I ran from my own wedding—still in my dress and heels, heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst. My breath was short and quick, every step painful from the tight shoes, but I couldn’t stop. I was desperate to get away. But when I knocked on my sister’s door, hoping for safety, I had no idea I was stepping into something even darker.
I was running—heels clicking on the cold hotel floor, my long wedding dress dragging behind me. The sound of my own frantic heartbeat filled my ears. Behind me, I heard a voice I knew too well, angry and sharp.
“Skylar! Stop!”
I spun down a side hallway, slipping on the smooth floor and nearly falling. Pain stabbed my left foot, but I pushed forward. I couldn’t let him catch me. The hotel corridors seemed endless, twisting like a nightmare that had no escape.
Then suddenly, the lobby appeared—empty, dimly lit. I darted behind a huge decorative column and crouched down, gasping for air.
“Turn around and talk to me like a normal person!” the voice called out again.
No. I refused.
I knew what “normal” meant with him. It meant bruises. It meant control. It meant pain. I rolled up my sleeve—purple, fresh bruises still marked my skin.
I forced myself to stand and slammed open the “Fire Exit” door. I raced down the stairs and into another hallway. I didn’t care where I went, just anywhere but back.
The first door I came to—I knocked, pounding like my life depended on it, because it did.
The door swung open.
A man stood there, jeans low on his hips, bare chest, towel in hand, hair still dripping wet from the shower. He glanced me over with a teasing smirk.
“Um… I didn’t order a bride tonight. But hey, I love a good discount.”
I gasped, barely able to speak. “Please… I’ll explain later. Just—please let me hide. Just for a minute.”
He nodded and stepped aside. “Alright. Come in before you become the next true crime headline.”
I slipped inside, heart racing in my throat. The man started drying his hair again, casually watching me with amused curiosity. I gave a shaky smile.
“I can’t stay long. But… can you give me something to wear? Something boyish? I’ll return it, I promise.”
He grinned. “I trust you more than my eBay buyers. Hang tight.”
He disappeared into a closet, then returned with jeans, a hoodie, a baseball cap, and sunglasses.
“Unisex, one-size-fits-all, certified drama-proof. I’m Ethan, by the way. Though you don’t look like you’re in the mood for meet-cutes.”
“Thank you, Ethan,” I said quickly, peeling off my wedding dress.
When I turned, he stepped forward and gently touched my forearm. I jerked away.
“What are you doing?!”
“Relax. You’re not my type. Neither are the bruises. They don’t suit you.”
His smile vanished.
“It’s… a long story,” I muttered, pulling the hoodie over my head.
“That’s why you ran?”
I nodded, silence falling between us, broken only by the soft rustle of fabric as I slipped on the cap and sunglasses. I tucked my hair back and caught my reflection in the mirror.
It wasn’t me anymore. It was a guy—one with suspiciously good cheekbones.
“Thank you… Ethan, right?”
“Right. And you are?”
“Sky… Skylar. But it’s better if you forget that.”
He tilted his head but didn’t push.
“If you change your mind, the door’s open. Just don’t bring your drama here. My neighbors already think I’m running a secret cult.”
And just like that, I escaped.
From the tyrant, from the wedding, from the future that was never really mine.
But what I didn’t know was the worst was still ahead.
Because the hardest part isn’t running away.
The hardest part is trusting the wrong person.
I sat outside behind my sister’s fence for what felt like forty minutes, maybe an hour. The darkness grew heavier around me, matching the fear tightening in my chest. My fingers were numb. The bruises under my sleeves throbbed painfully, but I didn’t dare ring the doorbell. Something inside stopped me.
Junie was my sister, but we were never close. Different fathers, different personalities, different worlds. But she was the only one who never judged me, even if we barely talked. And I knew she was home—she’d just come back from my wedding.
When the hallway light finally went off, I knocked.
The door opened almost instantly. Junie stood there, barefoot, wearing an oversized T-shirt. She hugged herself as if bracing for bad news.
“Skylar?.. Oh my God, is that you? You look like you ran from a fire.”
“From my own wedding. You know that,” I said with a crooked smile. “Can I come in?”
“This… might not be the best idea. I’m not going to be alone for long…”
“Junie, I’m begging you…”
She hesitated, then stepped aside. I slipped inside. The house was perfect but felt unfamiliar—too clean, too quiet.
Junie poured me a glass of water silently. I started talking.
“I had nowhere else to go. Mom’s out of the question. She still thinks Derek walks on water. He… knows how to play the part.”
“Why did you run? That’s insane! You two looked so happy…”
“I found out he was cheating. I asked him about it. We argued… and he wouldn’t let me leave. He just… stopped me.”
I pulled up my sleeve again. Junie’s eyes widened.
“I’m sorry. I… I didn’t know.”
“I don’t want to cause trouble. Just… let me stay the night. I’ll be gone before sunrise. You won’t even remember I was here.”
“Okay. But listen… my boyfriend’s coming soon. I haven’t introduced him to the family yet. He’s… complicated.”
“I see…”
“And this is his place. He doesn’t like surprises.”
“I don’t want to see anyone either. Trust me.”
Junie led me down a long hallway and opened the door to the old guest room. The windows were covered, the bed neatly made.
“You can stay here. But Sky… promise me. Not a word, not a step, until morning. Okay? There are crackers and soda in the closet.”
“Thank you, Junie. I won’t forget this.”
“I hope this is your fresh start. Without guys like him.”
When the door shut behind her, I finally let myself cry quietly—into my palm.
I thought I’d escaped.
But I was walking straight into a trap.
I didn’t know if I could trust Junie, but I had no other choice. I found some crackers, but my throat was too tight to swallow. I needed water, so I quietly slipped into the kitchen.
As I passed the living room, I heard Junie’s voice—soft, uneasy. Then another voice—sharp and familiar.
My body froze. It was him.
Derek.
I crept closer and pressed my ear against the door.
“Derek, stop. Maybe you shouldn’t. She’ll be gone by morning anyway!”
“Are you kidding? I’ve put in too much work! I need to push her. She doesn’t have a choice!”
“You already have everything you wanted! Two houses from your last cons. You have me. Let Skylar go—she won’t marry you now.”
“Her mother loves me, so I’ll convince her again. She’ll give me the house.”
The house? What house?
My heart thundered. I crouched low, trying to stay hidden.
“Listen, Junie. I only get the house if we’re officially married. You know it was her father’s gift—for her, his favorite.”
A bitter pause. Junie’s voice dropped to a whisper, but it tore through me.
“I watched her get everything, year after year. And when you told me you had a plan, I didn’t hesitate. Because for once, I could be the center of it. For once, we could do something… together.”
I covered my mouth with my hand. It had all been a game. A perfect act. And I was just a role in someone else’s scheme.
“I made our mother trust you, Derek. You think she fell for your gifts and dinners? I was the one who told her the house should go to the man—the future head of the family. I told her Skylar would listen better, give her grandkids faster.”
“You sure put in the work. Maybe it’s time we finish the job?”
“How? You still think you can push her into marrying you after she ran away?”
“Yes! I don’t quit. This is our first con together. We’ll break her down. Just like the others.”
I couldn’t breathe.
A con? Me. My sister. My father’s house.
My hands shook. I grabbed my phone and hit “record.”
Too late.
My phone slipped from my hand and crashed on the floor with a loud clack.
The door flew open.
“Skylar?!”
I stood frozen, pale, phone at my feet. Derek stepped toward me.
“You heard all that, didn’t you?”
I couldn’t speak. The danger in the air was sharp and real. He raised his hand.
“You know what you just did?! You ruined everything!”
“Don’t touch her!” Junie threw herself between us. “Derek, stop!”
“Get out of my way!”
I couldn’t move. His eyes burned with rage.
Then—
“Hey!”
A strong, calm male voice thundered from behind us.
“Ethan?!”
I couldn’t believe it. Ethan stood in the doorway, phone in hand, eyes fierce.
“I came to the wedding, brother. And guess what I found? A missing bride. A girl begging to hide in my hotel room. Took me a while, but I put it all together.”
“This isn’t your business!”
“Oh, but it became my business when I turned on my voice recorder,” Ethan said, holding up his phone. “And caught every word.”
“Give it to me!”
Derek lunged for the phone, knocking it out of Ethan’s hand. It smashed against the wall. Ethan shoved Derek back—not hard, but steady, never losing his glare.
“You chose this path.”
He walked over to me, draped his jacket over my shoulders, never taking his eyes off Derek.
“Let’s go, Skylar. You’re not staying here.”
I took one step. Then another. Then a third—without looking back. I was walking away with the man who saved me… twice in one day.
We sat in a quiet late-night café on the corner. Ethan brought me a cup of tea and sat across from me. I wrapped my hands around the warm mug.
“I don’t have a plan. My mother… she believes them. She thinks he’s perfect. She thinks Junie could never betray me…”
“I took care of it,” Ethan said calmly. “The moment I realized who my brother’s bride was, I got your mother’s number and promised to help. And as soon as I recorded the conversation, I sent it to her. Along with the address of this café. She’s on her way.”
I didn’t know what to say. For the first time in a long while, I felt something besides fear. I felt hope. Warmth.
“Thank you, Ethan… You didn’t have to do that. This wasn’t your fight.”
He smiled softly. “You know… when you knocked on my door, I thought it was just a crazy twist of fate. But then it became mine.”
I nodded, tears stinging my eyes.
“That house… it was my dad’s. We planted an apple tree there when I was seven—just the two of us.”
I clenched my jaw. Ethan gently took my hand.
“You’re going back there. On your terms.”
The doorbell jingled softly above the entrance.
It was my mother.
“I’m sorry, Skylar. I was blind. I let them manipulate me. I just wanted happiness, grandkids, a fairytale ending…”
I just nodded.
“I’m calling the lawyer and returning the house to you—just like your father wanted.”
“Mom…”
We hugged—tight, long.
When I looked up, Ethan had quietly stepped outside, giving us space. But I knew he hadn’t gone far.
A week later, I returned to my father’s house. The apple tree was in full bloom. Ethan waited by the gate.
“I brought a blanket. Just in case you feel like running again.”
I laughed—the real kind.
We planned a quiet weekend at my dad’s place. But in my heart, I was planning the beginning of something bigger. Something real. Together.
