Writers 
Chapter One
The Bride Who Wasn't Wanted
Amelia Carter had dreamed of this day for three years.
She had imagined the flowers.
The white wedding gown.
The crystal chandeliers.
The hundreds of guests gathered beneath the golden lights.
Most of all, she had imagined the moment Alexander Sterling would finally look at her and say the words she had secretly waited years to hear.
I love you.
Tonight, she was finally going to become his wife.
Or so she thought.
Standing at the entrance of the grand ballroom, Amelia tightened her fingers around her bouquet and took a slow breath.
Her white satin gown flowed behind her like a veil of snow, its delicate embroidery catching the light whenever she moved. Her heart pounded beneath her corset.
She was nervous.
But she was happy.
At least, she had been happy until she saw Alexander.
He stood at the end of the aisle in a perfectly tailored black tuxedo, tall and impossibly composed.
Alexander Sterling.
Thirty-two years old.
Billionaire.
CEO of Sterling International.
The man whose name appeared on business magazines almost every month.
The man who could buy an entire company before breakfast and fire half its executives before lunch.
And the man Amelia was about to marry.
Their eyes met.
For one brief second, Amelia smiled.
Alexander didn't.
His expression was cold.
Unreadable.
Something inside her shifted.
Maybe he's just nervous.
She forced herself to smile again and began walking down the aisle.
Hundreds of eyes followed her.
Her father walked beside her, holding her arm firmly.
"You look beautiful," he whispered.
"Thank you, Dad."
"Are you sure you're ready?"
Amelia glanced at Alexander.
"I've never been more ready."
Her father squeezed her hand before placing it into Alexander's.
The moment Alexander's fingers touched hers, Amelia's heart fluttered.
She looked up at him.
He looked down at her.
Still nothing.
No smile.
No warmth.
Not even the slightest sign of affection.
But Amelia told herself it didn't matter.
After today, everything would change.
She had loved Alexander quietly for three years.
She had stood beside him through countless family events and business dinners. She had learned his favorite coffee, his preferred meals, the way he hated loud music and how he always loosened his tie when he was frustrated.
She knew him better than anyone.
Maybe marriage would finally make him see her.
The priest began the ceremony.
Amelia barely heard the first few sentences.
Her attention remained fixed on Alexander.
"Alexander Sterling," the priest said, "do you take Amelia Carter to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
Silence.
Amelia's smile remained frozen.
Alexander stared straight ahead.
The priest waited.
The guests waited.
Amelia waited.
Then Alexander slowly turned his head toward her.
"I don't."
A gasp swept through the ballroom.
Amelia's fingers went cold.
For a moment, she thought she had misunderstood him.
"What?" the priest asked.
Alexander's voice was calm.
"I said I don't."
Someone dropped a glass.
It shattered against the marble floor.
Amelia stared at him.
"Alexander..."
He pulled his hand away from hers.
"I cannot marry Amelia Carter."
The room exploded into whispers.
Her father stepped forward.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Alexander didn't look at him.
Amelia couldn't breathe.
Her eyes burned.
"You said you'd marry me."
"I agreed to the engagement," Alexander replied.
His voice was painfully emotionless.
"That doesn't mean I agreed to spend the rest of my life pretending to love you."
Pretending.
The word cut deeper than any slap.
Amelia swallowed hard.
"But why?"
Alexander finally looked directly into her eyes.
And what she saw there broke something inside her.
There was no love.
No regret.
Only determination.
"Because there is someone else."
The ballroom fell silent.
Amelia felt the bouquet slip slightly from her fingers.
"Who?"
Before Alexander could answer, the massive doors at the back of the ballroom opened.
Every head turned.
A woman walked in.
She wore a long crimson dress, her dark hair falling perfectly over her shoulders.
Alexander's expression changed immediately.
For the first time that evening, Amelia saw warmth in his eyes.
But it wasn't for her.
The woman stopped several feet away.
"Alexander," she whispered.
He stepped away from the altar.
Toward her.
Amelia watched in disbelief.
"Victoria," Alexander said.
The woman smiled.
And Amelia suddenly understood.
This wasn't a wedding anymore.
It was a public execution.
Her humiliation.
Her heartbreak.
Her entire three-year dream had been destroyed in front of everyone she knew.
Alexander stopped beside Victoria.
Then he turned back toward Amelia.
"I'm sorry."
Amelia laughed.
It was a small, broken sound.
"Sorry?"
She looked around the ballroom.
At the guests.
At the cameras.
At the wedding decorations she had personally chosen.
Then she looked back at the man she had loved for three years.
"You couldn't have told me before today?"
Alexander said nothing.
Amelia nodded slowly.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"You're right."
She wiped it away.
"I should thank you."
Alexander frowned.
"For what?"
Amelia looked straight into his eyes.
"For showing me exactly who you are."
She turned around.
But before she could take another step, Alexander's voice stopped her.
"Amelia."
She froze.
His next words made the blood drain from her face.
"There's one more thing you need to know."
Amelia slowly turned back.
Alexander looked at her with an expression she couldn't understand.
Then he said,
"You were never supposed to be my bride in the first place."
