I Believed in Love and Family, Only to Find Both Were a Trap

Chapter 6 Recovery

Nicole was rushed to the hospital.

The stab wound was deep enough that she nearly died.

The blade had missed anything immediately fatal, but only barely. The surgery lasted more than ten hours before they were finally able to stabilize her, and when she opened her eyes again, Dominic was sitting beside the bed.

His expression was complicated as he took her hand.

"Nicole, you're awake. We looked into what happened at the hotel. Someone tampered with the footage. Chaya has been worried about you this whole time. Thank God you're okay."

Nicole turned her face away.

She had already died once. What came after that felt almost calm.

"Dominic, the wedding is still happening, right?"

He blinked, clearly thrown by the question. It did not seem to occur to him that this would be the first thing she asked after waking up. Still, he nodded.

"Yes, but you're not well yet. We can postpone it if..."

Nicole said before he could finish.

"No. The wedding stays exactly where it is."

There was something unusual in her eyes as she looked at him, something steady, almost intent, as if she were waiting for him to confirm more than just a date.

Dominic studied her for a moment and forced down the strange feeling rising in his chest.

Then he leaned in and kissed her forehead with deliberate tenderness, the way a man might touch something precious. "All right, I'll give you a wedding you'll never forget."

Nicole smiled and looked up into his eyes.

"So will I."

*****

The wedding went ahead as planned.

When the head of the Haynes family got married, especially to the Farrell heiress everyone believed had fallen from grace, it was always going to become the story the whole city talked about.

Guests arrived early.

Nicole appeared at the venue in a custom wedding gown studded with diamonds, every inch of it hand-finished and impossible to ignore. She looked stunning, but there was nothing soft or bridal about her expression. If anything, she looked like a woman walking into battle.

Whispers spread around her the second she stepped inside.

"She really showed up?"

"The Farrells already washed their hands of her, so of course she's going to cling to Mr. Haynes. But everyone knows the woman he actually wants is the Farrells' real daughter. This should be fun!"

Nicole heard every word. She did not react.

The groom, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen.

The longer the wait stretched, the bolder the mockery became.

Nicole watched Dominic's friends from across the room as anticipation built in their eyes. They were enjoying this.

Instead, she smiled and turned to the officiant.

"Let's go ahead and start. Dominic will be here."

The officiant was sweating by then, but he had no real choice except to continue. He cleared his throat and began.

"Nicole, do you take Dominic to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and stand by him for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

Nicole did not answer. She was looking at the doors.

Dominic still had not appeared.

The officiant was at a complete loss, caught between disbelief and helplessness, unsure how to even carry on with this bizarre wedding.

Then Dominic's friends stood. The malice on their faces was no longer disguised.

"Dominic's not coming!"

"Nicole, you got played."

Every eye in the room fixed on her. They were all waiting for it, the public humiliation, the tears, the collapse. Instead, Nicole smiled.

She turned back to the officiant and answered at last.

"No. I don't. I would never marry Dominic. Not in this lifetime! As for why, I think everyone here, and especially the members of the press who were kind enough to attend, would be very interested in the answer."

She lifted a hand and clapped once.

The ballroom dropped into darkness.

A startled murmur ran through the crowd. Then the giant screen behind Nicole lit up...

And Dominic's voice filled the room.