Chapter 2
I don't remember walking away from the cake.
I remember the cold frosting sliding down my neck.
I remember someone placing a clean napkin in my hand.
And I remember Marcus repeatedly saying my name as though calling me enough times would erase what I had heard.
"Nia."
I kept walking.
"Nia, stop."
I reached the doors of the bridal suite.
Then he caught my wrist.
"Can we talk privately?"
I turned toward him.
My voice came out strangely calm.
"You already talked privately, Marcus."
His face tightened.
"That video was taken out of context."
I looked at him.
"Which part?"
He blinked.
"The part where you said I'd obey you after marriage?"
He said nothing.
"Or the part where you planned to push my face into the cake?"
His jaw moved.
"Or the part where you said you'd get my family's money?"
"Nia, lower your voice."
I almost laughed.
Three hundred guests had just watched him humiliate me.
Now he was worried about my volume.
"Get away from me."
He stepped closer.
"You're my wife."
I looked at the wedding ring on my finger.
Three hours earlier, those words would have filled me with happiness.
Now they sounded like a warning.
Isaiah appeared behind him.
"She told you to move."
Marcus turned angrily.
"This is between me and my wife."
Isaiah didn't raise his voice.
"Then you should have treated her like your wife."
For a moment, the two men stared at each other.
Then Camille opened the bridal suite door.
"Nia, come inside."
I stepped past Marcus.
He called after me.
"Don't destroy our marriage over a stupid joke!"
I stopped.
Then I looked back.
"You planned to embarrass me."
His expression hardened.
"You don't understand business."
I stared at him.
There it was.
Not an apology.
Not regret.
Just another attempt to make me feel foolish.
I entered the room and closed the door.
Camille helped remove my veil.
When she touched my hair, I winced.
"Nia, your cheek is bleeding."
I looked in the mirror.
There was a small red scratch beneath my right eye.
My makeup had run down my face.
White frosting covered the lace around my shoulders.
I barely recognized myself.
Then I started crying.
Not quietly.
I cried until my chest hurt.
Camille held me while I shook.
"I married him."
My voice broke.
"I stood in front of everyone and promised to love him forever."
She stroked my back.
"I know."
"He planned this."
"I know."
"How could he hate me enough to do that?"
Camille gently pulled back.
"Nia, cruelty isn't proof that you were unlovable."
I looked at her through tears.
"Then why?"
She didn't pretend to have an answer.
That hurt.
But I was grateful she didn't lie.
A few minutes later, Isaiah knocked.
Camille opened the door.
He stopped when he saw me.
His face crumpled.
"Oh, Nia."
I turned away.
He approached carefully.
"I'm sorry."
I wiped my cheeks.
"How long have you had that video?"
He hesitated.
I looked at him.
"Isaiah."
"Since this morning."
My heart sank.
"You knew before the ceremony?"
He lowered his eyes.
"Yes."
I stared at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
His expression filled with guilt.
"I received it from an anonymous number. I didn't know whether it was real."
"You could have shown me."
"I know."
"You watched me marry him."
His voice cracked.
"I was trying to verify the recording. I thought someone might be trying to sabotage the wedding."
I stepped backward.
"So you decided for me?"
He looked devastated.
"You're right."
I had expected him to defend himself.
Instead, he sat down.
"I should have shown you immediately. Even if I wasn't sure what it meant, you deserved to know."
I looked at him.
He was the person I trusted most after our mother died.
Isaiah had walked me down the aisle because our father passed away when we were teenagers.
He was my protector.
My best friend.
And now even he had kept something from me.
"Who sent it?"
"I don't know."
"Have you tried calling the number?"
"Yes. It doesn't connect."
I sat beside him.
"Play the whole recording."
He hesitated.
"Nia, you've already heard the worst part."
I shook my head.
"I need to know everything."
He opened the video.
This time, I watched carefully.
Marcus sat beside Devin in the lounge.
Behind them, two other men were talking.
The video appeared to have been recorded from a nearby table.
Marcus was smiling.
Devin asked about Harbor Point.
Then Marcus said something I hadn't heard in the ballroom.
"Her mother left her thirty-five percent of Bellamy Hospitality. Isaiah owns another thirty-five. Aunt Denise has the remaining thirty."
My stomach tightened.
He knew the exact ownership.
Devin laughed.
"Thirty-five isn't enough to control the vote."
Marcus lifted his glass.
"That's why we need Denise."
I stared at Isaiah.
He paused the video.
Our aunt Denise had been managing the family's older properties since our mother died.
She had recently supported the Harbor Point redevelopment.
Isaiah opposed it.
I had not decided.
"Marcus said he knew how to convince Denise," Isaiah told me.
I shook my head.
"Aunt Denise would never sell us out."
"I hope you're right."
He resumed the video.
Devin leaned forward.
"The consulting agreement needs both signatures."
Marcus nodded.
"Denise is ready. Nia will sign after the honeymoon."
I felt sick.
The proposed agreement would pay a development consulting company several million dollars.
I had questioned the fees.
Marcus told me they were normal.
He even offered to review the documents with me.
Now I understood why.
I looked toward Isaiah.
"Who owns the consulting company?"
"We're checking."
The video continued.
Marcus laughed about the cake prank.
Then Devin asked whether I would become suspicious.
Marcus shook his head.
"Nia always forgives me. She wants a family more than she wants the truth."
I covered my mouth.
Because I had forgiven him.
Again and again.
When he forgot my birthday.
When he borrowed money without repaying it.
When he belittled my career in front of his friends.
When he called me too emotional whenever I challenged him.
I believed love meant giving people chances.
He believed love meant I would never leave.
Isaiah turned off the video.
"Nia, we need to protect your shares."
I looked down at my wedding gown.
For a moment, I couldn't imagine discussing business.
I wanted to crawl into bed and wake up before the wedding.
Before the vows.
Before the cake.
Before I learned that my husband had planned to exploit me.
Then my phone rang.
It was Aunt Denise.
I answered.
"Nia, sweetheart."
Her voice sounded urgent.
"Where are you?"
"In the bridal suite."
"Marcus says your brother is spreading lies."
I closed my eyes.
"Did Marcus call you?"
"Yes. He's extremely upset."
I looked at Isaiah.
Then I asked quietly, "Aunt Denise, have you already signed the Harbor Point consulting agreement?"
Silence.
My heart began pounding.
"Aunt Denise?"
She took a breath.
"I signed my approval yesterday."
I felt the room spin.
"Yesterday?"
"Marcus said you were going to sign after the wedding."
I stared at Isaiah.
He went pale.
Then Denise whispered something that made my blood run cold.
"Nia, he told me you already agreed."
May you like
And suddenly, I understood that Marcus hadn't been waiting until after the wedding to begin his plan.
He had already started.
