He Chose My Sister on Our Wedding Day—So I Walked Away Chapter 03

He Chose My Sister on Our Wedding Day—So I Walked Away Chapter 03

An hour later, my assistant called back, halting.

“Ms. Whitlock, your fiancé was just at the office.”

“He brought a resignation letter. HR has already processed your departure.”

The blood rushed to my head, and I shook.

“I never wrote a resignation letter.”

She sent me a link.

A local community forum, the top trending post.

The title:

[Younger Sister Kneels to Apologize at Sister’s Wedding, Older Sister Still Forces Her to Move Out]

In the video, Delaney cried and collapsed.

The angle was carefully chosen.

Grant carrying her out of the hotel, every frame of it.

More than two thousand comments.

Most of them were attacking Delaney.

But a small number were not.

[What kind of person is this sister? Vicious.]

[Apparently she’s a project manager at Halvorsen. Who’d want to work on a team she leads?]

[@Halvorsen Property Group, come out and say something.]

My company, my title, my name, all of it had been dug up.

A message from my assistant followed.

[The post is bad for the company.]

[Mr. Langley says please sort out your family matters first.]

I sat frozen for a long moment. Then a transfer notification came in.

[Maren, you’ve been so worn out from wedding prep. Take some time off. I’ll take care of you. — $15,000]

I stared at that line and thought of the designer handbag on the new couch, tag still on.

Grant’s gift to Delaney.

Thirty thousand dollars for one bag, not counting the accessories.

I sent his $15,000 straight back.

Within ten seconds, his message popped up.

Another transfer, with $1,500 added on.

My hand shook as I called him.

“Grant, what exactly do I mean to you?”

“You told me to apologize, so I left the chat.”

“You resigned from my job for me, and I swallowed that too.”

“Now you send me $16,500. Are you trying to buy my silence?”

Two seconds of quiet on the line.

“All you lost was a job. Delaney lost her dignity.”

“She’s a girl with a germ phobia. What did she do wrong that thousands of people should be tearing her apart online?”

“You’re her older sister. Didn’t you think about her at all?”

Suddenly I couldn’t say a single word.

Two years ago, a client had pressured me to drink, and Grant had burst into the room and taken the drinks for me.

He’d thrown up the whole way home that night, and still he smiled and said:

“With me around, nobody gets to bully you.”

Last year, Mom had told me to lend my down-payment savings to Delaney, because she wanted a sports car.

I refused. Mom scolded me for an entire day.

And Grant had stepped in front of me.

“Mom, Maren earned that money one dollar at a time. Nobody touches it.”

But later.

The knight who protected me had become the dragon.

Grant was still talking on the line.

I couldn’t hear any of it. I said mechanically:

“Fine. I’ll give you both what you want.”

I swallowed the bitterness and found the recruiter’s number in my contacts.

“The company in Port Halden has been waiting for your answer. They’ll pay three times what you make now. You can start any time.”

“Yes. I’ll take it.”

I hung up and booked my ticket.

Three days later, business class—on the company’s tab.

I didn’t want to go home. I walked into a grocery store to buy a few things.

Between the shelves, someone recognized me.

“That’s her. The one who made her sister kneel at the wedding.”

“It really is. Get a picture!”

Phones came up one by one.

I quickened my pace, paid, and turned around.

A figure shot toward me and clamped down on my wrist.

Delaney.

“Maren, I know I was wrong. I’ll apologize. Just tell everyone to stop attacking me…”

“Let go.”

“Maren, you can punish me, but you can’t ruin my whole life…”

Her nails dug into my wrist, and I jerked back in pain.

Suddenly she loosened her grip, and I fell backward, out of control.

My lower back slammed into the sharp corner of a shelf.

Pain exploded.

Something warm rushed down between my legs.

I touched it, and my hand came away covered in blood.

The whole store gasped.

A tall figure pushed through the crowd.

Grant’s pupils shrank.

“Maren!”

He took half a step forward on instinct.

Delaney caught his arm at once.

“Grant, Maren’s just got her period. Go see about her. Don’t worry about me.”

Grant’s hand stopped in midair, then dropped.

Then Delaney had another germ episode.

“My hand’s hurt!”

“Blood! It’s so dirty!”

Grant crossed the floor in two strides and swept her into his arms.

“Maren, look what you’ve done! Are you satisfied now?”

He carried Delaney past me.

As he passed, the corner of Delaney’s mouth curved.

She pressed it flat again, fast.

My voice came out like the last breath I had.

“Grant. Take me to the hospital.”

Everything went black.

I slid softly to the floor.