The Bride They Replaced Came Back Richer Chapter 01

The Bride They Replaced Came Back Richer Chapter 01

At the engagement party my family threw for me and Spencer Ashford, one of the wealthiest business magnates in the country, my mother calmly picked up the microphone in front of all the guests and smiled.

“My daughter used to sleep with men for money.”

I stared at her in utter disbelief.

Spencer Ashford pulled me behind him at once.

“Mrs. Whitaker, don’t ever make a joke like that again.”

Later, my mother told me with zero remorse, “I was just testing whether he truly loved you.”

The night before the wedding, I took a single bite of the dinner she had made.

When I woke up, someone had framed me in bed with my sister’s boyfriend.

Spencer arrived with the wedding party and saw us.

Tears welled in his eyes.

“So your mother really wasn’t lying.”

Serena slapped her boyfriend through her tears.

“How could you do this to me?”

In the end, Serena became Spencer’s bride.

My sister’s boyfriend shredded every piece of clothing that still carried my scent.

“You’re completely shameless.”

“You even had to go after your own sister’s boyfriend?”

I sobbed and looked at my mother.

Her expression didn’t even flicker.

“Serena is better suited to be Mrs. Ashford than you are.”

Twenty years later, my son, now the young billionaire CEO of Whitaker Group, brought his girlfriend home to meet me.

“Mother, if you approve of her, we’ll get engaged.”

I stared at that face, one almost identical to Serena’s.

“I don’t.”

My answer landed in the ballroom, and the entire room fell dead silent.

The crowd at the reception froze.

Serena’s daughter, Isla Ashford.

An honors graduate from Berklee College of Music.

Five foot nine, around one hundred twenty pounds.

Her mother was a famous socialite.

Her father had once ruled the Ashford business empire.

Her grandmother was a renowned philanthropist.

Even my son, Oliver Whitaker, froze.

“Mother… when I mentioned Isla before, didn’t you say you liked her?”

“That was before I met her.”

The guests immediately broke into hushed whispers.

After all, Isla Ashford had inherited Serena’s face almost entirely.

At Berklee, she’d also been the cheer captain.

Isla Ashford had never been publicly rejected like this.

Her face flushed crimson.

“Mrs. Whitaker, did I offend you? Or am I dressed inappropriately?”

“Tell me directly. I’ll fix it.”

“You don’t need to change.”

I took a sip of coffee.

“You will never have a place in the Whitaker family trust.”

“Mrs. Whitaker,” one of the guests spoke up first.

“Mrs. Whitaker, maybe you don’t know much about Isla’s grandmother.”

“She’s an internationally known philanthropist. She’s helped so many people.”

“That’s right. Isla was raised by her personally. Her character is beyond reproach.”

I almost laughed.

So my mother had even gone out of her way to care this much for Serena’s daughter.

Oliver also looked at me.

“Mother… did Isla do something wrong?”

“It has nothing to do with whether she did anything wrong.”

My tone stayed calm and sharp.

Isla Ashford panicked.

“Why?”

“What gives you the right to keep me out of the Whitaker family?”

“What exactly is wrong with me? Tell me, and I’ll fix it. But you can’t just say no. I… I…”

I looked at her.

“What are you going to do about it?”

“I won’t accept this!”

My eyes narrowed.

“I am the sole controlling shareholder of Whitaker Group. I choose my own daughter-in-law. Do I owe you an explanation?”

“You!”

Isla Ashford covered her mouth.

Then she spun around and ran out of the ballroom, slamming the heavy door hard behind her.

I lowered my head and took another sip of coffee.

The reception continued.

No one would dare insult me at my own event.

I had raised Oliver alone.

For twenty years, he had been the one person who never questioned me.

“Mother, if she offended you before, you don’t have to let her get to you.”

I smiled and didn’t answer.

But just as the reception was drawing to a close, the doors suddenly swung open.

“Who is Claire Whitaker?”