"You know no one would let her ride with an urn. Did you really have to argue with her at her saddest moment?"
As he stepped closer, I caught the scent of camellia perfume clinging to him. It was Raquel’s perfume and it made me nauseous. I instinctively stepped back and covered my mouth.
He opened the car door and gently helped Raquel inside. "You don’t need to get out," he said softly to her. "I promised to take you there today and I will keep my word."
Then he turned to me.
"Hurry up and get in. The wedding’s about to start. I told you we’ll hold the ceremony first. I’ll still make sure you look like a beautiful bride. After the wedding, we’ll take Raquel to bury Peanut together."
Fury surged through me. I threw open the car door.
"Raquel, this is my car. Please get out. I don’t agree with you using it to go to the cemetery. I can call a car for you or find a friend to take you, but not this one."
Turning to Andrew, I said coldly, "Call the wedding planner now. Tell them to come and restore the car design like before."
Raquel looked at me, tears brimming in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly and forced a smile. "All right. I don't want to ruin your wedding more than this. Sorry and I wish you happiness."
Then she gently brushed Andrew’s hand aside and looked up at him with those watery eyes. "You should go get married. I’ve told you before—we’re not meant to walk the same path. Why keep upsetting Naomi?"
"Let me take Peanut alone. I’ll send him off myself."
She leaned over the urn and whispered, "Peanut, Mommy will take you to rest."
Enraged Andrew shoved me aside. I stumbled backward and crashed into the flower bed behind me. The sharp edge dug into my back—pain exploded through my body as my vision went black. The bouquet slipped from my fingers and scattered across the ground.
"That's enough. Are you done now? How long are you going to make a scene over a car? In the end, I’m still marrying you—what more do you want?"
"You’re about to become the wife of Andrew Benedict. You have everything anyone could ask for. Why must you make things so hard for Raquel? She had so little… and now she’s lost even that. Must you really push her this far?"
"If I had known you would turn out so cruel and unreasonable, I never would have agreed to marry you."
His words cut through me like a blade.
Andrew and I had been college sweethearts. He was just a poor scholarship student, barely scraping by. His family had nothing and he had to take out loans just to make it through school. But we fell in love. For the sake of his pride, I hid my background and quietly started a business with him. After graduation, we struggled together—through every hardship, side by side.
Eventually, things got better. We built our own company and behind the scenes, I even asked my father to support us. With that hidden help, his business flourished. He became a rising star in Seattle’s business world.
I waited patiently, believing he would propose. That we would finally have our wedding.
I invited friends and family, ready to reveal my background on our special day. I truly believed we would be happy.
But now, I stood frozen, watching him embrace his secretary as she nestled sweetly in his arms… watching the wedding car I had bought turned into a funeral hearse. My chest tightened.
Perhaps everything had already changed long ago. I just did not want to see it.
Andrew stared at me coldly. "You have two choices. One, get in the car and come with me to the hotel. We’ll still hold the wedding."
"Two, if you refuse to get in, then walk there yourself. After all, you don’t want to ride in a hearse, do you?"
I looked through the car window. Raquel was still in his arms, glancing at me with a smug, provocative smile.
She said softly, pretending to smooth things over, "Naomi, don’t be upset. I’ll try to talk to Mr. Benedict for you."
Then she turned toward him, whispering something in a sweet, spoiled tone. I caught a few words. "Naomi has always dreamed of marrying you. Even if you abandon her here, she’ll find a way to get to the hotel, but can’t you just coax her a little?"
