Chapter 2

At that, everyone was stunned, their faces frozen in shock, like someone had cast a spell to freeze them in place.

No one tried to get closer and check out what was going on or spoke up.

I forced my legs to move, feeling like they weighed a ton, and picked up the charm, broken in half, from the mess on the floor.

Even though I'd braced myself for this, standing there in person, I still was so cowardly, like a kid who'd been caught doing something wrong.

I bit down hard on my lip and tongue, tasting blood in my mouth.

"Get the hell out here! Simon Shepherd, are you deaf or ignoring me? You dare betray my daughter? You must have a death wish." My dad charged straight for the master bedroom, not caring about anything else.

He slammed his fists hard against the wooden door.

Right as he raised his foot to kick the door in, Simon slipped out through the door, wearing nothing but a towel.

"Grady, Dad, Mom, Bryson," Simon stammered. "Why are you all here? Why didn't anyone tell me—"

My dad didn't let him finish. He landed a punch right on Simon's face. "You heartless bastard. Do you really have the nerve to ask us that?

"Izzy's been waiting for you for six whole years, wishing and hoping every single day. Was she waiting so she could see you stab her in the back like this?"

Simon was still frozen in shock when my mom suddenly rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a knife.

My mom shouted, "Where's that little bitch? How dare she ruin my daughter's marriage? I'm going to kill her. That little witch is dead meat."

As she was about to storm into the master bedroom with the knife, Simon grabbed it from her and tossed it to the floor.

"Grady, Romina, maybe you're getting it all wrong," Simon said. "I was planning to leave the team and head home at seven tomorrow morning.

"I wanted to surprise Izzy, so I came back early. I'd just finished my shower and was about to get dressed when you all showed up."

While Simon was still talking, my cousin, Garett Hanson, burst into the bedroom. "Simon, if you really screwed over Izzy, I swear I'll make you pay."

As soon as Garett pushed the door open, he saw the wedding bed was made up so neatly that it looked almost unreal.

He scanned the whole room, but there wasn't a single trace of anyone else.

Elowyn cut in quickly, trying to break the tension. "Come on, I know Simon would never do something like that. "Guess we all jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Izzy, you could've waited upstairs with Simon. You know we've been here before. With this crowd, you really think we'd get lost?"

She picked up the coat from the floor and tossed it to Simon with an exasperated sigh. "Seriously, Simon, why do you have to watch those dumb porn videos while showering?

"See? Everyone's got the wrong idea because of you."

Simon's cousin, Bryson Shepherd, chimed in, "Honestly, did you and Isabelle have your good time in here? You didn't bother to clean up before we came up to decorate your wedding room?"

Elowyn echoed, "Guess you're pretty comfortable with us, huh?"

Simon quickly threw on his clothes and played along without missing a beat. "Could I be any unluckier? Who else gets busted by their whole family for watching a porn video at home? Now everyone thinks I'm cheating or something."

He coughed, trying to look awkward. "Now that everyone's here, how about we all go out for dinner? What do you think, Izzy?"

Seeing me stand there, completely unfazed, Simon walked right up and pulled me into his arms. "Weren't you curled up in my arms, being all sweet a minute ago? Getting all shy now that everyone's watching?"

As he spoke, he leaned in close and whispered right in my ear, "Let's take everyone out for dinner first. I'll explain that video thing to you later.

"It's not what you think, trust me. Come on, say something. Everyone's waiting for you."

Was he really worried about everyone waiting, or was he afraid the person hiding in the master bedroom would get impatient?

After ten years together, Simon knew me inside out. He always knew exactly how to get me to trust him.

He knew that every time he and Maxine crossed the line, pretending it was friendship, I'd end up buying whatever excuse he gave me.

But what Simon never realized was that once I learned he'd spent six years faking canceled wedding leave to hang out with Maxine, any desire to marry him vanished.

But I wasn't about to expose their dirty little secret yet. I wanted to see them face the consequences, to watch them get a taste of their own medicine.

I snorted coldly and shrugged out of his embrace. "Sure, it was a big misunderstanding. We were careless enough to make fools of ourselves, and now everyone gets a good laugh.

"Mom, Dad, Dutton, Elowyn, since we're all finally together, why don't we throw a party right here at home? Perfect way to celebrate the last bachelor night of Simon and me."

"No way." As soon as I said it, the Shepherd family all shot me down at once.

Seeing my confused expression, Elowyn quickly explained, "There's no food in the wedding apartment. If we try to have a party here, wouldn't that be too shabby?

"Besides, it's way too late to go shopping or cook anything now."

"Elowyn's right. Let's go out for dinner," Dutton said.

"Yeah, my parents are right. Izzy, Grady, Romina, let's go out for dinner," Simon echoed.