The wedding hall was filled with bright lights… and lies.
I stood there in my white dress, my hands shaking behind the bouquet of red roses.
Everyone was smiling.
Everyone was happy.
Except me.
My heart was beating loudly inside my chest.
Not because I was excited.
Because I was scared.
"Are you ready, Aisha?" my friend whispered beside me.
I didn't answer.
How could I be ready… when I knew my happiness was about to break?
The music started playing.
The doors slowly opened.
And then I saw him.
Daniel.
The man I had loved more than my own life.
He was walking towards me… smiling.
But something was wrong.
Because he was not walking alone.
He was holding another woman's hand.
My breath stopped.
The room started spinning slowly.
No… this must be a nightmare.
But it wasn't.
He stopped in front of me.
And then he spoke the words that shattered my world.
"I can't marry you."
Silence.
Complete silence.
"What do you mean?" I whispered.
He didn't look at me.
"I never loved you, Aisha. This marriage was just business for me."
The bouquet fell from my hands.
Tears filled my eyes, but I refused to cry loudly.
Not in front of all these people.
Not in front of him.
"Then why did you make me wait?" I asked quietly.
He finally looked at me.
But his eyes were cold.
"I had my reasons."
Reasons.
Just that word.
No apology.
No guilt.
Just reasons.
I felt someone grab my hand from behind.
Slowly, I turned around.
And my heart stopped again.
A tall man stood there… looking at me with deep dark eyes.
"Leave this place," he said calmly.
"Who are you?" I asked.
He smiled slightly.
"I am someone who hates seeing you cry."
And in that moment…
I didn't know whether my life was ending…
Or just beginning..