Semua Bab A Mask at the Wedding: Bab 1 - Bab 10

"Do you take this woman to be your wife, to stand by her through thick and thin?""I do," the man said, his voice muffled by the mask.The guests whispered in awe. Howard Larson, the Larson family's big shot, was so in love with me that he would not let a bad cold stop our big day. He did not want to disappoint me."Wait a second."The man's eyes darted around, and his forehead was dotted with sweat.I smiled and asked, "Howard, you're looking a bit pale. Too busy with the wedding to remember your medicine?"He coughed nervously. "Yes, I..."I signaled the officiant to pause and led the groom to a quiet room.Just then, my phone buzzed on the table. A bunch of unread texts from Joyce Charlton.[Bet you didn't know your groom's a phony, huh? Surprise! Howard and I are watching your wedding live. ]There was a photo too: Howard had his arms around her, his chin resting on her head.[Forgot to mention, it was my idea. This wedding's just a game to cheer me up.]I quickly repli

The news of my marriage to Elias did not get out fast.The Larson family kept it quiet to protect their stock prices.After the wedding, Elias and I got our marriage license in a flash, and then he said he had to go abroad for a few days.On the other side, Howard, who had no clue, had a great two days at the villa with Joyce before he finally sensed something was off.Normally, I would have caused a big fuss by then, making him come back, but this time, there was complete silence.Howard was distractedly swiping on his phone, not even looking up when Joyce called his name."No, she's definitely playing games," he thought to himself.Thinking that, Howard's lips twisted into a smile. He had let her get away with too much.I never thought I would run into two troublemakers at my dad's business dinner.Right away, Howard spotted me, but he looked like a storm cloud when he saw me chatting with another guy.Joyce, after spotting me, pretended to be casual as she rubbed her belly

Once Howard saw who it was, his attitude flipped. "Darcy, you think I'm stupid?"He pointed at Elias. "Isn't this the double I paid 15 thousand dollars for? What, the wedding act wasn't enough, now you're still pretending to be a devoted couple?"Joyce clapped a hand over her mouth, feigning shock as she looked at me, but her eyes were full of scorn."Darcy, how could you be like this? Howard is already stressed out with the business, and instead of helping, you bring in an actor to needle him, that's really insensitive."She turned to Howard, soothingly trying to calm him down."Please, Howard, don't be mad anymore. Darcy just loves you so much that she did something silly to get your attention," Joyce pleaded.Howard's frown softened as he listened."Darcy, I didn't give you enough credit. To make me come back, you'd stoop to such low tricks!"I could not hold back any longer. "Howard, are you out of your mind?"Howard just waved his hand, clearly annoyed but willing to make

Howard was stunned. He watched Joyce walk toward him, his face turning pale. "Joyce? What are you doing here?" he whispered, his voice filled with panic. Joyce reached him and lovingly linked her arm with his. "Howard, today's our wedding day," she said sweetly. She stood on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear, "Did you forget our plan? If we marry today, I can help you out, for real.”"My uncle's a big-time investor in Solstice City. If he steps in, won't that fix the Larson Group's problems?" Howard felt a jolt. He remembered Joyce mentioning a few days back that she had a rich uncle who could invest in the Larson Group if they got married. However, he had been too busy trying to win me back to really listen. Then, with all the cameras and whispering guests, Howard felt trapped. If today's wedding went wrong, he would be the joke of the town with no way to recover. He clenched his jaw, his eyes on Joyce, filled with mixed feelings. Joyce seemed not to notice his t

One night, Howard, completely wasted, showed up at my house and started banging on the door like crazy."Darcy! Open up! Come out here!”"You cruel woman! How can you be so heartless? Don't you remember all the years we've shared?”"My dad's on his last legs! The company's going down! Do you really want to see me dead?"I stood by the second-floor window, watching him make a fool of himself down there.Elias came up behind me, wrapped his arms around me gently, and rested my head on his chest. He did not want me to watch that sad display."Don't look anymore, it's not worth it," he whispered. "I'll have security handle him."I shook my head. "It's not necessary."I stepped out onto the balcony and looked down at Howard, who used to be on top of the world but was then a mess."Howard, do you see what you've done now?"When he heard my voice, he jerked his head up, his eyes red and wild."Darcy... I was wrong, I really was wrong..."He lay on the ground, crying his eyes out,