Chapter 2
The hundreds of noble guests held their breath, waiting for the final, sealing moment.
Edward bowed his head slightly.
I, however, stood ramrod straight, rigid as a statue.
A confused murmur rippled through the crowd. Sensing that something was wrong, Edward leaned in slightly, his voice dropping into a low, irritated whisper. "Evelyn, what are you doing?"
I didn't answer him.
Instead, under the shocked gazes of the kingdom's highest nobility, I raised my hands, grabbed the edge of my veil, and violently ripped it off my head.
The entire hall erupted.
"What in the world is Miss Lawrence doing?"
"Lifting her own veil before the vows are complete? This is an utter disgrace."
I tuned out the deafening gasps and locked my eyes directly onto Edward. He hadn't yet managed to wipe the shock from his face, leaving his fake, gentle smile frozen awkwardly at the corners of his mouth. He looked absolutely pathetic.
I reached into my sleeve and pulled out the sacred marriage contract, the parchment where our names were bound in stark ink.
"Edward," I said. The name fell like a stone into a still pool. Though I didn't raise my voice, it echoed to the furthest corners of the hall. "I am calling off this wedding."
The moment the words left my lips, a dead, suffocating silence fell over the cathedral.
It was as if a spell had frozen everyone in place. The King's smile vanished. The Queen's cup trembled violently, spilling amber liquid onto her lap.
Edward's face drained of color, turning a sickly white, then a furious, mottled purple.
"Evelyn Lawrence, have you lost your damn mind?" he hissed through clenched teeth, stepping toward me. "Do you have any idea what you are saying?"
"I know exactly what I am saying," I replied, flashing him a smile that was cold enough to freeze blood. "I said, I am not marrying you. Whoever wants to play your tragic wife can have it."
With that, I gripped the edges of the parchment.
The marriage contract—the singular chain that bound my fate to his—was torn cleanly in two. I balled the pieces up in my fist and threw them aggressively onto the marble floor at his feet.
Without another word, I gathered the heavy skirts of my gown, turned my back on the altar, and walked away.
"Stop right there," Edward roared, lunging forward to grab my wrist.
Anticipating his move, I easily sidestepped his grasp.
"What do you think you are doing, Lord Sterling? Attempting to hold a noblewoman hostage?" I questioned and glared at him, my eyes dripping with disdain. "The contract is destroyed. From this moment on, you and I are absolutely nothing to each other."
My gaze swept over the sea of stunned guests, landing with lethal precision on a specific corner. There, dressed in an understated, elegant gown, stood Charlotte. Her face was a perfect mask of shock, but deep in her eyes, I caught the sickening gleam of triumph.
She was probably practically vibrating with joy, thrilled that the wicked bride was finally stepping aside to give her the throne she so desperately craved.
In our previous life, Charlotte constantly whispered in Edward's ear that I had stolen the spot that rightfully belonged to her.
In this life, she could marry Edward.
I just wondered if a disgraced lord who had been publicly dumped at the altar, along with his precious true love, could still rise to the glorious heights they had reached before.
Ignoring Edward's furious roars and the absolute chaos erupting behind me, I kept my spine straight and marched down the center aisle.
As I pushed through the heavy doors of the cathedral and stepped out into the courtyard, the brilliant, blinding sunlight washed over my face. It felt incredibly warm.
I took a deep breath of the crisp air, feeling the suffocating resentment of twenty years finally begin to evaporate from my lungs.
Just then, a mechanical voice that belonged to no human sounded directly inside my mind.
[Ding. Detected intense emotional fluctuations and a successful defiance of destiny. The Emotion Manipulation System is now officially activated.]
[Ding. Collected +1000 Emotion Points from Edward's pure rage.]
[Ding. Collected +500 Emotion Points from Charlotte's smug triumph and +200 from her lingering jealousy.]
[Ding. Collected +800 Emotion Points from the King's absolute shock.]
[Ding. Collected +3588 Emotion Points from the nobility's scandalous gossip.]
[Beginner's Bonus has been successfully delivered. Congratulations. You currently possess a total of 5088 Emotion Points. Would you like to open the System Dashboard?]
I stopped dead in my tracks, blinking against the sunlight.
A system?