Chapter 2 Left at the Altar

"What are you doing, Grandma?"

Penelope ignored him. She gently caressed my hands. "I shouldn't have let Artemis marry a bastard like you!"

Shawn's face turned stormy, and he stared at me. "You whispered something into her ear, didn't you? Just because you saved her life, you think you get to do that? How dare you!"

Penelope slapped him across the face with all the strength she had. "No. How dare you? You took Tamara in as your sister and sponsored her study abroad to repay her family. Fine by me, but you should never have allowed her to put herself between you and Artemis!"

Shawn turned his face away and clenched his jaw. After a while, he forced out a smile, took off his ring, and slammed it onto the table. "Fine! I doubt she can marry anyone else if she leaves me anyway!"

He had spent countless sleepless nights designing that ring. The day he finished designing, he proposed to me under a night sky full of stars, promising that he would marry me. Only me.

Now, he had forgotten all about that promise. Calmly, I took off my own ring and threw it far into the grass. Shawn froze in shock.

Heartbroken, Tamara clung to her dear brother, her voice cracking. "It's all my fault you're fighting. Maybe Penelope and Artemis will stop staying mad at me if I leave."

Before anyone said anything, she took out a bottle of sleeping pills and poured its contents down into her mouth.

"Tamara!" Shawn's eyes narrowed, and his attention was all on her. He spun around and shoved me aside. The knife on the table cut my palm open, and blood drenched my glove soon enough.

I tottered but held the edge of the table, though my body was shivering in pain. Shawn did not even give me a moment of his time. He carried the collapsing Tamara away, his voice filled with panic and rage.

Before he left, he gave me an icy glare. "Happy now? Her father died for me. If she dies too, I'll never forgive you!"

The crowd exploded into whispers. Their words slithered into my ears without mercy.

"She messed up this whole wedding. How inconsiderate."

"That girl's already skittish enough, and she's pushed to take those pills. Anyone would be mad."

"She starts this mess just to latch on to the Grimstones, and she even fooled Penelope."

"Enough!" Penelope held me up, her chilling gaze sweeping the crowd. "You have no right to comment on how we do things. Anyone who utters one more word will see their partnership with us canceled!"

All the guests left their seats in a huff. Though Penelope's late husband made her the chairperson, Shawn would eventually become the leader of Grimstone Group.

Unbeknownst to them, Shawn's name wasn't in the will Penelope had drafted.

A bout of dizziness was welling up within me from the blood loss. It took everything I had to hold onto the table and remain standing.

Penelope's eyes went red with panic. She turned around and told her assistant, "Bring the car to the entrance! We're taking Artemis to the hospital!"

The world slowly darkened before my eyes. Just when I thought I could not hold on, hurried footsteps came from the entrance of the hall. Zacharias Shaw arrived and caught me before I fell. "Leave it to me, Grandma."

Penelope's eyes were wet with tears. "Yes. Take care of her, my boy!"