Chapter 1: The Ride Home
“Let me ride with you,” Vanessa said, smiling in a scarlet silk dress.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
The bridal limousine idled at the curb outside my parents’ garden, its black paint reflecting strings of white wedding lights. My veil was still pinned into my hair. My bouquet rested against my lap. Somewhere behind us, two hundred guests were laughing beneath the reception tent, waiting for the newlyweds to arrive.
And Vanessa was standing in the open limousine door as if she had every right to be there.
Ethan barely glanced at me.
“Laurel, just shift over a little so she can fit.””
I stared at him.
My wedding gown was so wide that the limousine seat barely contained it. The silk skirt had twelve layers, and the delicate beading at the waist had taken a seamstress nearly six months to finish.
“Excuse me?”” I whispered.
Ethan sighed.
“Her car broke down. It’s fifteen minutes. Don’t embarrass me.””
Vanessa placed one manicured hand against the limousine door.
“I can sit quietly,” she said.
“I promise.””
Then she smiled at me.
It wasn't a friendly smile.
It was the kind of smile a woman gives another woman when she already knows she has won something.
I looked at Ethan.
I waited.
Surely he would see my face and understand.
Surely the man who had just stood beside me beneath a white rose arch and promised, in front of our families, to love and honor me would tell his ex-girlfriend that his new wife came first.
Instead, he rolled his eyes.
“You're making this a bigger deal than it needs to be.””
Vanessa laughed softly.
“Don't be insecure. Ethan and I have known each other forever.””
I felt something inside me become very quiet.
Not broken.
Not shattered.
Quiet.
I looked at Vanessa's scarlet dress.
Then at Ethan.
Then at the empty road stretching beyond the garden gates.
“You're right,” I said.
Ethan blinked.
“What?””
“You're right. I'm making it bigger than it needs to be.””
I gathered my skirt.
Then I stepped out of the limousine.
“Laurel?”” Ethan called.
I shut the door behind me.
He rolled down the window.
“Where are you going?””
“Home.””
His face hardened.
“Stop being dramatic!””
Vanessa leaned forward from inside the limousine.
“She'll come back.””
Then she giggled.
“Girls like her always do.””
I stopped walking.
For one second, I considered turning around.
Instead, I kept going.
Behind me, the limousine door slammed.
The engine growled.
And then Ethan Caldwell drove away with his ex-girlfriend sitting beside him on the first ride that was supposed to belong to his bride.
I walked through the garden without looking back.
My mother found me before I reached the kitchen.
“Laurel?””
I stopped beneath the back porch light.
She stared at me.
Then at my dress.
Then at my missing veil.
Her face changed.
“What happened?””
I placed the veil on the marble counter.
“Please call our attorney.””
My mother went pale.
“What did Ethan do?””
My father appeared in the doorway, still wearing the navy suit he'd worn for the ceremony.
His eyes moved from me to the wedding ring I was holding.
“Where is Ethan?””
I slipped the ring from my finger.
“He chose Vanessa.””
Silence.
My father walked toward me slowly.
“Tell me exactly what happened.””
I did.
I didn't cry.
I didn't raise my voice.
I simply told him everything.
When I finished, my father looked at the clock.
“The reception?””
“Still going.””
“Then we stop it.””
My mother caught his arm.
“Richard.””
“He humiliated our daughter on her wedding day.””
“I know.””
“He left her standing outside a limousine while he drove off with another woman.””
“I know.””
My father looked at me.
“What do you want to do?””
I looked down at the ring sitting in my palm.
“I don't know yet.””
My phone vibrated.
A message.
From Vanessa.
I opened it.
He told me the executive position was practically his forever.
Another message appeared.
You should have known I would always come first.
My father's expression changed when I showed him.
He took the phone from my hand.
“Who does she think she is?””
My mother whispered, “Laurel…”
My father didn't answer.
Instead, he walked to his study.
“Come with me.””
I followed.
He opened the safe behind a framed photograph and removed a thick black folder.
I frowned.
“What is that?””
“Something I should have shown you before you married him.””
My stomach tightened.
“Dad?””
He placed the folder on the desk.
“The Whitmore Development board files.””
I looked at him.
“What about them?””
He opened the first page.
There was Ethan's name.
Underneath it was his new title.
*Chief Operating Officer.*
I frowned.
“Dad, I know Ethan works for Whitmore.””
My father turned another page.
“No, Laurel.””
He pointed at the signature block.
“You don't understand.””
I leaned closer.
Then I saw the document beneath his finger.
My name was printed at the top.
*LAUREL WHITMORE — CONTROLLING SHAREHOLDER.*
I looked up.
“Why is my name on this?””
My father stared at me.
“Because, sweetheart, Whitmore Development has never been mine.””
May you like
He turned the page.
“It has been yours.””
