Celine let out a disappointed scoff, but the disappointment wasn't directed at him but at herself for being so stupid all this while.
It took just this single conversation for her to realize that Ian wasn't the type of man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
But how had she convinced herself that it was so perfect, how had he convinced her?
It was the seemingly fated way they had met on set, the unbelievably sweet things he'd said. The way everyone had convinced her that she would never be able to find another man like him.
She had fallen for it all and believed it all. But right now the shallowness of it was suddenly revealed before her eyes.
Their agents had gone on and on about how their wedding would be the talk of the decade. Their romance had been promoted in a way that it sold a beautiful love story, Ian had been in support of raising their careers with their love even though she'd been against it.
She had trusted him and the fans had gone crazy about it.
For other actresses, getting married would mark the end of their careers, but for her it had been marketed in a way that made the whole world love them even more.
It seemed all that buzz had gotten into her head as well.
Perhaps her love for him hadn't been hers at all, perhaps she'd just let everyone's words get into her ears.
They told her he was her one and only soulmate, they told her that a love like theirs was the absolute dream. Perhaps all of that had forced her into believing in a love that wasn't there at all because right now as she stared at him, seeing the unreasonably selfish man he'd been hiding all along, her heart felt detached and cold. She could no longer feel anything for him other than pure disgust.
There was no longer any pain or heartache as Celine pulled the engagement ring off her finger.
"I'm glad, so glad I haven't walked down the aisle with you yet." She spoke with tears of regret glistening in her eyes, "Let's end this here and now."
To her surprise, she felt absolute relief the moment she tossed his ring to him.
Yes, her sister's betrayal still hurt, the time she'd wasted believing she was in love with this man she could never get back, it was her fault for getting influenced by everyone around her. But freeing herself from it now made her feel liked she'd just awakened from a painful dream she never wanted to go back to.
She would admit she'd seen a happy future with him, even longed for it, illusions could be so enticing when one believed them to be true, now that she had woken up from that illusion, she would never let herself be so stupid again.
She could see the visible rage in Ian's eyes and she no longer cared, but the moment she turned around to leave the man yanked her back with a painful force that made it evident he no longer cared to put up a pretence.
He forcefully pinched her arm under his hold, using his masculine strength on her to suppress her from getting away.
"Did you actually think you could abandon this engagement? Don't fool your damn self Celine, you will marry me in two days whether you like it or not or say goodbye to ever getting another movie role in this industry, and you know as well as I do that I can ruin you and your beloved career."
The handsome face she'd held in a high regard now glowered down at her with a fierce threat.
So this was indeed his true face.
"Just think about it, you'll be fucking ruined. The minute you walk out on me I'll accuse you of cheating, and I can find a way to provide evidence for that, who would believe you? The world will sharply bring you down, a disgusting woman who cheated on a handsome, loving fiancee, you'll never be able to recover from it!"
Celine hadn't been able to stop the fear from showing in her eyes knowing he would hold true to his threat.
His lips twisted upwards confidently. He knew he had her right where he wanted her with that threat, she most definitely wouldn't want to lose everything she'd worked hard for.
He had the money and connections to manipulate the industry in his favor. She wasn't entirely helpless in the industry either, but the moment he accused her of that all her power to fight back would be drowned in the waves of his millions of overly devoted fans who idolized him immensely.
Despite her fame, he surpassed her when it came to fans and connections. The magical fairytale wedding would make him even more famous, but other than that he had no use for her in his life, that beautiful image was his true purpose of marrying her.
She indeed was just a stepping stone to him.
Other than her career, her family had been eagerly looking forward to this wedding, the father that abandoned and cared little for her after her mother's death had begun to treat her a bit better the minute she was announced to be getting married to Ian Rode. Apart from his career in the entertainment industry his family was well known and reputable, a connection with the Rodes was something any family in Neville would never ever refuse.
She trembled realizing he'd caught her right where she couldn't turn away.
Could she risk ruining her career and disappointing her family?
Her thoughts back to two days ago was suddenly cut off when the priest spoke up once more.
She was suddenly awakened to her present, and her present was currently in a church marrying the very man who not only cheated on her but did it with her very own sister.
She turned for a moment to the guest area where her sister Lillian was sitting in the front row.
The debacle of the moment she'd gone back home and announced that she wouldn't be marrying Ian was pushed back to the depths of her mind. She didn't want to relive those painful moments again where both her father and Lydia had furiously demeaned her emotions and made her helpless that she had no choice but to agree to the marriage regardless of his cheating on her. But the moments replayed in her head nevertheless.
"This unruly child! For the first time in your life you bring something good into this family, now you want to back out? I don't care what you said Ian did, you will marry him and tie us to the Rode family." Her father, had yelled right in her face.
"Dad, he slept with Lilian, if he's so important to you then give Lilian to him, how can I marry a man who cheated on me?" At the time, it had hurt deeply that her father didn't think of her. She was his biological daughter. Alas, the man was heartless towards the child he didn't love.
"Me? Who said I had any interest in marriage? And even if I was getting married, I'll only marry Tristan Grayson, he is the only man worthy of me." Lilian had dared to say.
Tristan Grayson? Lilian could surely dream high. The man who was said to own Neville itself and every property in it's territory, the untouchable, unbeatable man who was the desire of every woman but no one could manage to attain him. Though Tristan Grayson was a mystery that never appeared publicly, it was said that the types of women he was seen with were the absolute best of the best yet he was never seen with any woman more than once.
Who would have thought Lilian held the impossible dream of marrying such a man.
"Celine, Lilian has big dreams. She will do her part in tying us to the richest businessman in the country, and you will do yours by tying us to the Rode family. We'd have two powerful backings on our side, don't think you can choose to get selfish now." Lydia had added, backing up her daughter.
Celine had felt like a cornered rat.
Turns out, her feelings didn't matter, turns out, her heart, her pain, her sister's betrayal didn't matter to them.
To be honest she wanted to escape in this moment, she wanted to turn her back to this family who was so heartless to her, who didn't care at all that her own sister had betrayed her this much. Who commended and exalted Lilian for putting her down this much, but deep inside Celine couldn't pull herself away. She couldn't find the courage to walk away from them.
And that lack of courage led her here, broken on the inside but still carrying forward with a marriage that she knew would kill her on the inside.
They were approaching the sacred moments of the wedding ceremony that would bind her to Ian forever, and Celine knew that after this moment, her chances of escape would be gone forever.
She would be married to this man she absolutely despised.