Chapter 3

###Chapter 3

Giselle's eyes instantly reddened. She pinched the hem of her dress and sighed. "Sis, I didn't mean to."

Jerome immediately stepped in front of her protectively and looked down at me. "Celine, are you done yet?"

The guests below the stage suddenly fell silent, all eyes turning toward me.

I replied coldly, "So you're saying your hand just happened to slip the exact moment I was about to take the ring? And then, by another coincidence, it rolled straight beneath Jerome's shoe?"

"Sis, please don't make things difficult for me in front of everyone." Two faint blushes appeared on Giselle's cheeks.

The moment she finished speaking, Jerome's expression darkened.

I looked at Giselle's face and suddenly laughed. "Which one of us is actually making things difficult for the other?"

"Sis, after the wedding, I'll kneel before you just like I did last time. Please let this go just this once, okay?" Giselle spoke in a soft, pitiful voice.

The corners of Jerome's eyes sank as he grabbed my wrist. "You actually made my sister kneel to you behind my back?"

I violently yanked my wrist free and looked at the siblings before me. Suddenly, everything became crystal clear.

The ornate clock in the banquet hall suddenly chimed. It was already midnight.

The night before, my childhood sweetheart had called me after learning that I had ultimately chosen to marry Jerome.

His voice had been gentle over the phone. "I'm the only one who truly loves you. I hope tomorrow you'll refuse to marry Jerome. I'll be waiting for you at the airport."

"If you don't show up by midnight, I'll take action against the Herrera Group."

I knew that as the leader of the global financial industry, he always kept his word.

After a moment of thought, I parted my lips. "If you can't reach me by midnight tomorrow, you don't need to do anything yourself. Just log into my cloud drive and send the encrypted files to my lawyer."

He chuckled softly on the other end of the phone and readily agreed.

The commotion in front of me dragged me back to the wedding.

I looked at the scene before me and gave a bitter smile.

It seemed Jerome was finally going to pay the price.

Standing in the center of the stage, Giselle frantically shook her head.

"Brother, Sis has always been so good to me. She's never bullied me. I... I was the one who said the wrong thing just now. I'll slap myself. I'm sorry, Sis."

With that, she began striking herself across the mouth.

My mother-in-law immediately rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Giselle, wailing loudly.

"My daughter! How could you let them humiliate you like this? Your mother will stand up for you!"

She glared at me furiously before raising her hand and swinging it straight toward my face.

Smack!

The crisp sound of the slap made the guests below the stage gasp.

Mom instinctively stepped in front of me and took the slap for me. She covered her cheek and forced a smile at my mother-in-law.

"It's a happy occasion. Let's all say a little less."

As far back as I could remember, Mom had never been one to back down in an argument. She had always been strong-willed.

Once, when a thief stole my phone, Mom had fought him with everything she had until she managed to get it back.

That day, beneath the setting sun, she had tied the thief up with a rope, leaving him sprawled in a tangled heap. She handed my phone back to me with a grin, completely ignoring the bruises covering her face.

"How was that? Your mom's pretty amazing, huh?"

I had given her a thumbs-up. "Mom, you're the best."

But now, for my sake, she had chosen to swallow her pride and endure the humiliation.

My mother-in-law narrowed her eyes, her contempt unmistakable. "Let me make one thing clear to you two. You'd better not think you can bully my daughter and get away with it!"

Mom spoke humbly. "There must be some misunderstanding, in-law. Celine isn't that kind of person."

My mother-in-law glanced at the tearful Giselle beside her. Her lips curled into a cruel sneer. "Do you really think I'm going to believe you over my own daughter?"

"If you still want this marriage to happen, then you'll kneel before Giselle right here, in front of everyone!"

She turned toward the guests below the stage as if expecting them to witness our humiliation.

Mom looked at her helplessly. "In-law, isn't that asking too much?"

My mother-in-law scrutinized me, waiting for me to kneel.

I lifted my head, unable to bear seeing Mom put in such a difficult position.

A blatant, vicious smile spread across my mother-in-law's face. "Fine. Don't kneel. The Herrera family simply won't marry into a family as insignificant as yours."

She stared directly at me. "Celine, my son has slept with you thousands of times already. Do you think I'm bluffing when I say that if you refuse to kneel today, I'll make sure the entire city knows you got pregnant before marriage—and even had a miscarriage?"

The guests immediately turned their attention toward me, whispering among themselves.

Mom half-embraced me in shock and heartbreak.

I saw tears gathering in her eyes. My hand instinctively moved to my lower abdomen, and my thoughts drifted back to the day I lost my baby.

It had been the sixth anniversary of my relationship with Jerome. And I had been twenty-eight days pregnant.

That day, Jerome and I had planned to register our marriage. But at Giselle's insistence, he took her to an amusement park instead.

She forced me onto a drop tower nearly ninety-nine meters high.

I had placed a hand over my abdomen and tried to explain that I was pregnant, but Jerome cut me off.

"Giselle wants to have fun. Just go on it for her."

Later, as my legs trembled uncontrollably and blood continued to gush from my lower abdomen, he looked at Giselle and said casually, "Your sister-in-law is just jealous. She's doing this on purpose to get my attention."