I Called Off My Wedding Chapter 04
At ten o’clock the next morning, the sun blazed down harshly.
The wedding venue was opulent beyond measure, and a towering champagne tower glinted in the light.
It was packed with guests, and business elites mingled and toasted one another.
I stood at the end of the red carpet in a plain gray bridesmaid dress.
Snickers rippled through the crowd around me.
“Look at that—the bride wearing a bridesmaid dress. That’s unheard of!”
“Brandy’s being so unfair. He’s humiliating Kimberly in front of everyone.”
I turned a deaf ear and glanced down at my phone.
The chat with Terrence showed a message sent five minutes earlier: “Wait for me.”
The wedding march began right on schedule.
Brandon stood under the floral arch in a white suit.
He gazed toward the end of the aisle, his eyes holding a flicker of devotion.
The doors swung open slowly.
Lynette walked in on Brandon’s father’s arm, wearing the wedding dress she’d cut to shreds and hastily patched up with lace overnight. Her head was held high with pride.
A smug smile played on her face beneath the veil, and she shot me a defiant glance.
Brandon stepped forward and took Lynette’s hand from his father.
They stood side by side in front of the officiant, looking perfectly matched.
The officiant began reciting the vows.
“Mr. Faulkner, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife…”
“I do!” Brandon answered without hesitation.
Thunderous applause erupted from the guests.
The ceremony moved on to the ring exchange.
“And now, will the bridesmaid please bring forward the wedding rings?” The officiant smiled and looked toward the crowd.
Every eye in the room turned to me at once. Brandon glanced over and nodded, signaling me to come forward.
There was a reassuring look in his eyes, as if to say I’d get my marriage license tomorrow once this was over.
I stared at his smug, self-assured face and walked slowly up to the stage.
I carried the velvet box holding the wedding rings.
Lynette tilted her chin up and held out her gloved hand, waiting for the ring.
I stopped right in front of them and didn’t open the box.
Slowly, in front of the entire room, I slipped off the diamond engagement ring I’d worn on my ring finger for three years.
Brandon’s brows furrowed, and he spoke in a low voice.
“Kimmy, be reasonable. Don’t make a scene right now. Hand me the ring.”
I looked at him, a mocking smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.
“Brandon, did you really think I was born to be your doormat?”
The words were barely out when I raised my hand and hurled the engagement ring and the velvet box at the tower of champagne.
The sound of shattering glass rang sharply through the ballroom.
Champagne cascaded down and splattered across Lynette’s gown.
“Ahh!” Lynette screamed and jumped back, her patched-up wedding dress instantly ruined.
The entire hall was in an uproar.
Just as his fingers were about to touch me, a roar echoed overhead.
The airflow whipped up the flower petals from the ground, forcing everyone’s eyes shut.
Every guest looked up in disbelief.
Dozens of helicopters emblazoned with the Herring family crest circled above the ballroom.
The lead helicopter touched down, and its door slid open.
Terrence stepped out into the howling wind, dressed in a black trench coat.
Behind him, his bodyguards carried a breathtaking couture wedding gown.
It was a priceless masterpiece, way more luxurious than the one that had been destroyed.
Terrence strode down the aisle without so much as a glance at Brandon, whose face had turned livid.
He stopped in front of me, took the couture gown, and draped it over my shoulders gently, covering up the gray bridesmaid dress.
His fingers brushed through my wind-tossed hair, his eyes burning with the fierce obsession of someone who had just reclaimed what was supposed to be his.
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
He turned and pulled me into his arms.
His cold gaze swept across the entire room and settled on Brandon’s stunned face.
“Mr. Faulkner, you don’t need to bother taking care of my legal wife.”
Shock flashed across Brandon’s eyes, then his expression darkened instantly, and his voice turned sharp and menacing.
He stared daggers at Terrence’s hand wrapped around my waist, but he still kept his usual tough tone.
“Stop this nonsense and come stand next to me.”
Two of Terrence’s bodyguards stepped forward immediately and blocked Brandon’s path.
Brandon was forced to stop, his suit jacket wrinkling slightly from the sudden movement.
He ignored the bodyguards and just stared at me through the crowd, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes blazing with possessiveness.
“Brandy!” Lynette screamed and tried to lunge forward, but another bodyguard stopped her dead in her tracks, keeping her half a meter away.
The entire room fell silent. Every guest held their breath, too afraid to make a sound.
Terrence’s reputation was legendary in the business world.
The Faulkner family might be wealthy locally, but it was nothing compared to the Herring Consortium.
“Mr. Herring, what’s this all about? Today is my son’s wedding, and you show up here with your men to cause trouble? This is completely outrageous!”
Brandon’s father finally snapped out of his shock and stepped forward to confront him.
Terrence shot him a disdainful glance and smirked.
“Cause trouble? I’m just here to take my wife home.”
He raised his hand slightly.
His assistant stepped forward instantly and slammed a stack of documents right in Brandon’s face.
The papers were scattered across the floor.
“Mr. Faulkner, open your eyes and read this carefully.” Terrence’s voice was low, but it carried immense authority.
“This is written notice that the Herring Consortium is terminating investment in all the Faulkner Group’s core projects. From now on, your funding is cut off.”
Brandon stared at the scattered papers, his face turning even darker with rage.
“Terrence, are you insane? You’re willing to pay billions in penalties just to take her away?”
“Because I don’t like you,” Terrence said dismissively.
Lynette’s eyes darted around. She clutched her chest and collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.
“Brandy… I feel like I’m dying… The pain in my chest is unbearable…”
She tried to fake a depressive episode to gain sympathy and distract everyone.
Terrence scoffed. His assistant stepped forward again and slammed a medical report with an official hospital seal down in front of Lynette.
“Ms. Ledford, this is a review of your medical records by a leading psychiatrist.” The assistant’s tone was devoid of emotion.
“It shows that you have no clinical symptoms of depression whatsoever. The so-called antidepressants you’ve been taking all this time are just vitamin pills.”
Lynette’s cries died abruptly.
Her eyes widened, and her face turned darker than Brandon’s.
Sharp gasps burst from the guests all around them.