The King’s Chosen Bride

Chapter 1: Broken-Hearted Girl

Catherine Jones stood frozen in the doorway, her heart pounding in her chest. The scene before her seemed surreal, yet painfully real. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight of Tristan and Evelyn, her stepsister, tangled in each other's arms on the king-sized bed.

A few hours ago, she’d gotten an anonymous text message from someone who said her boyfriend was in a hotel with some girl. The text contained the hotel room number and some additional details. However, she didn’t want to believe it. She had trusted Tristan too much and almost deleted it, thinking it was some sort of sick joke.

But something inside her urged her to confront her fears head-on. And now, she wished she had never entered that room. The betrayal cut through her like a knife, shattering the illusion of trust she had built with Tristan over three years.

Her voice trembled as she found her words. "Tristan... How... How could you?"

Tristan sat up on the bed and turned towards her, his eyes avoiding hers. There was a flicker of guilt in his gaze, quickly masked by indifference. He was already planning to break up with Catherine for a while now, but he was too chickenhearted to bring up the discussion. Perhaps, her finding out like this was for the better.

There wasn’t a single sympathy in his voice as he spoke. "I'm sorry, Catherine, but I've always liked Evelyn. I can't deny my feelings for her anymore."

Catherine's heart shattered into even smaller fragments as his words sank in. She had given Tristan everything, believing their love was unbreakable. Yet, here he stood, confessing his attraction to her stepsister and showing no remorse for his actions.

"So, I was just a placeholder until you could be with her? Was I ever important to you?" Catherine choked, fighting back tears.

"You were important at some point, but now I'm sick and tired of you. Evelyn is different. She understands me in a way you never could."

"You... You're heartless... a monster."

"Don't act like you're innocent in all of this. You were so clingy, always demanding attention." Tristan scoffed irritably.

"I loved you! I gave everything I had to make us work." Catherine shouted at the top of her lungs. Her entire body was trembling now and she felt her legs could give way at any moment.

He replied with a sneer, his lips curling in contempt. “We were together for three years, it was always the same routine with you and I got bored. You were always more focused on your job anyway. Evelyn here brought excitement back into my life."

Catherine's eyes blazed with fury as she turned her attention to Evelyn who was watching their exchange with keen interest. She had a devilish smirk on her face as if she’d achieved something glorious. Catherine's eyes widened in realization. Evelyn had orchestrated this whole thing. The text message she had received, the timing of it all—it was all part of Evelyn's plan to destroy her happiness. She wanted Catherine to catch them in the act all along.

"You... You planned this, didn't you, Evelyn? You wanted to hurt me, to see me suffer.” Catherine spat, her voice dripping with venom.

“Yeah, so?” Evelyn shrugged, her smirk widening as she wrapped herself in the bedsheet.

"Funny how you conveniently sent me the address. You couldn't stand seeing me happy, could you? You've been jealous of me since we were kids, but I never thought you would stoop this low."

"I simply took what I wanted. Tristan is mine now, and there's nothing you can do about it. You always were so blind. Did you really think he would choose you over me? I've always been the one he desired,” Evelyn said mockingly, her voice dripping with malice.

Catherine couldn't believe what she was hearing. The man she loved, the one she thought she would spend her life with, had turned into a heartless stranger. And Evelyn, her stepsister, was reveling in her pain. The pain and betrayal coursed through Catherine's veins, but she refused to let them break her. Wiping away her tears, she straightened her shoulders and looked at them with newfound strength.

"You've shown your true colors, Tristan. I hope you find the excitement you crave.”

Catherine turned on her heels and walked away, leaving behind the shattered pieces of a love she once believed in. As she stepped out into the cold night, the tears flowed freely and blurred her vision. She didn’t know how she drove back home in that state but it was definitely a miracle. She went straight to her bathroom, turned on the cold shower, and sat under it, crying furiously.

She was almost nineteen years old when she started dating Tristan Presley, who was twenty-two at the time. He was one of the young masters of the Presley Family, the 7th most powerful family in Australia. Their friendship went way back to when she was about fourteen. And they officially started dating 5 years later after meeting again at a get-together event for Melbourne-raised youngsters. He was her whole world and she loved him to the moon and back.

And now, she caught him red-handed sleeping with her malicious stepsister, Evelyn Jones. Ever since they were little girls, Catherine knows Evelyn has been obsessed with taking everything she loved and cherished away from her. It has lasted for as long as she could ever remember. Right from when they were both wearing diapers to their era of playing with Barbie dolls and so on. She would rather live her life trying to upset Catherine and make her miserable.

Catherine couldn't help but laugh at herself for believing in the love she shared with Tristan. She was only twenty-three years old with her whole life ahead of her. Not to mention, she was also a completely stunning woman with her very long brown hair locks and beautiful brown eyes to compliment it. She had an amazing model-like slender figure, standing tall at 5ft10. Anywhere she went, she was sure to turn heads.

Which man in his right mind wouldn’t fall for her anyway? It was surely Tristan’s loss and sooner or later, he would regret what he did to her. She gave him her all and poured her blood, sweat, and tears to make their love work for years only to be sidelined and abandoned in the worst way possible.

After crying her eyes out for hours, she wiped away her last round of tears and turned on her Tv, hoping for something to distract her from thinking about the betrayal.

As Catherine flicked on the television, she mindlessly scrolled through the channels for something interesting to watch. Her attention was immediately captured by the sight of a regal figure standing at a grand podium. Her heart skipped a bit and her breath became hoarse as she recognized the face.