straight toward her.
Sienna's eyes widened. She hadn't expected us to come outside. She'd thought we'd hide.
"Melissa!" she said into her microphone, fake sympathy dripping from her voice. "I know this must be hard for you, but these people deserve to know the truth—"
"You're right," I said, grabbing the microphone from her hand. "They do deserve the truth. So let me tell them."
I turned to face two hundred shocked faces. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might explode. But I wasn't going to run anymore. I wasn't going to hide.
"My name is Melissa Hart," I said into the microphone. "And yes, I was supposed to marry Blake Romano today. But one hour before the wedding, I walked in on him having sex with my best friend Sienna in our honeymoon suite."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. People started whispering. Camera phones recorded everything.
"Blake and Sienna have been having an affair for six months," I continued. "While I was planning our wedding, picking out flowers, tasting cakes, choosing songs—Blake was sleeping with the woman I trusted most in the world."
More gasps. I saw some of the women in the crowd glaring at Blake and Sienna. Good.
"And when I caught them," I said, my voice getting stronger, "Blake didn't apologize. He told me I was boring. He told me I was ordinary. He called off the wedding and told me to go home like I was nothing."
I could see tears in some people's eyes. They were listening. They believed me.
"Then I met Dominic Romano," I said. "Blake's father. A man I'd never met before today because he was too busy running his company. And do you know what Dominic did when he saw what his son had done to me?"
"He seduced you!" Sienna screamed. "He took advantage of you when you were vulnerable!"
"He offered me respect," I said loudly, drowning her out. "He offered me a choice. He said I could let Blake and Sienna walk away laughing, or I could stand up and fight back. So I chose to fight."
Dominic stepped up beside me, taking my hand. The crowd went crazy with camera flashes.
"I asked Melissa to marry me," Dominic said, his deep voice carrying across the parking lot without a microphone. "Not because I'm trying to hurt my son. Not because I'm a predator. But because in one hour, I saw more strength and courage in this woman than I've seen in anyone in ten years. She deserves better than Blake. And I intend to give it to her."
"This is insane!" Sienna shouted. "You're his father! It's sick and wrong and—"
"It's love," said a voice behind us.
We all turned. Elena stood there, and she looked different—smaller, somehow. Less confident.
"Mom?" Blake said, surprised.
Elena walked slowly toward the crowd. "I'm Elena Romano. Dominic's ex-wife. And I've been dead for ten years." She paused, letting that sink in. "Except I wasn't really dead. I faked my death because I thought Dominic had betrayed me. I spent ten years planning revenge with his brother Marcus. I helped create this scandal to destroy him."
The crowd was completely silent now. You could hear a pin drop.
"But watching Melissa stand here and fight for herself," Elena continued, her voice shaking, "I realized something. I've been angry for so long that I forgot what real strength looks like. Melissa lost everything today—her fiancé, her best friend, her wedding, her dignity. And instead of running away, she's standing here fighting back. That's courage. That's real love."
She looked at Dominic. "I'm sorry. For everything. You didn't betray me. I betrayed you. I betrayed our son. I betrayed our family. And I'm going to spend the rest of my life making it right."
Dominic stared at his ex-wife. "Elena—"
"Marry her," Elena said. "Marry Melissa. Be happy. You deserve it. And Blake..." She looked at her son. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I'm going to try to earn it anyway."
Blake was crying again. "I don't know if I can forgive you."
"I know," Elena said softly. "But I'm going to try anyway."
Charles Romano stepped forward with his cane. "Now that we've had our family therapy session in front of two hundred witnesses, shall we continue? There's still the matter of the fire, the corporate conspiracy, and the woman who's been manipulating everyone."
We all turned to look at Sienna. She was backing away slowly, reaching for her phone.
"Oh no you don't," Grace said, appearing out of nowhere and snatching Sienna's phone. "You're not calling for backup."
"I don't need backup," Sienna said, her sweet mask completely gone. "You all think you've won? You're idiots. Marcus has fifty percent of the company shares already. Elena's confession means nothing—there's no evidence she helped plan anything. The board still wants Dominic out. And in about thirty seconds, you're all going to see why."
"Why?" I asked. "What happens in thirty seconds?"
Sienna smiled her most evil smile. "The video drops."
"What video?" Dominic demanded.
"The real video," Sienna said. "Not the edited one I showed you before. The real, uncut footage of Melissa and Dominic in that hotel room. You two were so focused on each other you didn't notice the camera hidden in the lamp. And the things you said to each other..." She laughed. "Let's just say it's going to be very clear this wasn't a one-day romance. It's going to look like you've been planning this affair for months."
My blood ran cold. "You're lying. We just met today—"
"Are you sure about that?" Sienna asked. "Check your phone, Melissa. Check the date on this photo."
She held up her phone. On the screen was a photo of me and Dominic together—but we were in different clothes. And according to the timestamp, it was taken three months ago.
"That's impossible," I whispered. "I've never met Dominic before today."
"Haven't you?" Sienna's smile grew wider. "Or maybe you just don't remember."
Dominic's face had gone completely white. "The accident," he whispered. "Three months ago. The car accident."
"What car accident?" I asked.
"You were in a car accident three months ago," Sienna said helpfully. "Don't you remember, Melissa? You were in the hospital for two days. You had a concussion. The doctors said you might have some memory loss." She tilted her head. "What if you lost more than you thought? What if you forgot meeting Dominic? What if this whole thing really was an affair, and you just can't remember?"
The world was spinning. I did have a car accident three months ago. I did have memory loss. But I couldn't have met Dominic—could I?
"Melissa," Dominic said urgently. "Look at me."
I looked at him. His gray eyes were intense and desperate.
"Have we met before today?" I whispered. "Tell me the truth."
Before Dominic could answer, his phone buzzed. Then mine. Then everyone's phones in the parking lot.
The video had dropped.
And it was going viral.