Chapter 1

My mom, Flora Smith, was just about to take the wine glass that my fiance, Mikael Jardine, handed her. Upon being insulted by Tori Kerr in public, her face turned red all the way down to her neck.

I couldn't be sure whether it was by accident or not, but the wine glass in Mikael's hand suddenly tilted and spilled all over my mom.

I clenched my fists and bellowed sternly, "Are you the one getting married, or am I? You don't get to butt in!"

But Tori ignored me and ran straight to Mikael to explain herself. "Mikael, you have to listen to me. I'm doing this for your own good. I'm a professional tarot reader, and what I predict never goes wrong."

Mikael tossed the wine glass aside casually and said indifferently, "In that case, you should just head home first, Flora."

Mom lowered her head and twisted her fingers nervously. Just last night, she had been overjoyed and was all smiles while carefully picking out a dress to attend my wedding.

But now, Mikael still called her by her first name icily instead of "Mom" like we'd agreed on. I held tightly onto my mom's hand. Our brief silence seemed to irritate Mikael.

"Harmony, if you love me, you should listen to me," he said.

Standing beside my mom, I tried to steady my breathing. "You're marrying me. What do my mom's astrology signs have to do with it? Tori is the one causing trouble at our wedding. She's the one who should leave."

Upon hearing that, Mikael grew anxious. "The wedding date wasn't set according to Tori's advice, and she's already really upset about that.

"Now, you're embarrassing her by not listening to her in front of all these guests. Don't you think you're making her look bad now?"

Mikael was twisting the truth! It was Tori who came here to humiliate me and Mom. At that moment, Mom's embarrassment and unease reached their peaks. "Maybe… Maybe I should just go home."

Tori snorted coldly. "Flora, you shouldn't have come today. Mikael is the heir of the Jardine Group, and you're just a cleaning lady.

"You should bow and call him Mr. Jardine respectfully when you see him. Now, you expect him to call you 'Mom'? Are you even worthy of being called that?"

I stepped in front of Mom, trembling with rage. "Tori, you're not allowed to insult my mom!"

Mikael sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically. "I knew you wouldn't leave quietly."

Tori clapped her hands, and five or six burly men jumped onto the stage. "Mikael is my best friend. I can't just stand by and watch him get bullied by you two. If you won't walk out on your own, then I'll have them throw your mom out instead."

Mom flinched, and her voice took on a hint of a sob. "Harmony, let's just go. I'm sorry... I've embarrassed you."

Watching my mom get humiliated like this made my head spin with anger. "Fine! Then, I'll go with you. Mikael, this wedding is off!"

My mom raised me as a single mom. She worked as a cleaner her whole life to raise me. I built my business from scratch just so she'd never have to be looked down on again. If Mikael couldn't even respect my mom, I didn't want to marry him at all.

But instead of being shocked, Tori burst out laughing. "Harmony, are you a momma's girl? If you love your mom so much, why are you even getting married?"

Mikael slipped his arm around my waist. "Come on, just let your mom leave. We'll carry on with the wedding. This isn't the time for you to throw a tantrum."

As soon as he said that, those men rushed forward and grabbed my mom. They started dragging her toward the door.