The moment her words landed, the guests erupted.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"
"You're married now, what's there to be shy about!"
Cornelius's breath caught. He shot to his feet, yanked Desiree back into her seat, and barked at the crowd.
"They don't like PDA. Knock it off!"
A month ago, during the rehearsal run-through with the emcee, Cornelius had specifically insisted on cutting the kiss from the ceremony.
Looking back, he'd already been planning to have Geoffrey take his place.
With that thought, I reached up and hooked my finger around Geoffrey's tie.
I rose on my toes and kissed him.
"Cindy!"
Cornelius kicked his chair aside and vaulted onto the stage with one hand on the edge.
Under the stunned stares of every guest, he wrenched me off Geoffrey and shouted in my face.
"Cindy! Have you lost your mind? How could you kiss him!"
I blinked, the picture of wounded innocence.
"I kissed my husband at my own wedding. How is that crazy? And why are you so upset about it?"
Geoffrey took my hand and drew me behind him.
"Little brother, I know it's hard watching your big brother get married, but Cindy is your sister-in-law now. Show some respect."
Then he ran his tongue slowly across the lipstick stain at the corner of his mouth, as if savoring every last trace.
Cornelius's eyes went bloodshot.
"Let me make one thing clear—"
He barely got the words out before Desiree rushed onto the stage and cut him off.
"Enough!"
She leaned close to his ear, her voice barely a whisper.
"Cornelius, whatever this is, save it for after the ceremony. Every guest and every camera down there is pointed right at you."
Cornelius glanced out at the audience.
Hundreds of pairs of eyes stared back at him. The media crew the Harding Group had hired had their lenses trained squarely on his face.
Only then did the reality of what he'd just done hit him.
If the press found out that the Harding Group's heir had arranged a marriage alliance with the Henson family only to send his brother to the altar in his place, it could bring the entire company down.
Once Cornelius reined himself in, Desiree turned to the guests and the cameras with a smooth smile.
"Geoffrey got a little too excited watching his brother tie the knot, and he's had a few drinks. Emotions ran high, that's all."
"Please, everyone, enjoy the food and the champagne. Just a small hiccup!"
The emcee seized the moment to steer the energy back on track.
"It's clear the Harding brothers share an incredibly close bond! Why don't we take this opportunity to celebrate with a song?"
"Please welcome the lovely Leila to serenade our newlyweds with a special blessing…"
Before stepping off the stage, Cornelius fixed Geoffrey with a venomous glare.
"You and I aren't done."
Geoffrey's expression was mild, a faint smile resting on his lips. But his eyes were arctic.
Out in the banquet hall, warmth and celebration filled the air.
In the private lounge, it was a different scene entirely.
Cornelius hurled his glass at Geoffrey's feet. It shattered on impact, and a shard sliced across Geoffrey's cheek.
"Geoffrey! I told you to stand in for me at the wedding, not to actually marry her!"
"Cindy doesn't know the truth, but you sure as hell do!"
"When she kissed you, why didn't you push her away? You were enjoying it, weren't you?"
Geoffrey lifted his hand and wiped the blood trickling down his face.
"Push her away? So tomorrow's headline could read 'Harding Family Rejects Alliance with the Hensons'?"
"Or maybe 'Harding Group Heir Rebels Against Arranged Marriage at His Own Wedding'?"
Cornelius saw the mockery in Geoffrey's eyes, the quiet contempt.
He lunged forward and seized Geoffrey by the collar, his voice tight with barely contained fury.
"Don't think I can't see what you're playing at."
"I wondered why you agreed so easily to help me and Desiree. Now I get it. You never gave up on Cindy."
