Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Meanwhile, at the wedding venue, guests had already taken their seats.
The union of New York’s two most prominent families naturally drew considerable attention
Behind the scenes, however, chaos reigned.
Maric’s father, Steven Gilbert’s face was dark with fury, “Alaric, have you gotten hold of Stella yer? The ceremony stars in fifteen minutes. If there’s nebride, we be the laughingstock of the entire city!”
Alaric’s expression was equally thunderous.
He dialed Stella’s number one more time, only to hear the robotic vire
“The number you have called is currently unavailable”
SLAMI
Alaric smashed his phone against the table, his heart racing with a panic he couldn’t explain.
What the hell was Stella doing?
Wasn’t she the one who had always been desperate for this wedding? Hadn’t she manipulated him into marriage? Hadn’t her lifelong dream been to become his wife?
Now that the wedding day had finally arrived, where the fuck had she disappeared to?
Meanwhile, Camilla Jones–Gilbert had just finished calling the hospital
ve confirmed that Stella checked out, but she never came to the venue. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Do you think she’s actually leaving you
at the altar?
The more Camilla considered this possibility, the more distraught she became, tears welling in her eyes.
“She did mention breaking the engagement before. I thought she was just being emotional, but now I see–you’ve driven her away with your coldres How am I supposed to face Elena’s mentory now?”
Camilla and Elena Parker had been inseparable since childhood.
After Elena died, Camilla had taken Stella under her wing, dreaming of the day she would officially become her daughter in law.
“That’s ridiculous!” Alaric snapped, a strange tightness gripping his chest. “Stella would never walk away from me!
But even as he said it, he remembered yesterday–Stella drugged and vulnerable
The drug had been potent enough to break anyone’s inhibitions, to make them seek reef by any means.
Yet Stella had refused him completely, choosing install to stab herself repeatedly rather than let him touch her
seemed she truly wanted nothing to do with him anymore,
As this realization sank in, Alaric felt a hollow senation spreading through his chest–like something essential had been rippay, leaving a valid be’d never noticed before.
“Tm going to find her,” he said, his voice tight with an emotion he couldn’t se
He turned to leave, but Steven barked after him.
“Her mansion is nothing but ashes! Where exactly do you plan to look?
Right.
Chapter 16
He’d almost forgotten that yesterday, Stella’s family state had mysteriously caught fire, destroying everything
Could!
Was she farloos because he had saved Jenna first during the fleet
The thought sent a wave of unfamiliar anety through him. His palms began in sweat as he considered, for the first time, that Krella inh gone. Just as he was about to rush out anyway, a wedding coordinator burst in, breathiest with relief
“The bride is here
