Chapter 2

The door to the dressing room opened once more before Matt entered, clad in a suit. He was frowning as he asked, "Waverly, James, why are you two arguing?"

He started walking over to us, looking like he was going to break up the fight, but then his foot landed with unerring accuracy on the dress shoes I had set aside.

There was a crunching sound before Matt exclaimed in surprise and used the opportunity to fall toward Waverly.

Waverly deftly caught him. "Matt, are you okay?"

Matt leaned against her in her arms before turning to shoot me an aggrieved look. "Sorry, James. I didn't mean to step on your shoes and break them. If there's really no other option, you can just wear mine. I don't mind not being the best man."

What classic fake-sweet words!

If this had happened in the past, I would've tolerated it so as to keep the peace.

This time, however, my phone screen lit up again as my future self messaged me.

"He did it on purpose! Back then, I wore those worn-out shoes of his and stepped onto the stage, only to become the laughingstock of the city's elites! Waverly even scorned me on stage, saying that I had humiliated her!"

I stared at Matt, who was still leaning intimately close to Waverly, and felt fury surge through me. Striding over to him, I swung my fist and landed a hard punch straight across his cheek.

The blow snapped Matt's head to the side, a bruise instantly forming on his pale complexion.

A dead silence descended upon the dressing room. Waverly was dumbfounded at the sudden move, while Matt cradled his throbbing cheek and stared at me in disbelief.

"James Lawson, have you gone crazy!" At last, Waverly snapped out of her shock and immediately moved to stand protectively in front of Matt. She screeched at me furiously, "Matt already said that he didn't mean to do that, so how could you just hit him!"

Glaring coldly at the cheating couple before me, I retorted, "So what if I did? Do I need to pick the perfect moment to punch him? Waverly Suther, since you're so heartbroken over his plight, why don't you just marry him instead?"

Enraged and anxious, Waverly jabbed a finger at me. "James Lawson, know your place! If it weren't for your father's connections, do you think I would've married you?"

Finally, she was speaking the truth.

All that crap about her falling in love with me at first sight and that she wouldn't marry anyone else but me was nothing but nonsense. What she was truly after had been my family's company all along.

Behind her back, Matt curled his lips into a smug smile.

I glanced at my phone to see that my future self was sending me more messages.

"Damn, that felt good! Back then, I forced myself to endure all of this in silence since I was worried about everyone else's feelings. Yet, not only did they drove Dad to his death, but after the wedding, they worked together to transfer away all of the Lawson family's assets, too!

"Meanwhile, I was kept captive in the basement, where they took my bone marrow to treat Matt's younger sister, who has leukemia. The photo was taken then."

My breathing sped up as I read the shocking words. I could hardly imagine what sort of hell awaited me if I went ahead with the wedding today.

"I'm not marrying you." Ripping off the boutonniere pinned to the lapel of my suit, I tossed it straight at Waverly's face. "Take your boytoy and get the hell out of my sight."

With that, I spun on my heel and headed toward the door.

Waverly laughed coldly. "James, oh, James… You think you can leave now? It's too late! The guests outside are all influential and powerful figures in the city! Go ahead and walk out that door, then! I wonder how that will affect the Lawson family's reputation?"

She was well aware that I cared most deeply about my family's reputation.

I paused in my tracks, but my phone began vibrating madly at that moment as my future self sent me several more messages.

"Don't leave! You absolutely cannot leave right now! Even if you manage to run from this wedding, the Lawson family's reputation will still be ruined!

"The emcee is about to take the stage, and if you don't go, Waverly will change the wedding video that was supposed to be played on the massive screen to fabricated evidence of Dad being involved in accepting bribes and tax evasion!"

My mind went blank, and it was as though all the blood in my body had rushed to my head, making me feel lightheaded.

No wonder Waverly hadn't cared about pissing me off today—she had already laid the perfect trap.

Waverly, upon seeing that I had stopped moving, assumed that I was afraid and walked over to me. Taking advantage of her taller height, she gazed down at me arrogantly while tidying her bridal veil.

"James, put on the shoes and wait quietly to be called in. If you're obedient, the position of son-in-law of the Suther family will still be yours."

Beside her, Matt took the opportunity to pipe up, "That's right, James. Think of the bigger picture."

I stared at the pretentious couple in front of me, my fingers slowly tightening around my phone.

My future self sent me one more message. "Fight back, James Lawson. I'll send you the access code to the control room. The account username is Waverly's phone number. Let's destroy them today."

As I looked at the complex string of alphabets and numbers that made up the access code, my lips slowly curled into a smirk.

Turning back around to face Waverly once more, I said, "Alright, I'll go."