He dumped me at the altar for my sister — then a black motorcade

Then the church doors opened. Not slowly — all at once, both of them, kicked wide by a woman in a charcoal suit with an earpiece and a folder pressed to her chest. Behind her, six men in matching dark suits filed in and lined the aisle like a wall. Outside, through the open doors, you could see three black SUVs and a long armored sedan idling with the doors already open. The woman walked straight past Marcus without looking at him and stopped in front of me. ‘Ma’am, we’ve been trying to reach you for eleven months. Your grandfather’s estate has been finalized. The board is waiting.’ Marcus laughed again, but it came out thin. ‘Her grandfather? Her grandfather fixed tractors.’ The woman turned her head one inch. ‘Her grandfather founded Halberd Agricultural Holdings in 1962. She is the sole named heir. Controlling interest. Nine facilities. Roughly four-point-two billion.’ The room made a sound I’ve never heard before — like everyone inhaling at once. Chloe’s phone hit the floor. Marcus’s mother sat down so fast her hat tipped forward. Marcus took one step toward me, hand already reaching, mouth already shaping the word ‘baby.’ I lifted the bouquet, dropped it at his feet, and stepped over it. My father was already standing without the cane, smiling for the first time in a year. The woman in the suit held out her arm and I took it. Behind me I heard Marcus say my name — just my name, over and over, like a question he’d never bothered to ask before. I didn’t turn around. Chloe did. She turned around and saw the family crest embroidered on the inside of the sedan door as I climbed in, and that was the moment her knees actually gave out. The doors closed. The motorcade pulled away. Somebody in the church finally started clapping, and it wasn’t for the groom.