"Mom! Catherine and I grew up together. We've been in love for years. If Amber hadn't clung to me and insisted on this marriage, we would've been together a long time ago."
He shot me a sidelong glance, dripping with contempt.
"Amber is arrogant and selfish. She's not fit to stand beside the CEO of Whitfield Corp as his wife. I've already promised that her child will have the status of an heir. What more does she want? And she still has the nerve to bring all these people here to cause a scene, humiliating both our families?"
Looking at his shameless face, my stomach churned with disgust and regret.
How had I ever been so devoted to a man like this?
I stared coldly at the despicable pair in front of me and ripped away the last shred of cover they were hiding behind.
"So let me get this straight. The two of you conspired to swap out my vitamin pills with sedatives, causing me to oversleep and miss the ceremony, and somehow that was a favor to both families."
"And I, who simply came with my parents to put an end to this farce, am the one dragging our families' names through the mud?"
I leaned forward, locking eyes with both of them, and spoke loud enough for every single person in the room to hear. "If you two were truly in love, why didn't you just say so from the start?"
"Was it because you wanted to trample both families' reputations underfoot? Or because what you were really after wasn't just a wedding, but the entire Pruitt fortune?"
The color drained from both their faces in an instant.
Desmond's eyes darted away. He stammered, "You... what are you talking about?"
Catherine's tears fell faster, her voice trembling. "Just because you can't have the man you want, you'd lash out and slander me? I genuinely love Desmond!"
I tapped my phone once. Instantly, the link to last night's viral post was sent to every guest's phone.
People opened the link, and there was nothing left to misunderstand.
"A cheating scumbag and his scheming mistress, clawing their way up with dirty tricks, then planning to toss aside the person who got them there. Absolutely disgusting!"
"They pulled something this vile and still had the gall to brag about it online. If that were my child, I'd have strangled them with a rope before they could drag the whole family down."
Some turned their fire directly on Desmond.
"The Whitfield heir really has no shame. If he fancied the Pruitts' adopted daughter, he should've just married her."
"This whole scheme was obviously about the Pruitt fortune. Steal their wealth and then force the real Pruitt heiress into being some dirty little secret on the side? Does he think the Pruitt family and every prominent family in Kingsharbor are fools?"
Margaret was shaking with fury. Her palm connected with Desmond's face in a vicious slap.
The blow snapped his head to the side, but even then, his first instinct was to shield Catherine.
Margaret saw this and nearly doubled over, clutching her chest, rage and heartbreak warring on her face.
"You ungrateful wretch! How long has this been going on? And you still refuse to repent!"
"Get on your knees in front of your future in-laws and beg for forgiveness this instant! Throw that shameless woman out and complete your marriage to Amber, properly!"
With that, she turned toward me, plastering on a warm smile, and reached for my hand.
I stepped back without a flicker of expression, neatly avoiding her grasp.
Margaret's smile froze. A beat later, she forced it back into place, even wider than before.
"Amber, this is all the Whitfield family's fault. I failed to discipline my own son."
"As his mother, I'm apologizing to you on Desmond's behalf. Whatever you want, the Whitfield family will agree to it."
"I promise you, nothing like this will ever happen again."
That was when Desmond straightened his spine, jaw set with stubborn defiance.
"Mom! The woman I love is Catherine. In this lifetime, the only Mrs. Whitfield will be her!"
"We're not even married yet and Amber is already this overbearing, this disrespectful to the Whitfield name."
"If you force me to marry a woman like that, it'll be the death of me!"
