Semua Bab My Dad, Sidelined at My Wedding: Bab 1 - Bab 10

After the chest was carried away, Dad stayed where he was. His arms hung empty at his sides, his fingertips rubbing absently against the seam of his trousers as if he were still holding something.The wedding coordinator came by again. "The bride needs to touch up her makeup."I didn't move. I turned and went after the chest instead, and Dad followed a few steps behind. He looked like he wanted to call out to me, but held himself back and just quickened his pace to keep up.The back of the hotel was much darker than the banquet hall. The far end of the corridor was piled with discarded cardboard boxes, spare flower stands, and a few bags of damp table linens. The air smelled like alcohol, kitchen grease, and disinfectant.The chest hadn't been left at the edge of it all so much as dumped there. A bag of wet linens sat on the lid, water dripping down the plastic and bleeding a dark stain into the wood.Dad practically jogged over. He crouched down, moved the linens aside, and start

The ceremony officially began, and the lights settled on the stage. Elliott stood at the center in a perfectly pressed suit, his voice steady and composed.He thanked his parents first. They sat in the middle of the main table, smiling and nodding as the applause filled the room.Then he turned to the Carver family. "I also want to give special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Carver. They've looked after me like family all these years."The cameras cut to the main table immediately. Claire's parents were seated in the most prominent spot, their smiles warm and polished. Claire lowered her head slightly, her eyes glistening.Someone in the audience called out, "Are they the bride's family or the groom's?"Elliott didn't correct it. He even smiled a little.Over by the kitchen doors, Dad heard the comment and his fingers tightened on his knees. A server pushed a cart past behind him, and he hurried to scoot his chair forward so he wouldn't be in the way. The legs scraped against the floor

The call connected, and James's voice came through. "Sadie?"The ballroom was silent. Everyone was watching me. Elliott's expression shifted from impatience to warning, but I didn't flinch."Mr. Whitfield, the wedding's been called off."Elliott's face changed instantly. Catherine rushed forward. "Sadie, don't you dare!"I kept going. "I'll no longer be handling the Chambers Corp account going forward. If you're open to it, I'd like to resubmit the proposal independently, under my own name."The line was quiet for a few seconds. Then James asked one question. "Are you still in?""I am.""Then I'm backing you."Catherine's composure cracked. "The Whitfield account is a Chambers Corp project. Since when do you get to make that call?"I hung up. "Since I spent three straight months reworking the proposal for Chambers Corp, visiting factories with Mr. Whitfield, auditing the supply chain, and rebuilding the budget from scratch."Elliott kept his voice low. "Sadie, do you really n

The day Elliott came to the house, Dad was crouched by the balcony replacing the clasp on the chest. He worked the small screwdriver slowly, sunlight falling across his graying hair.The doorbell rang. Owen went to answer it, and when he saw Elliott, his face hardened. "What are you doing here?"Elliott was holding a bag of gifts wrapped in expensive packaging that had Catherine written all over it. He stood in the doorway with most of his usual composure stripped away. "I want to see Sadie."Owen scoffed. "She doesn't want to see you."Elliott didn't leave. He looked past Owen and spotted Dad out on the balcony. Before all of this, Dad would have been on his feet the moment Elliott walked in, calling out his name with a smile, scrambling to find something to offer him.This time, Dad just set down his screwdriver and slowly straightened up. "Mr. Chambers."Elliott stiffened for a moment. He carried the gifts inside and set them on the coffee table. "Sir, the way things were hand

Two months later, Everwell landed the Whitfield project.On the day of the signing ceremony, Dad sat in the front row. He was wearing a new light blue dress shirt. It wasn't expensive, but it was pressed crisp and clean. Owen sat beside him, clutching a folder, flipping through it nervously over and over.Dad nudged him quietly. "Stop flipping. You're going to wear the pages out."Owen didn't back down. "I'm checking."I stood on stage looking at the two of them, and suddenly I was back at the wedding, watching Dad sit by the kitchen doors with the catering carts behind him and broth stains at his feet, barely daring to clap.Today, he was in the front row, and nobody asked him to move aside. Nobody told him he was in the way of the cameras.After the signing, James shook my hand. "Ms. Reed, looking forward to the partnership."When those words landed, Dad's eyes lit up. He straightened up a little in his seat, like he wanted everyone to know I was his daughter.When the event