He Gave Away My House During the Vows, So I Canceled the Marriage Chapter 04

He Gave Away My House During the Vows, So I Canceled the Marriage Chapter 04

Before the person on the other end could answer, the screen went black.

The battery was dead.

Before I could react, the best man, Henry Cole, pushed his way into the dressing room.

He was a senior associate at Jason’s law firm and also his direct supervisor.

Ever since Jason joined the firm, he had landed several big deals for Henry. The two of them were thick as thieves.

Henry looked around the room and frowned. “What’s going on? It’s noisy out there. The guests can hear everything.”

Jason rushed over like a drowning man spotting a lifeline, lowering his voice. “Henry, just some family misunderstanding. My wife—”

“Enough.” Henry held up a hand to cut him off.

His eyes paused on my wrinkled wedding dress for half a second, then shifted to Jason. “We barely managed to get the managing partner here today. Handle your personal issues quickly and don’t screw this up for me.”

“Also, with your qualifications, you never would have gotten into this firm. The managing partner put in a good word for you. He’s the only reason you’re here. Keep that in mind.”

Jason nodded like a bobblehead, bowing his head even lower. “Don’t worry, Henry. I’ll handle it right now.”

Margaret, listening nearby, leaned in. “Sir, Jason is very responsible. It’s just this woman. On her wedding day, of all days, she has to cause trouble.”

Henry didn’t even look at her. He turned and walked out.

Margaret, at Jason’s signal, left with the crowd of nosy relatives.

The moment the door closed, Jason’s face changed completely.

The smile he’d put on for Henry vanished. When he turned to look at me, his eyes were cold, as if I was a problem he wanted gone.

“Lily,” he said, his voice flat and no longer pretending. “What exactly do you want?”

I leaned against the wall, barely holding myself up. “Give me back the house. It was my parents’ inheritance. You know that.”

“Give it back?” He walked toward me slowly, a sneer curling his lip. “Did you forget what I do for a living?”

He bent down, grabbed a handful of my hair, and forced my head up.

His breath reeked of liquor, hot against my face, making me want to gag.

“You really think you can trace that money? Don’t waste your time. Let me tell you something. I covered every step. Every single one. You can try, but you won’t find a thing.”

He smiled like someone who had already won.

“And even if you did find something, so what? My name is on the contract. That makes it marital property. You’re the one who asked me to sign, remember?”

“In court, that’s a gift. At the very least, I get half.”

“So here’s my advice, Lily. Walk back out there, apologize properly in front of everyone. Finish the wedding. And you can still be Mrs. Whitmore.”

“Don’t forget, I have your medical records. Severe depression. As your legal husband, I can have you committed to a psychiatric hospital.”

“Without a family member to sign you out, you’ll never see the outside of that place again.”

I froze.

I looked into Jason’s eyes and saw nothing but calculation. And then, suddenly, I saw everything.

The six months after my parents died, when I was drowning in grief, he brought food to my bedside every day and fed me with a spoon.

When I woke up from nightmares in the middle of the night, he held me and said, “Don’t be scared. I’m here.”

All those days and nights of being there for me. I thought it was love.

But the sweetness had been priced from the very beginning.

And in that moment, I couldn’t tell if the man standing in front of me had turned rotten overnight.

Or if he had just been hiding it for seven years.