Semua Bab DIVORCED MORNING AND REMARRIED TO HIS BROTHER BY NIGHT: Bab 321 - Bab 330

MONIQUE“What exactly do you think happens if I walk out of this wedding today?”His jaw tightens. “People will talk,” he says carefully. “People always talk.”I shake my head slowly.“No, Marcus. That’s not what I mean.”I take a few steps toward him.“Do you know what Ryan will say if this wedding doesn't happen?”Marcus’s expression darkens.“Yes.”“He will say he was right,” I continue. “He will say I’m unstable. That I destroy everything I touch. That I can’t keep a marriage together.”My chest tightens.“He will say that I was the reason our marriage failed. He'll say no man can stay with me.”Marcus’s eyes flash with anger. “Ryan doesn’t get to define you.” he snaps.“But the world believes men like Ryan,” I say quietly.The truth sits quietly in the room. Men like Ryan always know how to control the narrative. They smile in public. They shake hands. They donate money. And women like me become the “crazy ex-wife.”Marcus takes another careful step closer.“Monique,” he says gen

MARCUSI have no idea how Jason managed to get me into my tux.I don’t know how he managed to make me eat a few bites of a sandwich, or how he convinced me to drink something, or how he managed to bring me out here.Standing right now in front of the altar...... Waiting for a bride. A bride I’m not even sure is going to walk down that aisle.Apparently, Jason went into full crisis-management mode after he had managed to get me to listen to him. He went looking for Nadia and somehow found out that Monique hadn’t said anything to anyone.Nadia told him she was just… a little out of it.But she was still getting ready. The makeup artists were working on her. The dress was being fitted properly. The person in charge of organising everything was already rushing around upstairs. The bridesmaid was with her.Everything was going according to plan. At least on the surface it looked like it And even though Jason did everything he could to make me feel at ease, saying the right things, trying

MARCUSThe silence that followed was Heavy and Unbearable.“I know you,” Ryan continues saying quietly. “And I know you don’t want this. You don't want to marry him, Monique.”I’m confident in my love for Monique. I believe that she loves me. I do. But the way he says it, the way he looks at her, like he believes every word he is spewing......It's then that I feel it. When I feel her hand trembling in mine. My grip tightens instinctively around hers. One word from her… And everything, including my heart, falls apart.“Security,” I call sharply. “Get him out of here.”Ryan steps forward instead.“You invited me,” he says. “Why invite me if you didn’t want me to come and take my wife?”“She’s not your wife.”He’s close now. Too close. I don't like it one little bit.“She is,” he insists. “She hasn’t said yes to you yet. This wedding is not final.”I exhale slowly.... Then I drop it.“Well,” I say, almost casually, “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but Monique and I are already married.”Th

MONIQUEAfter Ryan's declaration, everything inside me goes cold.There’s fear, there’s panic, but there’s also something deeper, something heavier....because I know Ryan, and I know that tone.I have heard it before. I mean, of course I have, but not with a gun in his hand before, but in his arguments. In quiet moments, in the way he used to look at me when he was about to strike, he always had that look in his eyes. It was final and unyielding.Marcus must sense it too, because his grip on me tightens. I can feel the tension in his body. Every muscle is locked tight.“Ryan,” he tries again, lowering his tone. “Think about what you’re doing. This can all be over. You can go back to your daughter and your parents.”But Ryan isn’t looking at him. He isn’t even listening.He’s looking at me. Only me.“Come here,” he says.Immediately my breath catches, and I shake my head.“Monique, come here.” he tries again.“No,” Marcus says immediately, his voice sharp.Ryan’s hand jerks slightly, t

MONIQUEMy hand hesitates, just enough time. Enough for them to push forward and take control.It’s then that I realise that they are medics. I didn’t even know who they were or what they wanted to do. I watch as they force him gently down onto the ground, their movements quick but controlled, practised. They wrap something tightly around him, pressing hard, talking in urgent voices I can barely follow.“Pressure, keep pressure there.....”“We’re losing too much....”“Get the stretcher, now.”The words blur together. I don’t understand half of what they’re saying. All I know is that it sounds bad. Really bad.I have no choice or option but to sit there beside them, my hands useless now, my body shaking, covered in his blood, watching them work.Watching.Waiting.Praying.'Please… please let him be okay.'They lift him onto a stretcher and Everything moves so fast. Too fast. And then they start taking him away.“No, wait...”I push myself up immediately and follow, like a zombie, like