“Jayden, whatever went wrong, it's all my fault.”
“I shouldn't have taken the envelope from your mother, shouldn't have called her Mom.”
“Hit me, curse me, whatever you want. Just please don't stay angry at Eily over this.”
I watched him put on this act and felt nothing but how ridiculous it was.
“Bradley, what exactly are you performing here?”
“You really think I don't know what you've been up to?”
From the moment we started planning the wedding, he'd been constantly around Eileen, always under the excuse of “helping me keep an eye on things.”
Picking the wedding dress, he insisted on going along with Eileen, and even weighed in on whether it looked good on her.
The tasting, he had to sit beside Eileen, the two of them laughing and chatting the whole time.
I'd thought he was just being helpful.
Now I saw it. The two of them had been carrying on behind my back all along.
Seeing Bradley look so wronged, Eileen went straight over and hooked her arm through his.
“Jayden, Bradley has backed down this far. What more do you want?”
“Do you have to drag this out until it's this ugly? Do you have even a shred of empathy?”
Hailey joined in too, jabbing a finger at my face as she cursed.
“Exactly! Look how decent Bradley is. Not like you, no big-heartedness at all.”
“Let me tell you, if you call off this wedding today for no reason, you'll never marry a woman as fine as my daughter again!”
I couldn't help letting out a small scoff.
“Ma'am, your daughter was carrying on with the best man at her own wedding. Goods like that are too far above my station.”
Hailey's face went purple in an instant, the finger she pointed at me trembling.
“You……you ill-bred thing!”
“Fine! You won't go through with it? Plenty of others will!”
She walked over to Bradley and grabbed his hand.
“Those dozens of banquet tables outside are all set, the money's paid. Be a waste not to use them!”
“Today's reception, we'll just change it into Eileen and Bradley's!”
“I liked Bradley better to begin with anyway!”
“And besides, our Eily is already carrying Bradley's child!”
My mother sucked in a sharp breath and, without thinking, clutched my arm tight.
I turned to look at Eileen. Her head was down, her hands folded protectively over her still-flat belly, but she couldn't hide the smug little smile at the corner of her mouth.
A good brother of five years. A fiancée I'd loved for three.
While I was running myself ragged over this wedding, the two of them had already gone and made a baby together.
Something churned violently in my stomach, past anything I could hold down.
Seeing the truth was fully out now, Eileen let out a sigh.
“Jayden, since my mom's already said it, I won't hide it from you either.”
“That thing with Bradley was just an accident. Everyone had too much to drink and lost control.”
“But trust me, the only person I truly love is you. It's you I'm sincere about.”
She stepped closer, her eyes full of charity.
“Jayden, we've got three years between us. I don't want this to get too ugly either.”
“I'm giving you one last chance today. Come out with me right now and finish the rest of the ceremony.”
“As for the baby……it's already here, we can't exactly abort it and wreck my body, can we?”
“Once it's born, it takes your name, calls you Dad.”
“You won't have to lift a finger. A big healthy boy handed to you for free. That's not a bad deal for you, is it?”
I couldn't hold back another second. I raised my hand and slapped Eileen across the face.
“Get out.”
“Take your mother and your side piece and get out of my sight this instant.”
Eileen cupped her cheek, staring at me in disbelief.
“Jayden, you dared to hit me!”
“Fine. You chose this. Don't you regret it!”
