Chapter 4

"What are you doing?" I threw the car door open and rushed out, grabbing Carlene's wrist. "I've never done anything to you, so why do you keep coming after me?"

Carlene struggled against my grip, but her glare turned even more vicious.

"Because I hate Percy—and anyone connected to him. So, I hate you too!" she replied with a cold smirk, then turned to glare at the scratch on the wedding car. "Isn't this car his too? Good thing I keyed it."

With the road blocked, the traffic behind quickly backed up into a long line.

Someone stuck their head out of the window and shouted, "There's an ambulance behind us—saving lives comes first! Just move your car already!"

Carlene glared sideways at the person, then planted her hands on her hips arrogantly.

"So what if there's an ambulance? Ines, you're not getting married without a hitch today. I just don't want Percy to be happy—so sue me!"

The ambulance's siren blared behind us, piercing and relentless.

I stared at Carlene and let out a cold laugh. "You actually love Percy, don't you? I've never seen anyone go after someone they hate like this."

Carlene stiffened, then dropped all pretense. "That's right! I do love him! And I'm going to ruin your wedding. What are you going to do about it?"

"You lunatic!" I forced out the words between gritted teeth.

Then, I turned and got back into the car to ask Gerry to move it out of the way. But Carlene stood right in front of the car, blocking it.

"Nobody's going anywhere today!" she screamed.

Having had enough, I snapped a photo of her and sent it to Percy.

"Your nemesis is causing trouble again."

"I'll be there right away," he replied instantly.

Sure enough, Percy showed up before long.

I instinctively stepped forward to greet him, only for him to walk right past me. He then grabbed Carlene by the collar and tore into her.

"Carlene, have you lost your mind? Why can't you just leave me alone? Are you going to ruin every single one of my weddings?"

Carlene immediately fired back, and the two of them went at it right there on the spot. The whole time, Percy didn't even spare me a single glance.

I just stood there stunned, my hands and feet going cold as I watched it all unfold.

The driver behind us honked again.

"Isn't this a wedding car? Come on, you two, quit fighting and clear the road. You're getting married today, for crying out loud."

A sharp pain stabbed through my heart, and Percy paused too. Only Carlene shot me a smug glance.

Fighting back tears, I pulled out my phone. "You're not leaving? Fine, I'm calling the police!"

No sooner had I pressed the call button than the phone was suddenly knocked out of my hand and sent clattering to the ground.

I looked at Percy in disbelief, the tears finally spilling down my cheeks. All I had left in me was a reckless, scorched-earth fury. Gritting my teeth, I reached down for the phone.

But I immediately froze the next second. Percy had pulled a small folding knife out of nowhere and was holding it inches away from my abdomen.

A deafening buzz rang in my ears, and my head went completely blank.

"You can't call the police. If you do, Carlene's life is ruined," Percy whispered, his voice trembling. He looked at me with a mix of pleading and coercion in his eyes. "Let me take her home, and when I come back I'll marry you, okay?

"I won't have anything to do with her anymore. Just have the baby, and we can settle down and be happy together, okay?"

I stared at the knife, my blood running cold.

Before I could even respond, Percy folded the knife shut and dragged Carlene away without so much as a backward glance.

It was as if time had suddenly stopped. I sat on the asphalt in a total daze until a traffic police rushed over and pulled me to my feet.

"Ma'am, were you on your way to a wedding? Would you like us to give you a ride?"

I shook my head and placed a hand on my slightly rounded belly.

"I'd like to go to the hospital to have an abortion."