Chapter 4

Three days before the wedding, the whole family was busy.

Dad was making the final calls to relatives and friends, proudly telling everyone that his Rianne was getting married.

Mom went through Rianne's dowry over and over again, terrified she'd forgotten something and shortchanged her little princess.

Ace was at Rianne's beck and call, picking up her friends, running errands, never once complaining.

The whole family was bustling with excitement, yet not one person asked whether I was ready or if there was anything I still needed.

My eyes fell on the entryway. My wedding invitation was sitting there in plain sight. It had been there for an entire week.

No one had bothered to open it.

No one had noticed that my wedding date had already been moved and no longer fell on the same day as Rianne's.

They simply didn't care about my wedding. They didn't care whether the rest of my life would be happy. To them, I was just the extra daughter who happened to be getting married too, a backdrop for Rianne to shine.

I quietly changed my shoes and left the house.

There were only three days left until the wedding.

Diego had already told me he didn't care about any of the formalities. All he wanted was me.

Even so, I wanted to give him something in return. I decided to buy him a watch as my gift in exchange for our wedding band.

But when I went to pay, the sales associate handed my card back. "I'm sorry, ma'am. There aren't enough funds on this card."

I froze. Then it hit me.

A suffocating sense of dread washed over me.

I put the card away and rushed home.

The moment I walked through the door, I swept the wedding candy out of Mom's hands.

"Mom, were you the one who spent the $96,000 in my account?"

Every head in the room turned toward me.

Mom calmly continued packing candy as if I'd willingly handed her the money myself. "I was. I bought Rianne some extra gold jewelry so she'd have more security after she gets married. We didn't have enough money, so I used yours."

She said it so casually.

My throat tightened with pain. "That was everything I'd saved after two years of working."

"We're family. Why are you making everything yours and mine?" Mom frowned. "Besides, didn't you already agree to give your sister some money?"

I couldn't hold it in anymore. My voice rose. "Are you trying to ruin me? Am I supposed to get married with nothing but the clothes on my back? She already has a house and a car! Isn't that enough?"

My voice broke. "Mom, you can't do this. It's not fair."

Mom stood there in stunned silence.

Ace immediately rushed over and shoved me. "Rory, what the hell is wrong with you now? It's only $96,000. Is it really worth making such a scene? Rianne only gets married once. Of course we shouldn't make her settle for less."

Mom quickly recovered. "You make good money. You can earn it back. It's not like you can't afford it. That's enough. Go back to your room and stop making trouble."

I didn't answer. Instead, I walked straight toward the jewelry box holding Rianne's wedding jewelry.

Just as I reached for it, someone grabbed my wrist. It was Dad. "What do you think you're doing?"

I struggled to pull free.

More than twenty years of hurt and resentment finally erupted.

"I'm taking it back. It's my money!"

Rianne spoke timidly, "Rory, don't be mad. You can have them. I don't want them anymore."

Seeing that, Ace grabbed me and pinned my arms even harder. "Rory, haven't you made enough of a scene? Do you have to tear this family apart?"

I shouted back, "I'm only taking back what belongs to me!"

The instant the words left my mouth—

Smack.

The blow sent my head snapping to the side.

The left side of my face burned with pain. Tears spilled down before I even realized it.

Mom had slapped me. She was breathing hard, her eyes filled with disappointment and disgust. "I raised you all these years so you'd turn against your own family? You keep blowing every little thing out of proportion. How can you be so selfish?"

I covered my burning cheek and looked at the accusing faces surrounding me.

For Rianne, they could cut down my cherry tree. They could empty my savings.

But the moment I tried to take back what was mine, I became the ungrateful, selfish daughter.

Dad stepped forward, his face grim. "Enough. The money is no longer up for discussion. No one is to mention it again."

Just one casual sentence, and that was the final word.

I withdrew my hand from the jewelry box. It wasn't that I didn't want it. I knew I wasn't going to get it back.

Without another glance at them, I left the house empty-handed. I checked into the hotel I'd already booked.

For the next two days, I never went home.

No one called me or asked where I was. No one cared about my wedding. They were still busy fussing over Rianne, acting as though I'd never existed.

Finally, the wedding day arrived with clear skies.

Right on time, a line of black SUVs pulled up outside the hotel. Dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, Diego stepped out and walked toward me with quiet confidence.

"Rory," he said with a smile. "I'm here to take you home."

He reached for my hand, and together we walked to the car.

From this day forward, that family was no longer mine.