Four

Nina’s POV

The loud scream seemed to snap away the fog in my brain as I scrambled off the bed in panic. I got up so quickly, I stumbled and almost fell face flat on the bed, but I barely caught myself to see I was still wearing the dress from last night.

Liam however, was completely naked as I dragged the covers away from him in panic.

The sudden commotion jolted him awake and he bolted upright, with his dick bare to everyone as his face was filled with both surprise and confusion.

"What the fuck?" Liam growled, his voice thick with sleep and panic as he grabbed a corner of the sheet to cover himself.

"You whore!" Anya shrieked, her face twisting into a pure rage as she rushed into the room as she pointed a finger at me. "You disgusting, desperate snake! You slept with my fiancé a night before my wedding!"

"No! Anya, no, I didn't!" I cried out in fear as I moved to the corner of the room for some space. My hands shook violently as I pressed them against my chest. "I don't… I don't know what happened! I swear I don't remember!"

"Shut up!” my father snapped as he walked fully into the room with his face red with anger. Before I could even defend myself, he headed straight for me and raised his arm, before giving me a slap so hard, I staggered backwards.

“Ahh!” I cried out in pain as I could taste blood in my mouth.

"Arthur, stop!" Liam yelled from the bed as he got up and wrapped the cover around his waist, before marching towards my dad in anger.

"Do not tell me what to do in my own house, Liam!" Arthur bellowed, turning his murderous glare back to me and grabbed my upper arm and dug his fingers into my arm painfully to inflict as much pain as he could.

"You absolute disgrace. I knew you were pathetic, Nina, but to sneak into his bed? To seduce your sister's fiancé because you couldn't bear to see her happy? You are a parasite and I hate that you were ever born!"

"Father, please, listen to me," I sobbed, as I held my aching cheek and turned to Anya with pleading eyes. "Anya, I swear to you, I passed out in the hallway and I don't know how I got here. I would never do this to you, I swear!"

"Don't lie to me!" Anya screamed, as she looked at me with disgust in her eyes. "You’ve been staring at him for a year and you think I didn't notice? You did this on purpose to ruin me!"

"Enough!"

The authority in Liam's voice finally caused the shouting to halt as his expression was now cold and calculated as he stared coldly at my dad’s grip on my arm. "Arthur, get your hands off her and screaming at her won't fix this. We need to figure out exactly what happened last night, because I don't remember a damn thing either."

Seeing Liam’s authoritative tone, Arthur slowly released my arm and then, shoved me away like I was garbage. "What happened is obvious and she targeted you while you were intoxicated. But this isn't just a family matter anymore because the press is already gathered outside the estate gates for the wedding and if a single reporter gets wind of this, both our family names are ruined.”

My father pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "I'm calling your parents, Liam because they need to get over here right now. We are fixing this before the media destroys us."

An hour later, things didn't get any better, they only became worse. I was sitting in the corner of the study with a cold compress to my swollen cheek while Liam, who was now completely dressed looked detached while Anya was weeping profusely into a handkerchief while my dad paced the floor like he couldn’t wait to pounce on me.

Soon after, the door opened and Liam’s parents walked into the room with unreadable expressions on their faces.

"What is the meaning of this, Arthur?" Richard Hampton, Liam’s dad demanded, as he looked around the study. "The guests are arriving in a few hours."

"Ask your son," Arthur snapped, pointing a finger at Liam. "My youngest daughter sneaked into Liam's quarters last night and I don’t know what happened but they were found in bed together, stark naked."

"What?!" Eleanor Hampton gasped as her eyes snapped to Liam. "Liam, tell me this is a joke."

"I was heavily intoxicated, Mother," Liam said with a cold tone. "I woke up, and she was there. That is all I know."

"She seduced him!" Anya wailed from the sofa. "She ruined my wedding! She ruined my life!"

"Oh, quiet down, Anya!" Eleanor snapped coldly. "The point is the scandal because if the media finds out the groom slept with the maid of honor the night before the wedding, the Hampton Group's shares will drop twenty percent by tomorrow morning and we cannot afford this!"

"Are you blaming my daughter?" Arthur roared, stepping towards her. "Your son is the one who couldn't keep his hands to himself!"

"Your daughter is the one who crawled into his bed!" Richard shouted back, slamming his hand on the desk. "Don't play the saint with me, Arthur! Your shipping company is bleeding cash, and you need this merger more than we do!"

The four of them began to quarrel as they shouted and yelled insults and accusations at each other, making me feel even more guilty as I cowered in fear. I had tried long and hard to remember what had happened but I couldn't as it seemed as though that part of my memory had been wiped out.

"Stop the yelling," Richard Hampton finally commanded, as he turned to Arthur. "There is only one way to salvage this because the press expects a Beckett-Hampton wedding today. If we cancel it, the scandal ruins us all."

Anya stopped crying, looking up with a spark of hope. "So... the wedding is still on? Liam and I can still—"

"No, Anya," Richard interrupted in a flat tone. "The servants already saw them and word will leak eventually. If Liam marries you now, he looks like a man who cheated with his sister-in-law and it makes us look weak and dishonorable."

Then, Richard turned his cold eyes to me and pinned me with his gaze.

"There has been a change of plans," he announced in a loud tone as everyone looked at him. "To avoid a scandal and protect the stocks, the wedding will proceed today as scheduled but Liam will not be marrying Anya."

My breath hitched in my throat as the room fell dead silent.

Richard pointed a finger directly at me. "Liam, you are marrying Nina. Today."