Chapter 3
I called off my wedding before the cake was cut.
Not postponed.
Not delayed for a few hours.
Called off.
I stood in front of our guests with my bouquet trembling in my hands.
"I am sorry," I said into the microphone. "But I cannot make a marriage promise today while there are serious things I need to understand."
My voice cracked.
"This is not Marcus's fault alone. But I need time."
The room remained silent.
Marcus stood several feet behind me.
He didn't argue.
He didn't ask me to reconsider.
He simply lowered his head.
I placed the microphone down and walked away.
For the first time that day, I felt like I had made a decision for myself.
But the relief lasted only seconds.
Because when I returned to the bridal suite, Vivian was waiting.
"You've embarrassed this family," she snapped.
I stared at her.
"My family?"
She folded her arms.
"Do you have any idea what people are saying?"
I laughed bitterly.
"My father was imprisoned. You hid his letters. And you're worried about gossip?"
Her expression hardened.
"Arthur belongs in prison."
"Then why won't you show me the evidence?"
She said nothing.
I stepped closer.
"You told me he abandoned me."
"He did."
"He was locked away!"
"He could have prevented it!"
I stared at her.
"What does that mean?"
Vivian looked toward the door.
Then she lowered her voice.
"Your father was offered a deal."
My stomach tightened.
"What deal?"
"He could have signed away his interest in the company and avoided a trial."
I felt sick.
"Who offered it?"
She looked away.
"Bernard."
Marcus's father.
I pressed a hand against my chest.
"Why?"
"Because Arthur was destroying the business with accusations."
"What accusations?"
Vivian's mouth tightened.
"Financial misconduct."
I stared at her.
"Whose misconduct?"
She didn't answer.
The silence told me enough.
I turned toward the door.
Vivian grabbed my arm.
"Nia, listen."
I pulled away.
"No."
Her eyes flashed.
"I raised you!"
I stopped.
Those words had controlled me for years.
Whenever I disagreed with Vivian, she reminded me that she had taken me in.
When I wanted to attend college out of state, she said I was abandoning her.
When I started dating Marcus, she warned me not to forget who had cared for me.
Whenever I questioned her, she used her sacrifices as proof that I owed her obedience.
But now I understood something.
Raising a child didn't give someone the right to steal her history.
I looked at her.
"You gave me a home."
She nodded.
"Yes."
"And I will always acknowledge that."
Her face softened.
Then I continued.
"But you also gave me fifteen years of lies."
She went pale.
I walked out.
Arthur was waiting in the hallway.
He looked uncertain.
Like a man afraid that any movement might make me disappear.
I stopped in front of him.
"Did you really write to me?"
He nodded.
"Every month."
"Why didn't you try to find me after you were released?"
His eyes filled.
"I did."
I stared at him.
"What happened?"
"Vivian told me you wanted nothing to do with me."
My throat tightened.
"She said that?"
He nodded.
"She showed me a letter."
I shook my head.
"What letter?"
"A letter supposedly written by you."
My stomach dropped.
"I never wrote one."
Arthur closed his eyes.
"I know that now."
I felt tears rising.
He continued.
"It said you were ashamed of me. That you didn't want a convicted criminal at your graduation or wedding."
I covered my mouth.
"I never said that."
Arthur began crying.
"I wanted to believe you didn't mean it."
He wiped his cheeks.
"But I couldn't force myself into your life if you truly wanted me gone."
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Then I asked the question that had haunted me for fifteen years.
"Did you ever stop loving me?"
Arthur's face crumpled.
"Not for one second."
I began crying.
He slowly opened his arms.
But he didn't approach.
He waited.
I stared at him.
At the lines on his face.
The gray hair.
The hands that had once held mine while I learned to walk.
Then I stepped forward.
I hugged my father.
Arthur broke down.
He held me so tightly that I could feel his heart pounding.
"My little star," he whispered.
I cried harder.
For fifteen years, I had believed he chose to disappear.
Now I was holding a man who had spent nine years in prison and six more years trying to reach me.
Someone had stolen more than his freedom.
They had stolen our time.
When we finally separated, Marcus approached.
"Nia, can we talk?"
I wiped my face.
"Not now."
He nodded immediately.
"Okay."
That surprised me.
Marcus had always been gentle.
But he was also persistent.
Whenever we argued, he wanted to solve everything before sleeping.
Now he stood quietly.
I looked at him.
"Did you know about the trust?"
He swallowed.
"I knew my father had been involved in an old guardianship matter."
"Did you know it involved me?"
"Not until six weeks ago."
I stared at him.
"And you kept quiet."
"Yes."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Why?"
He looked ashamed.
"Because the file suggested my father might have done something illegal."
I blinked.
"What?"
Marcus took a breath.
"I didn't want to believe it."
I looked at him.
He continued.
"Bernard Cole was my hero. He raised me after my mother died. He taught me honesty mattered more than money."
His voice broke.
"When I found those documents, I thought there had to be an explanation."
"So you investigated?"
He nodded.
"I contacted his former partner, Conrad Vale."
Arthur's expression changed.
"Conrad?"
Marcus turned toward him.
"Yes."
Arthur stepped closer.
"Did you tell him what you found?"
Marcus hesitated.
"I asked him about the trust."
Arthur went pale.
"Oh, God."
I stared at my father.
"What?"
Arthur looked toward the entrance.
"Conrad was the man who testified against me."
My stomach tightened.
Marcus stared at him.
"What?"
Arthur's voice became urgent.
"Did you show him the documents?"
Marcus shook his head.
"Only copies."
Arthur closed his eyes.
"Then he knows we're looking."
I felt cold.
"Why does that matter?"
My father looked at me.
"Because Conrad was the one who controlled the company's records when the money disappeared."
Marcus stepped backward.
For the first time, I saw him question everything he believed about his father's law firm.
Arthur continued.
"Bernard may have certified the documents, but Conrad prepared them."
I stared at Marcus.
His face was pale.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Conrad Vale.
The name appeared beneath an unfamiliar business number.
Marcus answered cautiously.
"Hello?"
A man's smooth voice filled the hallway.
"Marcus, I heard the ceremony was interrupted."
Marcus looked at us.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry. Terrible timing."
Arthur's expression hardened.
Conrad continued.
"I think we should meet privately before anyone makes accusations they can't take back."
Marcus said nothing.
Then Conrad spoke again.
"And tell Nia that old family documents can be very misleading."
My stomach tightened.
"How does he know I'm here?" I whispered.
Marcus ended the call.
Then Arthur looked toward the ballroom entrance.
"I don't think he called to offer condolences."
I swallowed.
"What does he want?"
My father stared at the envelope.
"The same thing he wanted fifteen years ago."
I looked at him.
"What?"
Arthur's voice dropped.
"Control of your mother's property."
May you like
And suddenly, I realized the wedding had not simply uncovered an old betrayal.
It had interrupted something that was still happening.
