Page 3 of The Runaway Bride and the Billionaire

I shoved the ring box back into my pocket when I saw Amelia approaching. She’d just walked in through the park gate which was quite far away, but I could still tell it was her. Long black hair flowed in the wind, making her look like a movie star as she walked over to me. The wind also pushed at the yellow gown she wore. It swayed in a way that was almost mesmerizing. Everything about Amelia was mesmerizing.

She stood in front of me and I smiled.

“Hi,” I said, reaching for her and pulling her to me.

I kissed her and she kissed me back. I couldn’t help noticing the sense of desperation in the way she kissed me. She clung to me as if she never wanted to let me go. I held her tightly and hoped that it conveyed the fact that I would never leave her.

“Is everything okay?” I asked when we pulled apart.

Amelia didn’t meet my gaze. She simply stepped away from me.

“Matteo, I… I can’t do this anymore.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I can’t be with you. This was a mistake from the very beginning and it’s time that we end this.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” I asked. I didn’t know what else to say or do. Of all the things I expected her to say, this wasn’t one of them. I thought she would come here, we would hug and kiss, and then I would get down on one knee and ask her to marry me. I thought she would say yes, and we would start planning out the rest of our lives together. How could such a beautiful dream die such a quick death?

“Yes, it is what I want. I want us to end this relationship.”

She still hadn’t looked me in the eye. I lifted her chin and forced her to look at me. “Look at me when you say that. Look at me when you break my heart.”

“Matteo, please don’t make this any harder,” she said as she stepped away from my touch. “Deep down, we both knew this wasn’t going to work out. We knew that we weren’t compatible because we…”

“We come from different worlds? Is that what you were going to say?”

She didn’t respond and I scoffed before speaking. “I know what this is. This is your parents talking. You’ve never cared about social class, but I know they do. Are they making you do this?”

“Matteo, please don’t make this harder. P-Please, I beg you.” A sob broke out, and she bit her lip to hold it back. She swallowed and continued. “This was never going to work.”

“Says who? Your mother?”

“Yes!” The word broke out before she could stop herself. Amelia inhaled a deep breath and finally met my gaze head-on. “My parents… they… they don’t think you’re the right person for me. They don’t think you’re good enough.”

“And what do you think? Or does your opinion not matter in your own life? When will you finally make decisions for yourselfinstead of doing whatever they tell you to? Are you really going to destroy everything we’ve built just because they don’t approve?”

“I don’t have a choice, Matteo. Please understand. I can’t do this anymore.”

With that, she turned around and walked away. I stood still, unable to really do anything. I couldn’t go after her because she’d made it crystal clear that she wasn’t ready to fight for this relationship. I couldn’t go after her but watching her leave broke my heart.

The ring box burned a hole in my pocket, a painful reminder of how I thought this day was going to go and how badly it had turned out. Amelia walked out of the park gates, and I felt myself sink into a depression so deep, it made my heart ache.

After losing Amelia, I decided to dedicate myself to becoming better. I quit my job at the construction site and finally started my own company. It had been my dream for a long time and losing Amelia gave me the perfect motivation to go after it. I threw myself into work and poured everything I had into making my company great.

Deep down, a part of me hoped that Amelia would one day come to regret her decision.

Five years later…

I sat in my office going over the spreadsheet that had been sent to me by the analyst I hired. The young man had a way of helping me see new perspectives on things and I was glad I hired him three months ago.

He wasn’t the only good business decision I’d made. In the five years since I started my company, I’d been able to reach heights that I thought were unattainable and make more money than I ever dreamed was possible. I was a billionaire even though I was still in my late twenties.

Everything had worked out well for me. In fact, some would say that Amelia dumping me was the best thing that ever happened to me. I’d like to think that too, but there was still a part of me that missed her. Despite my success, I still couldn’t forget her. There were days I found myself staring at the engagement ring I was never able to give her.

I couldn’t help wondering how different my life would have been if I’d proposed and she said yes. I may or may not have achieved all the success I had now but at least I would have her.

The numbers in the spreadsheet blurred as her face appeared in my mind. Her long dark hair, green eyes, and bright smile. So much time had passed but Amelia was still a present thought in my mind. I thought about her more than I should, but I couldn’t help it. Even after what she did to me, a part of me still loved her. I was doing everything in me to weed that part out. I wanted to forget Amelia Pierson and everything that had to do with her.

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