Chapter 9
“Elise, you little bitch! What’d you say to my brother to make him cut ties with the whole family?”
Faye stormed in, shrieking, and grabbed Vance’s arm with all her might. The second she saw my flat stomach, a smug look flashed in her eyes–then she switched to a pathetic tone:
“Bro, look how cold–hearted Elise is. She marries into a billionaire family and aborts your kid without a second thought! Wake up! She doesn’t love you!”
Faye thought a few taunts would spark Vance’s resentment like always, but this time she was dead wrong. Vance wasn’t under her thumb anymore.]]
“Shut up,” he said, voice hollow. “Just shut up.“[]
Vance slowly looked up at me, his eyes swimming with pain. “Elise… you’re lying to me, right? The baby… it was a miscarriage, yeah? It’s okay, I don’t blame you… Come home with me. We’ll have the wedding…” His voice broke, desperate.[]
But I wasn’t the girl who’d fall for empty comfort anymore.[]
My parents had been sitting quietly, not wanting to cause trouble, but they couldn’t hold back now. Mom’s voice shook: “You knew Elise can’t swim, didn’t you? Last month she almost drowned–we barely saved her!
pad was furious, landing a punch on Vance: “Is this how New York elites act? Every time I visited the Lyon estate, Elise was cleaning!“)]
My relatives surrounded Vance and Faye, shouting: ” “Is this how you treat a wife? You’ve been stalling the wedding gift for months- the Banks family doesn’t want it!“]]
Vance’s heart wrenched. He’d had the gift ready ages
s ago. When he turned and saw Faye biting her lip guiltily, the truth hit him.
Faye stepped back in fear, pulling Vance to escape, but he wouldn’t budge. He stood frozen, staring around the wedding hall–this was the dream wedding he’d never had. No Faye meddling, no vicious gossip. Just me in a wedding dress, standing beside the man I loved, smiling in peace.]]
Vance realized this was the wedding I’d always deserved. That’s when he broke.]]
Tears poured down his face, voice choked with emotion: “Elise… I’m sorry. I finally get how much you suffered. Now, seeing you in that dress with someone else, it feels like my heart’s being ripped out. But when I had those 20 fake weddings with Faye… how much pain did you go through? I said such hurtful things! I never truly stood by you… I’ll never get you back, will I?”
He collapsed to his knees, curling up on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.]
I thought I’d feel sad, revisit all the hardships I’d endured alone. But I didn’t. My voice was calm:[]
“Vance, you pushed me away. It doesn’t matter now–all that’s in the past.”
Even though my words were forgiving, Vance cried harder.
In the corner, Faye tried to sneak off. Pierce suddenly raised a hand, eyes on Faye:[]
“Wait.”
