Chapter 4

After hitting send, I left the group chat.

But Shawn still thought I was just throwing a tantrum, so he sent his mother to act as a mediator.

When Helen Vance saw me, she didn't even bother to hide her dislike anymore. In fact, there was a smug sense of satisfaction in her eyes.

Sitting in her wheelchair, she tilted her head proudly and shot me a disdainful look.

"My son takes in one woman and you start acting like it's the end of the world. How are you ever going to survive once you marry into the Vances?"

She lectured me to recognize my place and learn to be more generous.

I didn't get angry nor did I argue back.

Mostly, I was just curious. If Helen knew that the woman her son was taking care of was the daughter of the driver who had run her over, paralyzed her, and gone around telling everyone she was a homewrecker who had climbed her way up, would she still be this optimistic?

Besides, Helen seemed to have forgotten that she only managed to marry into the Vances by faking a paternity test. She and Shawn were nothing but outsiders occupying the Vances' house.

On the day Shawn came to the office, I had my resignation letter ready.

The way everyone looked at me when I walked in felt distinctly off.

Nasty rumors about me sleeping my way to the top and being a homewrecker echoed all around me.

Before I could even ask what was going on, a glass of ice water was poured right over my head.

Wendy stood there, glaring at me with pure hatred.

She and a few others cornered me in the breakroom.

With her back turned to the crowd, her expression twisted into something hideous and terrifying.

She lowered her voice and said, "You bitch! If my family hadn't gone bankrupt which gave you the opening to swoop in while Shawn was vulnerable, do you really think he would ever be with someone like you?

"I'm warning you. If you don't get lost and keep forcing him to marry you, I'll ruin your reputation and make you viral for all the wrong reasons."

A cruel smile curled her lips.

"Oh, and that trash your dead mother left you? I ruined it on purpose. I'd never look twice at something that cheap anyway."

Gritting her teeth, Wendy grabbed my hand and used all her strength to pull it toward her chest.

She fell onto the floor right in front of me, her ankle swelling up instantly.

Several colleagues rushed in to help her up, shoving me into the corner. Someone even maliciously stepped on my feet a few times.

I stood up, took a mug of steaming hot coffee, and splashed it right into her smug face.

I threw two mugs down with all my might, but Shawn threw himself forward to block them.

Slap!

My cheek burned with a stinging pain. The look Shawn gave me was colder than it had ever been before.

"Was that really necessary?"

Shawn froze. He lowered his hand and rubbed his temples in frustration.

"Throwing mugs at people's heads? Rory, when did you become so vicious and despicable?!

"At the end of the day, a wedding is just a formality. You refused to sign the papers just to force my hand, yet I gave in. But why are you never satisfied?"

He carried Wendy and walked straight out, leaving the bodyguards to block my path.

The snickers and whispers from the crowd around me were humiliating beyond words.

Swallowing any attempt to defend myself, I left the office and went straight back to Northstar City.

Afterward, he sent the wedding dress to my place as if nothing had changed, completely oblivious to the fact that it was constantly marked as undelivered.

His messages remained a string of unread notifications.

I deleted and blocked him on every single platform.

Shawn knew he had crossed a line that day. However, he couldn't get away because Wendy was being so clingy.

He kept telling himself that everything would be fine once the wedding was over, and that we could talk through things then.

A week later, the person who showed up at the hotel wasn't me. It was Wendy.

Helpless, Shawn pulled the woman out of his embrace.

"Why did you follow me here? Didn't I tell you that even if I got married, I wouldn't stop taking care of you?"

His assistant Eddie walked back in after taking a call. He was trembling so hard he could barely stand.

"Mr. Vance, the investors have pulled all funding from Project Halo!

"Also, there's news... that guy's back in the country."

At that exact moment, the large screen right across from the hotel was broadcasting a grand wedding live from Northstar City.

When Shawn saw the bride's face on the screen, the color drained from his face instantly.