Chapter 3

I smoothed out my million-dollar custom haute couture wedding gown and walked toward the main door of the ballroom in my four-inch heels.

Before I could even get there, the roar of an engine cut through the air. Everett's Rolls-Royce, which was supposed to serve as the lead bridal car, arrogantly pulled up at the hotel steps.

He flung open the door of the Rolls-Royce and stepped out, dressed in a tailored suit. Fury was written all over his face.

With a loud bang, he slammed the door shut and strode up the stairs with his keys still in hand. Then, he pointed a finger at me and barked, "So you've got some nerve now, don't you, Madeline? How dare you cancel my wedding?

"Do you have any idea that the guests at the wedding today are all my family's elders? What the hell are you playing at, leaving them standing out by the door?"

As always, Everett's ability to shift the blame was impeccable. He was the one who had shown up late because he was picking up his childhood sweetheart, yet now, I was somehow the one to blame.

The passenger door opened before Della timidly stepped out. Today, she wore a white strapless tulle dress with a pearl clip pinned in her hair. If someone hadn't seen me standing nearby in my wedding gown, they would assume that she was the bride today.

She walked over to Everett's side and gently tugged at his sleeve.

"Please don't be mad, Madeline. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have been so greedy as to want to ride in the Rolls-Royce.

"I'll give the passenger seat back to you. Please stop fighting with Everett, okay?"

Susanne pushed through the crowd of relatives and immediately pulled Della behind her. "Don't waste your breath on her, Everett. She just needs to be taught a lesson!

"With all our relatives watching today, she needs to apologize in public, or she'll think she can walk all over us once she marries into our family!"

I stared coldly at the blindingly white tulle dress Della was wearing, and my gaze swept past her neck, landing on a familiar necklace. It was the one I had lost last month.

"Since wearing that dress to ride in a bridal car…" I said in an unusually calm voice, devoid of a single shred of emotion. "Are you here for a wedding, or a funeral?"

My mind flashed with the property identification number for our luxury 12-million-dollar penthouse, which was meant to be our marital home. The Greens were not getting a single thing that belonged to me, now that all pretenses were gone.

When Everett heard my words, he immediately exploded. "Watch your mouth, Madeline! Della was kind enough to show up and attend our wedding, so you'd better watch your tone!

"Do you honestly think everyone has such vicious and toxic thoughts as you do?"

Standing behind me, my bridesmaid, Yvonne Hemmings, decided that she had had enough. She slammed her bridesmaid bouquet violently onto the floor and snapped, "Have you no shame, Everett? Who on earth picks up another woman before picking up the bride?

"You even let that other woman ride in the passenger seat of the lead bridal car; what do you take Madeline for?"

Everett snapped back without a shred of courtesy, "Shut up! It isn't your place to speak here!"

Then, he whipped his head back and glared down at me. A crowd of spectating passersby had gathered around us, and some even raised their phones to film the scene.

He raised his voice, trying to guilt me into giving in. "I tolerate your dramatic tantrums on regular days, Madeline, but the Greens are present today. Must you make us the laughingstock?

"Della's basically my younger sister. Just grow up and be the bigger person here, and we can still go through with this wedding. Otherwise, how am I supposed to save face?

"I consider the penthouse our home. You can't be this selfish."

Dead silence fell over the lobby.