Chapter 4 Chapter Four
Riana stood at the altar, her heartbeat thundering in her chest. In front of her, Brian grinned smugly and just behind him, Fred was also grinning.
Her fists curled tightly at her sides. How dare they smile? How dare they look so proud after their betrayal? She wanted nothing more than to wipe the smugness off their faces. But she reminded herself that it was just a matter of minutes before everything would change.
Earlier, before the ceremony began, she had arrived with Xander and had told him to stay hidden until she gave the signal.
“I’m so happy you’re finally going to be mine,” Brian whispered, still smiling.
Riana forced a smile. Her eyes darted toward Grace, her best friend, standing off to the side in her flower girl’s gown.
Grace has been asking questions all morning, sensing something was wrong. But Riana hadn’t said a word to her, not even to her own parents.
“Me too,” Riana murmured, the words tasting like ash on her tongue.
Brian giggled softly.
The priest lifted his hands.
“Brethren, we’re gathered here today to witness the union of our son, Brian Stone, and our daughter, Riana Theodore. If anyone here knows a reason why this marriage should not take place, speak now or forever hold your peace.”
The silence that followed was heavy.
“I do.”
The words fell like a thunderclap, and it was two voices at once. Riana and
Fred’s voice.
The silence of the church shattered as the congregation erupted in gasps.
Riana’s head snapped toward Fred with confusion and shock written all over her face. But Fred didn’t even look at her, his eyes were locked on Brian, unflinching. “This lady I call a sister, is a bitch who cheated on her fiance with an unknown man just last night.”
Riana froze.
Brian stiffened, his grin collapsing into tight-lipped tension.
And then, before anyone could even recover, “I do too,” a commanding voice rang from the back of the church. “Because the woman you’re about to marry is my wife.”
All heads turned.
Riana’s breath caught in her throat. Xander was striding down the aisle in his tall grey suit enclosed frame. His eyes were fixed on Riana alone.
Riana felt Brian’s body went more rigid beside her.
“Brother,” Brian muttered.
Xander stopped mid-step and his eyes widened as his gaze landed on the man standing as groom beside Riana.
His legs turned to stone.
“Elijah…” he whispered.
Gasps filled the air again. Riana’s brows furrowed. Elijah? Who’s Elijah?
Her unspoken question was answered when she caught movement to her left. Brian’s father had surged to his feet, face red with fury.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Xander?!” he roared.
Xander couldn’t move nor couldn’t speak. His throat tightened as the horrifying truth crashed over him. The woman he'd spent the night with, the woman he was going to marry was standing here as his stepbrother’s bride. How? How could he not have known all these years about both of them? He hadn't even seen Riana's picture before. But you and your brother are sworn enemies, remember?
“H…he’s your brother?” Riana’s voice broke.
Brian’s head jerked toward her, panic flickering across his face. “Y-yes… but what’s he talking about?”
Riana staggered back a step. “Oh God… oh God, what’ve I done?”
Her chest heaved, her tears spilling freely now. She couldn’t breathe.
Without waiting for another word, she grabbed her gown, bunching the fabric in her fists as she ran out of the church, the cries of the guests echoing behind her.
“Riana!” voices shouted after her. “Stop!”
She couldn't nor could she.
How could this happen? How had Brian turned into Elijah right before her eyes? And the man she'd shamelessly slept with too…? Oh God!
She kept running, blinded by grief, rage and humiliation that she didn’t look at the road as a car came out of nowhere, hitting her.
The impact sent her crashing to the asphalt. Gasps and screams erupted around her. “Someone call an ambulance!” “She’s bleeding!”
Blood pooled rapidly, staining her white gown crimson. All she was feeling was pain, everywhere.
Through the haze, her eyes searched desperately until they found Xander who was forcing his way through the shocked crowd. His piercing blue eyes bore into hers, wide with horror, raw with pain.
And as her vision dimmed, her final thought came in a whisper of despair: Is this really how she die? If only she'd stayed… if only she'd married Xander as planned… at least she would’ve died fulfilled. At least she would’ve had her revenge.
Her eyes fluttered shut and the world went silent.
Six Years Later
Who’s she?
That question still haunted Riana, even after six long years.
Yes, she’d survived. But when she’d opened her eyes in the hospital all those years ago, no family, no friends, no familiar faces had been there. Only a doctor had stood beside her bed, informing her l that she’d been in an accident, that she had been in a coma for two weeks and her survival was nothing short of a miracle.
The reason for the accident was what she had no memory of it, not even a single fragment.
All she had were the scars it left behind. Her face bore a little jagged mark that her makeup covers. But, the worst part was the severe amnesia that had wiped away her past.
No one from her family had came to claim her. For years she told herself maybe she didn’t have one.
The only thing she had was her name, Riana. The doctor had said one of the men who brought her in had whispered it, refusing to leave her side. But by the time she had woken, that man was gone.
Still, another miracle had risen from the ashes of her broken life. She had rebuilt herself piece by piece.
She was now Riri, the lawyer who had carved a name for herself in New York, feared in courtrooms and respected for cracking the hardest cases.
A notification suddenly pinged in her phone and she looked to see it was from one of her clients who'd been contacting her for some days now for his boss whom he said was unconscious from an accident.
“Riri,” a familiar warm voice called.
It was Georgina, her best friend, the only person who’d shown her kindness when she first stumbled into New York with nothing but pain and confusion. Over the years, Georgina had become her family.
Georgina appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. “You've got a call from Xavier’s principal.” she handed Riana her second phone.
Riana looked up from the case files spread across her desk, her heartbeat giving an unexpected lurch at the name.
Xavier's her six-year-old son. He was another miracle and mystery.
Six years ago, barely recovered from her accident, she had discovered she was pregnant. She hadn’t known how it happened. Maybe she’d once had a husband or a lover, she couldn’t remember, and no one had ever come forward. All she knew was that life had taken everything from her, yet placed something extraordinary in her hands which was her son.
And she had named him Xavier. She didn’t know why that name had pulled at her heart, but it had. Something about it felt right.
“Really?” Riana arched a brow, reaching out to take the phone from Georgina’s hand.
“Hello, ma’am,” she greets, pressing the phone to her ear.
“Ma’am Riana,” the principal’s voice came. “Could you please come to the school right away? It’s about Xavier.”
“What? Why? Is there something wrong with my son?” She was already rising from her seat.
Xavier's a good boy. Teachers praised him endlessly. He was never the child to cause trouble. So why now?
“No, no, it’s nothing like that. Just… Please be here as soon as possible. I’ll be expecting you.”
The line clicked dead.
“Riri?” Georgina’s eyes narrowed with concern. “What did she say happened?”
Riana lowered the phone slowly, her pulse still racing. “I don’t know,” she admitted. She moved toward her room, already tugging off her blazer. “But I’m going to find out. I just hope my son is alright.”
“Ma’am Riana, the reason I’ve called you here is to report Xavier. He’s been exhibiting some behavior lately which is very unlike him.” The principal reported.
“What do you mean, ma’am?”
The principal shook her head. “He’s made it a habit to bully his classmates. At first, we dismissed it as a phase, but it persisted. Yesterday, he even beat another child. That’s why I couldn’t keep this from you any longer.”
Riana gasped. “No… not my Xavier. He…he would never…”
Her sweet boy? A bully? How? Why? What changed?
“I’m deeply sorry, ma’am,” Riana whispered hurriedly. “I promise I’ll talk to him. I’ll discipline him. He—”
But her words trailed off when she noticed the principal’s eyes weren’t on her anymore. They were fixed on the TV mounted high in the corner of the office. It had been murmuring random news in the background since she arrived. Riana barely spared it a glance until she saw the principal’s face shift.
“I’ll handle it, ma’am,” Riana insisted, rising to her feet. “And I truly apologize for any inconvenience this has caused—”
Her apology was cut short by the voice of the newscaster.
“Breaking news. Billionaire Xander Elberta, who just days ago survived a brutal assassination attempt, has now been involved in a fatal accident and is in coma. Doctors are uncertain if he has any chance of survival. This raises questions: are these incidents mere coincidences, or is someone truly after his life? Or, from his new wife who's clamouring for half his wealth?”
“Oh… such a handsome man,” the principal muttered under her breath, shaking her head. “Who could be so cruel?”
But Riana didn’t hear her, her eyes were glued to the television screen.
The moment the man’s face appeared, the air rushed out of her lungs. The camera lingered on his broad shoulders and chiseled jaw, even those blue eyes.
He looked so much like her little Xavier. But, why does he look so familiar?
Has she met him before?
Her temples throbbed with a sudden, vicious pain. She groaned, clutching her head.
“Are you alright, Ma’am Riana?” the principal asked.
Riana forced a small nod, though her head still throbbed. “Yes ma’am, I’ll be fine. I’ll get going now, and I’m so sorry once again. Thank you for informing me.”
She didn’t wait for another word. Grabbing her bag, she hurried out of the office.
By the time she reached the front of her son’s classroom, she took one step inside, only for her phone to buzz in her hand. Startled, she glanced down only to see it was an unknown number. Unknown numbers weren’t unusual for her. As a lawyer, she often got calls from strangers, clients, referrals, even random inquiries.
She swiped to answer.
“Hello?”
A male voice rushed through the line.
“Hello, is this Barrister Riana?”
He didn’t wait for her response. “My name is Damien Jake, the one who has been calling for a while now. I’m calling on behalf of my boss, he’s currently in a coma but urgently requires
legal representation. His newly wedded wife has filed for divorce and is demanding half of his assets. This is a critical case. Would you be able to make an urgent trip to New York tomorrow?”
