Semua Bab The Night Before My sisters Wedding : Bab 1 - Bab 10

Adelaide's POV:The termination letter was still folded in the side pocket of my carry-on when I landed, like keeping it close would somehow make it less real. “We appreciate your two years of service. Effective immediately.”Two years, summed up in one sentence and a cardboard box of desk plants I'd left behind because I couldn't stand to carry them through the airport.Two years since I'd left. Two years since I'd seen my family in person. And I was coming home with nothing to show for it but a firing letter and a suitcase.I was still replaying the meeting in my head, my manager's careful corporate voice, “we're restructuring, it's not personal,” when a man walked past the gate ahead of me and every other thought in my head went quiet.He wasn't doing anything. That was the strange part. He was just walking, phone in hand, a suit that fit like it had been built around him rather than bought off a rack, and something in the way he moved made the whole terminal feel like it was arr

“Victor.” My voice came out thinner than I wanted. “I’m not….”He smiled like I’d said something fond. His forehead dropped against mine, heavy, uncoordinated. The whiskey on his breath was sharp enough to leave no argument about how far gone he was.“You always do that,” he murmured. “Start a fight when you show up late.”“I’m Adelaide.”“Mm.” He kissed the corner of my mouth. The name went through him and came out the other side unused. “Andrea.”His eyes weren’t tracking right. When I leaned back to make him look at me, he followed the movement a half-second late, like the room was arriving to him in pieces.I should have put him on a chair and gone to find staff. Instead I hooked his arm over my shoulders because his knees had started to give, and the alternative was letting him fold onto his own garden path in front of his friends.“Walk,” I said. “You’re going inside.”“Bossy tonight.” The words slurred into my hair. “I like it.”“You won’t like it when you wake up on stone.” I

Adelaide's POVThe ceremony unfolded like a dream I wasn't invited to, the estate's ballroom transformed into a sea of white petals and gold chandelier light. Society's elite filled the gilded chairs: tech moguls, old-money heirs, a sprinkling of celebrities who'd flown in for the spectacle. The air was thick with orchids and expensive perfume, a mix that turned my stomach.I stood with the other bridesmaids, my bouquet clutched so tight the thorns pricked through the satin ribbon. The emerald gown, chosen to match Andrea's eyes, felt like a noose on me.The quartet swelled into the bridal march, a melody that should have been joyous and landed like a dirge. Guests turned in unison. And there she was, Andrea, gliding down the aisle on our father's arm. Dad beamed beside her like this union was his greatest achievement. In a way, it was. He'd engineered the whole thing, pulling strings to put Andrea in Victor's path at that gala, desperate to tie our fading fortune to Langford bill

Andrea's POV:The honeymoon suite at the Langford estate was everything I'd dreamed it would be—opulent and romantic, a sanctuary wrapped in silk and candlelight. Crystal chandeliers cast a soft, golden glow over the king-sized bed draped in white linens embroidered with delicate lace, matching the train of my wedding gown that still hung in the corner like a triumphant banner. Rose petals scattered the floor, leading to a private balcony overlooking the manicured gardens where fairy lights twinkled like captured stars. Champagne chilled in a silver bucket on the nightstand with two flutes waiting untouched. It was supposed to be our perfect wedding night. The culmination of years of planning, of finally securing the life I'd fought for—the billionaire husband, the legacy and the family we'd build.But as the clock ticked past midnight, I paced the plush carpet in my silk negligee, the fabric whispering against my skin with every anxious step. Victor wasn't here, my husband who

Adelaide's POV:Two days. It had only been two days since Andrea's wedding imploded my world, or what was left of it—and yet here I was, sitting cross-legged on my apartment floor, laptop balanced on my knees, firing off emails to every design firm and marketing agency in Boston that might glance at my resume. The screen glowed in the dim afternoon light filtering through my blinds, casting shadows on the stack of unpaid bills beside me. Freelance gigs had dried up lately, and Dad's voice echoed in my head from our last "family dinner" before the wedding: "Adélaïde, you're too... unfocused and lazy. Andrea's more competent and once she's settled with Victor, she'll take over the family business and collaborate with her husband."Perfect for them, maybe. I'd seen it coming miles away, like a storm cloud on the horizon. Andrea, the golden child, handed the keys to the kingdom while I scraped by. But strangely, it didn't sting like it used to. No tears this time, no spiraling into a