Chapter 6 Evidence
1109 Words
I stared at the text message and suddenly laughed out loud.
The laughter turned into tears before I could stop myself.
I'd almost married this scumbag and put my body through hell for him.
I blocked his number immediately but kept the messages.
They might come in handy.
Three hours later, my assistant sent over the files.
They were packed with evidence of Ambrose and Summer's affair.
It made me sick to discover that Summer had started seducing him the very day Ambrose and I made things official.
A week after we started dating, the two of them slept together behind my back and had been carrying on ever since.
If Summer hadn't gotten pregnant, they would've kept this up forever. They probably would've kept screwing around even after I married him.
I was livid. My whole body shook with rage.
But the worst part was the video my assistant sent.
The footage showed Ambrose and Summer hooking up in my office.
Summer was sprawled across my desk with her legs wrapped around Ambrose's waist. She looked up at him with a seductive smile and said, "Babe, what if my sister's too stubborn to admit she cheated at the wedding?"
Ambrose didn't even hesitate. He said, "Don't worry. I've got it covered. I recorded some private footage of Blaire. I'm gonna fake a video of Blaire cheating and play it at the wedding. The evidence will look rock solid, and she won't be able to explain her way out of it."
He murmured softly to Summer, coaxing her. He said, "Relax, okay? I'll marry you with a clean slate."
Summer laughed, clearly delighted. I couldn't watch anymore and shut off the video.
I'd never imagined Ambrose could sink this low for Summer!
I was shaking with rage.
'So this is what Ambrose meant by not letting me down?' I thought.
Every piece of evidence from earlier had ripped into me, one after another. I'd had enough pain. Time for them to feel some too.
Fine. If they wanted to humiliate me with fake videos at their wedding, I'd give them exactly what they wanted!
But the faces on that big screen wouldn't be mine.
I wanted to see if they'd still be laughing then.
*****
The next morning, I went to the wedding venue. The event planning company was one of mine, so swapping out the video would be easy. And Ambrose and Summer would never know.
After I finished, I headed to city hall. Wayne had been waiting for a while.
He wore a sharp suit, and for once, he was actually smiling.
That smile caught me off guard and made me nervous for some reason.
We got to the front of the line pretty quickly, and Wayne and I stood together to pick up our marriage license.
I walked out of the city hall in a daze and stared down at the official document in my hands. The whole thing felt surreal, and my heart started pounding hard for the first time in forever.
'Did I really just marry Wayne?' I thought.
Wayne took my hand, and the warmth of his palm snapped me back to reality. I pushed down the emotions rising in my chest and looked up at him. "Can you do me a favor?"
Wayne met my eyes. "What do you need?"
I kept my voice low and told him everything about Ambrose's plan and what I wanted to do tomorrow, but Wayne stayed quiet.
I looked up at him, confused, and found him staring at me.
Something in his eyes looked almost pained.
Before I could say anything, he pulled me into his arms.
He held me tight, his grip almost crushing, and I could feel his heartbeat against my chest.
His voice came out rough. "Does it hurt?"
Something broke loose inside me, and I suddenly wanted to cry.
He spoke softly near my ear. "Blaire, I promise I'll destroy them."
I managed a small smile. Yeah, they'd all get what they deserved. I just wondered if Ambrose and Summer would be able to stomach the wedding gift I had planned for them.
Wayne agreed to help, and relief washed over me. We talked for a few more minutes, and then I headed home.
The next morning, I headed to the wedding venue.
The welcome display still showed photos of Ambrose and me.
I couldn't help but laugh bitterly. Ambrose really wanted to destroy me completely.
All these guests I'd personally invited to the wedding would see me at my worst. How could I ever face anyone after this?
We'd dated for a year, and I never knew he could be this vicious.
At least I'd found out before it was too late.
I walked into the banquet hall and caught fragments of excited conversation.
Someone said eagerly, "Are you serious? The head of Mendes Group is actually coming to this wedding? You know he hasn't made a single public appearance since returning to the country. Who are these people getting married?"
My breath caught. 'The head of Mendes Group? I knew about him.'
He'd taken only three years to dominate international markets and build an empire that made him the richest man in the world.
Everyone admired him, myself included.
I pulled myself together and glanced toward the entrance. Wayne should be arriving any minute now.
Before I could think further, Summer appeared at my side.
She wore the wedding dress I'd spent weeks designing and creating. She smiled sweetly and said, "Blaire, you know what? Yesterday Dad gave me your position at the company as a wedding gift. I've gotta say, you ran that place pretty well. This dress you designed is gorgeous too. And your man? Even better in bed. So tell me, how's it feel knowing everything you worked so hard for just fell right into my lap?"
Her smile was smug and cruel, twisted with satisfaction.
'Are we really sisters?' I thought. 'What did I ever do to make her hate me this much?'
Before, words like these would've broken my heart. Now they just made me sick.
I laughed softly and said, "I don't feel much of anything except sorry for you, Summer. They're just leftovers. You want my trash? Take it. But I'm curious about one thing. You really think you can hold onto any of it?"
Summer let out a small laugh. Her eyes shifted past me toward something behind me, and she murmured, "If I can steal it, I can keep it."
The second those words left her mouth, she screamed and stumbled backward, clutching her stomach as I'd just shoved her hard.
- Writer
