He Chose Her On Our Wedding Night So I Took Everything Chapter 01
After the wedding party, I was about to toast our marriage with a glass of champagne with Eric Hawthorne.
Then the door to the walk-in closet in our new bedroom swung open.
Madison Vale stepped out in a spaghetti-strap nightgown, walked straight over to Eric, and settled onto his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck.
“You always come see me first when you get home,” she murmured. “If you don’t come tonight, I’ll never get to sleep.”
Eric’s expression darkened, but he didn’t push her away. He just guided her into the guest room next door.
Before closing the door behind them, he turned back to me, still frozen in place.
“Maddie’s out of line. I’ll handle this. I’ll make sure it never happens again.”
A moment later, the sound of Madison’s tearful voice drifted through the guest room door.
The two maids by the staircase didn’t look remotely surprised. One of them headed into the guest room with a robe and a glass of water.
“Eric made Maddie cry again. They’ve been like this since high school. You’d think a wedding would be enough to make them stop.”
“One of them always coaxes, and the other always gives in. Who in this house doesn’t know the drill?”
Their smiles vanished the moment they saw me.
“Elodie, you’re new to this family. Don’t make a scene over something like this. It won’t do anyone any good.”
I lowered my eyes to the champagne flute in my hand.
We hadn’t drunk from it, and we hadn’t signed a marriage license.
The Hawthorne family had insisted on holding the ceremony first, with plans to go to the Los Angeles County Clerk’s Office the next day to make it official.
Which meant I could still call this whole thing off.
Since the marriage hadn’t legally begun, the things I had promised the Hawthornes—they wouldn’t be getting a single one.
…
I waited in the hallway for more than twenty minutes.
The maid walked past me, delivered the robe to the guest room, and came back out without a single glance in my direction.
Finally, the house manager, Diane, came over.
“Elodie, you shouldn’t stand here any longer.”
She sounded like she was reasoning with a guest who didn’t understand the house rules.
“Madison has relied on Eric since they were children, and he’s always indulged her. You just moved in. You don’t understand their family dynamic yet.”
I looked up. “What dynamic?”
When Eric pursued me, he’d told me he was an only child, that his parents respected his independence, and that his family had no complicated entanglements.
He had also said that after we were married, he would handle anyone who crossed a line.
The wedding had barely ended, and the truth was already laid bare.
Diane lowered her voice.
“Their fathers were college roommates, and the two families have been close for decades. Madison has always treated this place like her own home. After Eric took over the company, the plan was for her to help him run it.”
I tightened my grip on the stem of the glass.
“So I’m the one who’s supposed to step aside tonight?”
Diane didn’t answer. She only let out a long, weary sigh.
A few minutes later, the guest room door opened.
When Eric came out, his shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, and a faint red scratch marked the side of his neck.
He saw me and frowned.
“Today was exhausting. Why aren’t you in our room resting? Why are you waiting out here?”
Madison emerged behind him. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were red, but a smug smile played at the corners of her mouth.
“So you’re the Carrington daughter? No wonder Eric’s father insisted on this wedding. You certainly look the part.”
I didn’t answer.
She looked up at Eric.
“Eric, I think your bride is upset.”
Eric reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair from her face.
“That’s enough. You shouldn’t have come tonight.”
“What did I do?”
Madison turned back to me, her smile widening.
“Elodie, don’t be so tense. Eric and I have always been like this. We’re not going to become strangers just because of a little wedding. If you want to stay here, you’ll have to get used to it.”
I looked at her and let out a short, sharp laugh.
“Get used to what?”
She froze.
“Get used to my groom leaving me in the hallway on our wedding night to comfort another woman in a guest room?”
“Or get used to the fact that the entire staff knows about your relationship, and I’m the only one who’s been kept in the dark?”
Only then did Eric’s gaze sharpen on me.
“Elodie Carrington, do you really have to make a scene tonight?”
“I’m the one making a scene?”
My eyes dropped to his open collar, and a knot formed in my stomach.
“Eric, you told me she was just a childhood friend. You promised me you would never let anyone humiliate me like this.”
He was silent for a few seconds. When he spoke again, his voice was cold.
“Maddie doesn’t have the best boundaries. This was a tasteless joke. Are you really going to call it a betrayal?”
Madison immediately jumped in.
“Exactly. If there were really something going on between us, do you think you’d even be here?”
One of the maids nearby lowered her head to hide a laugh. No one seemed to find that question out of line.
I stood under the bright hallway lights in the wedding dress I had chosen so carefully. At that moment, its weight pressed down on me, heavy and suffocating.