Chapter 2

"Then what is it?" I cut him off. "Did someone force you to say those things last night? Did someone force you to hug Martha like that?"

Maurice opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

I took a deep breath, wiped away my tears, and turned to face all the guests. "I'm sorry, but the wedding is canceled."

With that, I lifted my dress and walked out without looking back.

Behind me, I heard Maurice's mom call out, "Maurice. What's going on here?"

And Martha was crying, "Mom, I... I didn't..."

As I walked out of the wedding venue, the sunlight was so blinding it made my eyes ache.

Zoie Bird, my friend, caught up to me and grabbed my arm. "Adelaide, are you alright?"

I shook my head, tears streaming down my face.

Ewan Dean had already pulled the car up to the entrance and opened the door for me.

As soon as I got in, my phone rang.

The caller ID showed: Dad.

I looked at the screen, a faint smile tugging at my lips.

He was hooked.

I answered the call, my voice catching. "Dad."

There was a pause, and then he let out a heavy sigh. "Adelaide, Martha was definitely wrong, but she claims it was Maurice who led her on."

I bit my lip, my voice trembling. "Dad. Please, stop."

"Alright, here's the deal," my dad said, his voice full of condescension. "Since Maurice has feelings for Martha, just let her have him.

"That way, the Shelton and Montgomery families can still be tied together, and we can smooth over the embarrassment from this wedding mess."

I stayed silent, tears streaming down my face.

My mom's voice came through the phone, pushing him to continue, and my dad finally spoke again. "So, to make it up to you, your mom and I talked it over.

"You'll work at headquarters as vice president, and we'll give you five percent of the shares. Consider it our way of making up for the marriage you lost."

My crying slowed down a lot.

Just as my dad was about to say something else, I took a deep breath. "Okay, thanks, Dad."

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

I added, "Even though Martha isn't your biological daughter, you've bent over backwards for her. I'm not even in the same league as your real daughter.

"Now that I've handed over my fiancé to her, giving me a few shares as compensation really isn't asking for much."

My dad was silent for a few seconds, sighed, and hung up.

I put my phone down, wiped away my tears, and said to Ewan, "Ewan, take me to Freya's place."

Ewan nodded and turned the car around.

Outside the car window, lilacs were blooming wildly, their fragrance flooding into the car in waves.

I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes.

When I turned eighteen, I was finally acknowledged as part of the Shelton family.

Everyone saw me as some pitiful country girl—clueless, helpless, and never bothering to compete for anything.

Martha, meanwhile, grew up pampered, mastering all the arts—music, chess, painting, and the like.

I'd never even touched a piano, and my foreign language was always mocked for its accent.

My parents thought I was an embarrassment, so they rarely brought me to any formal events.

I kept my head down, did what I was told, studied hotel management, and after graduation, started from the ground up.

Maurice showed up just a few days after I returned to the Shelton family.

He said he liked me and wanted to protect me. He'd walk me to class, pick me up after school, take me out to eat, and cheer me up whenever I was feeling down.

I used to think he was genuinely good to me, until I caught Maurice and Martha together.

Six years of playing along—it was finally time to bring the curtain down.

The car stopped outside Freya Price's place. I took a deep breath and opened the car door.

Zoie caught my arm. "Adelaide, want me to go up with you?"

"No, I just need some time alone," I said.

I went upstairs and knocked on the door.

Freya opened the door, totally stunned. "Holy crap, are you seriously showing up here in a wedding dress?"

I walked in, closed the door behind me, and slumped against it.

Then I slowly slid down until I was sitting on the floor.

Freya's voice trembled. "Adelaide, what's wrong? Don't freak me out like this."

I looked up. "Freya."

I let out a bitter laugh. "The wedding's off."

Freya froze for a few seconds and then yanked me up off the floor.

"Damn, you scared the shit out of me." she said, clutching her chest. "I thought you were seriously about to do something stupid."

I kicked off my heels and walked barefoot across her floor, then pulled up my wedding dress and tied the skirt in a knot.

"Got any water? I'm dying of thirst," I said.

Freya stared at me for a moment, went to the kitchen, poured me a glass of water, and threw a bag of chips onto the couch. "Sit down. Spill it—what happened?"

I took a big gulp of water and gave her the whole rundown of what went down last night, from beginning to end.

When I got to the part where Maurice said, "What's she gonna do. Throw a tantrum?" Freya was so mad she crushed the chips in her fist.

"Fuck. That asshole!" Freya's eyes were huge. "Six years. He was faking it for six whole years. Honestly, he deserves an Oscar for that bullshit."

"And Martha was there too," I slumped back on the couch. "She was there last night."