Chapter 4
On the day of the wedding, the venue was swarming with reporters.
Backstage, Vivian stood before me in her couture wedding gown.
Their tags were symbols of love: "Bride" and "Groom."
Mine was a scarlet letter: "Homewrecker."
The moment Vivian started to tear up, Richard moved to pin the corsage to my dress.
I tried to block his hand, but he just brushed my attempts aside.
The sharp pin pricked my skin, drawing a bead of blood, but he fastened it anyway.
I clenched my fists, whispering, "Are you really going to do this to me?"
He frowned and shouted, "Vivian just wants you to wear a flower. What's the big deal?"
Vivian, seeing the corsage in place, lifted her chin triumphantly and demanded, "Later, you will read the apology I prepared for you from this PowerPoint. Word for word.
"Then, you will get on your knees and kowtow to me. You will say, 'I'm sorry, I'm the homewrecker. I shouldn't have tried to destroy your family. Please forgive me.'
"You will do it 999 times. Do you understand?"
I didn't speak. I just stared at her.
To appease a pissed-off Vivian, Richard grabbed my chin in a vice-like grip. "Don't push your luck," he warned.
I slapped his hand away, glaring at him.
Before I could say anything, there was a commotion at the door.
The reporters and guests were coming in. They swarmed Richard and Vivian, gushing over the dress, cooing about what a perfect couple they were.
Then, they saw my corsage. Their expressions soured, their eyes turning to daggers of disgust.
"I don't understand how some people can be so shameless. Always going after other people's husbands."
"And she has the nerve to show up on their wedding day. Vivian is too kind. If it were me, I'd have slapped her."
Their words cut me to shreds.
I ripped the corsage off my dress, yelling, "I am not the homewrecker! She is!"
But no one believed me.
Their gazes became even more contemptuous.
"I've never seen anything so pathetic. She plays the victim when she's the one who's guilty."
Richard stood by, indifferent to my existence. He focused entirely on Vivian, playing the devoted husband to perfection. He asked after her comfort as if she were porcelain, while the crowd looked on, their palpable envy fueling his grand performance.
Their words grew harsher, a tidal wave of malice crashing over me from all sides.
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Richard grabbed my arm, his fingers sinking into my flesh as a silent order to remain quiet.
The pain left me trembling and drenched in cold sweat, but to him, I was invisible.
Vivian was still playing the martyr, commenting, "Please, don't be so hard on Lily. She just loves Richard so much. He's such a wonderful man. I can understand.
"Lily is here today to apologize to me. When the time comes, I hope you will all find it in your hearts to forgive her, too."
Just then, the music swelled. It was time. Amid a roar of applause, Richard and Vivian walked to the stage and exchanged heartfelt, custom-written vows.
Finally, after they had exchanged rings, it was my turn. I was brought to the stage.
The moment Richard saw what was on the massive screen behind the altar, the color drained from his face.
The image on the screen was undeniable proof of his bigamy.
Our names were joined under a state seal, the date of our union predating this farce of a wedding by years. The crowd gasped as they realized Richard was already a married man.
I raised the microphone to my lips, my voice ringing out, clear and steady. "Good afternoon, everyone. I am the one Richard Hughes legally married. I am his wife.
"Richard and I were married a year ago!
"Three months ago, he met Vivian. To impress her, he twisted the truth and stood by while she slandered my name!
"He had all my accounts shut down to silence me on every platform!
"He even used AI to forge my handwriting and my voice for that fake apology, and then he used my dead mother's locket to blackmail me into confessing!"
The sheer volume of information was a bombshell that left the audience reeling.
A chaotic wave of shocked whispers washed over the crowd.
Richard started to rush the stage to stop me, but I raised my voice, my words cutting through the noise. "What, are you going to hit me again? In front of all these people?"
The crowd gasped.