Chapter 4

Mia and Emily looked at me, their faces full of shock, like I'd dropped a bombshell.

"Sophia." Emily blurted out, her voice trembling.

She totally lost it, tears streaming down her face.

She jabbed a finger at me, her voice shaking as she finally managed to choke out, "You don't know what's good for you."

"The one who really doesn't know what's good for them isn't me. You know exactly who I'm talking about." I shot back.

"My mom should've never let her pity get the best of her and dragged your mom out of that brothel. She never thought that someone who made a living entertaining men would end up sleeping with her own husband," I said.

Smack. Emily slapped me hard across the face.

It hurt like hell. She didn't hold back.

After all, she always claimed to be part of the Newton family and never admitted she was an illegitimate daughter.

Whenever someone asked if she was my mom's kid, she never said a word to deny it.

But when I exposed her mom's past and her own dirty laundry right in front of everyone, she completely lost it.

"Sophia. You're as disgusting as your mom. Don't think that because you did my mom a few favors, you get to act like you're our family's savior for life. That's emotional blackmail." Emily snapped.

A few favors?

She really had no clue what her mom was dealing with back then.

I pulled up a photo on my phone of Emily's mother being rescued and shoved it right in Emily's face.

"Take a good look, Emily. Do you think this was some tiny favor? If it weren't for my mom, your mom wouldn't even be sitting here eating with us, hell, she might not even be alive," I said.

Emily lunged at me, trying to strangle me right then and there.

I shot Mia a look, and as my longtime bestie, she caught on right away.

"Somebody help. Emily's going to kill Sophia." Mia shouted.

My parents were the first to burst through the door. My mom yanked Emily off me and shoved her away.

She jabbed at my dad. "I told you not to bring them to my daughter's wedding. You may not care about your image, but she does. Let the media learn your perfect-family act is fake and watch the stock tank."

For once, my mom really knew how to play her cards.

She went straight for the jugular with that one.

My dad instantly backed down.

He turned to Emily, who was shaking like a leaf, and barked, "Get out."

Meanwhile, Lily was standing outside, watching the drama unfold, still wearing her bridesmaid badge like she owned the place.

She shot me a look full of challenge, like she was daring me to do something.

She was dead sure I wouldn't do anything that would really shake things up.

After all, every other time, I'd backed down.

She even started whistling like one of the guys, standing there with her hands in her pockets.

"How much longer is this gonna take? I'm getting bored out here," Lily called out, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Alex's friends started joking that Lily wasn't even a real woman.

Lily grinned and nodded. "I never claimed to be one. Women are so much drama. If someone else wants to play that part, go ahead, count me out, the only reason I'm putting up with these two is because, let's be real, I'm Alex's dad."

She snorted with laughter.

I kept tapping my nails on the table, feeling restless and annoyed.

I glanced at Alex, who was chilling nearby, totally unfazed by all the drama.

If you're not gonna handle your buddies, then fine, I'll take care of it myself.

When Mia finished her makeup and stepped out, Lily had the nerve to walk right up behind me, acting like she owned the place.

She wasn't even thinking about giving Mia her bridesmaid badge back.

I didn't ask for it either, and Mia shot me a look and nodded.

The ceremony kicked off, and everything was going smoothly.

But right when the parents were about to come up on stage, I called out to stop everything.

"Wait." I shouted.