The Runaway Groom

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On my wedding day, my fiance ran off with some broke guy, leaving both our families utterly humiliated.

I called off the engagement and left for the New York branch of my family's Wall Street investment bank to work my ass off.

Three years later, at my welcome-back party, she shows up with tears in her eyes and says, "Zachary, I regret it."

...

Serena Vanderbilt's voice wasn't loud, but the moment she spoke, the whole damn room went silent.

Acting oblivious to the sudden chill in the air, she raised her glass.

"These past three years... did you ever think about me?"

Hearing that, Patrick Sullivan, sitting right beside me, snorted out loud.

"Serena, honey, if you need your head examined, there are places for that. Don't bring your crazy to my boy's party."

Serena's face instantly went sheet-white.

Normally, Patrick ripping into a woman like that would get him labeled an asshole.

But tonight? The main players were me and Serena Vanderbilt.

Three years ago, at the lavish Adams-Vanderbilt wedding everyone had poured their hearts into planning, Serena, in her white gown, beaming like she'd won the lottery, ran straight into another man's arms C right in front of our parents, the guests, and every gossip columnist in the city.

Stunned, I grabbed her arm, desperate for some kind of explanation.

All she gave me was, "I've only ever seen you as a brother, Zachary. I never loved you."

I begged her not to make our parents a laughingstock. At least wait until the guests left, then we'd call it off quietly.

Serena just yanked her arm away.

Then she slapped me.

Hard.

"Zachary Adams, take your pathetic little schemes and shove them. I am never marrying you. Get that through your thick skull. Honestly?

In my eyes, you're not even fit to shine Ethan Foster's shoes."

The cameras caught every glorious second. It trended for weeks.

Some sleazy outlets even speculated I had... performance issues... that drove her into another man's arms!

Others whispered the Adams family was broke, hence the runaway bride fiasco.

And Serena, the one who actually cheated? People practically wrote odes to her "brave" act of following her heart.

To minimize the fallout, I had no choice but to disappear overseas.

...

Patrick, my ride-or-die, naturally held a grudge against Serena. He wasn't usually this vicious, but tonight? He was laying it on thick.

"'Did you ever think about me...'" Patrick mimicked Serena's tone, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Seriously? How do you even have the nerve to ask that? I'm embarrassed for you."

Patrick was like a one-man show, his sarcasm drawing nervous chuckles from the guys across from us. They tried to hold back, knowing Serena was still there, but it was enough to make her flush with anger.

She glared at Patrick. "Who the hell do you think you are, Patrick Sullivan? You don't get to talk to me like that."

The Vanderbilts were old money royalty. Serena, the princess, knew her worth.

Then she turned those big, watery eyes back to me, her voice trembling. "Zachary... are you just going to stand there and let him humiliate me?"

Tears welled up. She looked utterly pitiful.

I leaned back, resting my chin on one hand, swirling my drink with the other. A faint, amused smile touched my lips as I watched Serena under the lights, still stunningly beautiful.

That smile caused a ripple in the room.

Nobody expected Zachary Adams, publicly cuckolded on a massive scale, to smile at Serena Vanderbilt gently.

Patrick anxiously yelped my name. "Zachary..."

He didn't finish, but I knew. He was begging me not to fall for her act again.

I raised my free hand, palm down. A silent command.

Years of friendship told Patrick to hold his tongue instantly, even if he didn't know my next move. His grin vanished, replaced by pure hostility aimed at Serena.

Seeing my reaction, Serena dropped the wounded act. A flicker of triumph lit her eyes.

She thought she'd won.

Under her expectant gaze, I finally spoke. "Why wouldn't I?"

What she didn't know was that my feelings for her had died three years ago.

Those three simple words hit her like a slap.

She stared at me, disbelief etched on her face. "Zachary... you're just trying to embarrass me, aren't you?"

Even now, Serena was convinced that I was still pining for her.

My words seemed to sting. She started trembling violently, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Spoiled rotten by her parents, she was used to making others crynot showing this kind of fragile innocence herself.

A beautiful woman in tears could indeed move the heart.

But having seen Serena's cold, ruthless side? My heart didn't budge an inch.

Patrick, no longer looking worried, bounced up. "Serena, if you have any self-respect left, get the hell out of here. Stop making a spectacle of yourself."

He'd always despised her, but held back out of respect for me. Now, with my signal clear? No more Mr. Nice Guy.

Serena ignored him, her tear-filled eyes locked on me, pleading.

Just then, the private room door burst open.

A man stumbled in, followed by flustered security.

"Mr. Sullivan, this guy barged in, swearing his wife was here! We couldn't stop him!"

"Sorry, sir," the security guard added, quickly pinning the intruder's arms behind his back and forcing him to the floor.

The man yelped in pain, looking up with a face twisted in panic.

Everyone stared.

I felt a flicker of recognition just as Serena gasped.

"What are you doing here?"

Instantly, I knew. Ethan Foster.

Serena's runaway groom.

The other half of the wedding day disaster.

Patrick's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. "Well, fuck me. The cheating bastard and the harlot, together at last."

The room was full of sharks. Sensing blood in the water, they went dead silent.

Hearing Serena, Ethan's face lit up. "Baby! Tell them to let me go!"

He completely missed the fury on his beloved's face.

Serena hissed through gritted teeth, "You tracked me? You went through my phone?"

Even an idiot could feel the tension now.

Ethan shook his head frantically. "I just saw it by accident, baby! Don't be mad!"

"Still stalking, though," Patrick drawled, cutting through Ethan's weak excuse.

"Tsk, tsk. Didn't peg Serena Vanderbilt as the whipped type."

Innocuous enough usually, but everyone remembered Serena's earlier plea to Zachary. The implication was clear: mocking her for trying to have her cake and eat it too.

Ethan finally realized he'd screwed up. He glared at Patrick. "You got a problem? Take it up with me! Picking on a woman? Real classy."

It might have held some weight if he wasn't pinned to the floor by security. Unable to even stand eye-to-eye, his bravado just looked pathetic.

Patrick didn't even glance at him, addressing Serena directly. "You threw everything away for this? Only you could be that stupid."

"Worthless. Not fit to shine Zachary's shoes."

From my seat, I saw Serena's chest heave. Classic pre-meltdown sign.

Same social circle. I didn't want a full-blown scene. I grabbed Patrick's arm, shaking my head.

"Enough."

Patrick scowled but backed down, signaling the guards to release Ethan.

Ethan scrambled up, limping towards Serena, reaching for her hand.

Serena sidestepped him, arms crossed defensively over her chest.

Ethan stood there awkwardly, fidgeting. "Baby... I didn't mean to snoop. I was just worried they were giving you a hard time."

He was so busy groveling, he missed the wave of pure disdain rolling off everyone else.

"Oh, please," someone drawled. "What are you implying? Your precious angel surrounded by wolves?"

"Guess I shouldn't invite Ms. Vanderbilt next time. Wouldn't want anyone getting worried..."

"Worried? If he's that protective, maybe he should lock her up at home. No backbone, all talk. Pathetic."

Apart from Serena, this party was my inner circle C friends from before I left. They wouldn't pick a fight with the Vanderbilts over me, but that didn't mean they lacked pride.

Ethan, an outsider, had never fit in. So how did he know Serena might be "bullied"?

We were all old foxes. We saw the game.

The comments flew like bullets, sharp and merciless.

Ethan floundered, stammering, unable to form a coherent defense.

Helpless, he looked to Serena.

Just when I thought she'd bail him out, her face hardened. She snapped at him, "Have you made enough of a fool of yourself yet?"

"You might not have shame, but I do!"

She shoved him hard and he stumbled back. Then she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.

Ethan ignored the smirks, scrambled up, and chased after her.

Watching that unfold, something clicked. These two were supposed to be madly in love. What the hell happened in three years to turn them into this toxic mess?

Patrick saw my curiosity. "Karma's a bitch!" he declared triumphantly. He clearly didn't want me dwelling on Serena.

I got it and changed the subject.

...

Word of the party fiasco reached my parents fast. Hearing Serena and Ethan showed up, spouting their nonsense, they were livid.

"What does she think this is? A damn recycling center?" Mom spat.

"Don't you dare soften towards her, Zachary. Promise me!"

After the runaway stunt, Mom blamed herself, thinking she misjudged Serena and caused my humiliation. The anger made her ill enough to be hospitalized. It took a lot of convincing from me to calm her down.

Once she recovered, she marched over to the Vanderbilts herself and demanded the engagement be broken officially. The Vanderbilts, knowing they were the wrong side, didn't argue and paid hefty compensation.

But Mom never forgave them or Serena. Any chance encounter was met with icy disdain.

"Work's insane, Mom. Who has time for romance?" I said, trying to brush it off.

But she wasn't having it. "That's no excuse."

"You're not getting any younger, Zachary. No steady girlfriend? It's not right."

She was on a roll. "Your father and I am waiting for grandchildren, you know."

Dad, usually quiet, actually nodded in agreement.

"Take your time. Plenty of suitable girls out there."

I resisted, but parents win. I met a few society girls they deemed "appropriate."

Meanwhile, Serena somehow got my number and called multiple times. Inever answered. Except once, late at night, she called from a business partner's phone. Drunk, slurring, sobbing, she asked if I remembered promising to protect her forever.

I didn't reply. I simply hung up.

Two weeks later, at a private gala, I ran into Serena and Ethan again.

The golden couple turned heads, and with the Vanderbilts profiting greatly from policy changes lately, Serena, ss the heir apparent, had a flock of sycophants buzzing around her.

All those fake, simpering smiles were nauseating.

I stayed out of the fray, nursing a glass of champagne on the balcony.

Peace lasted maybe five minutes.

"Can we talk?"

I looked up and met the eyes of the man standing thereEthan Foster.