Chapter 5

Damien settled Bianca on the stage and strode over to me.

"Explain it the way we agreed last night."

He shoved the microphone into my hand and leaned down to warn me.

"Don't try anything. Your dad still does business in this town."

I looked at him for two seconds.

"Say that again."

But he had already turned away and put on a polished smile for the guests.

"There's been a small last-minute change today. I'll let Vivian tell you about it."

I switched on the microphone.

"The person who was supposed to get married today was me."

Damien's mother was frantically signaling me from her seat.

I kept going. "But last night, Damien told me Bianca was pregnant with his child, and that he needed to borrow my wedding for her first."

The whole hall erupted.

Damien's head snapped around.

I took a step to the side.

"The wedding dress, the diamond ring, the bouquet I picked out, he gave all of it to her. He even wanted my dad to walk her down the aisle and hand her over for them."

"Vivian!"

Damien reached out to grab the microphone.

At that moment, the banquet hall doors were pushed open.

An assistant hurried in.

"Mr. Grant, Mr. Thornton is here."

Damien's hand froze.

Bianca suddenly hiked up her skirt and ran for the side door.

Two men who had come in with Adrian stepped over to stand by it.

They didn't touch her, but she stopped as if she'd been nailed to the floor and didn't dare take another step.

Adrian, in a dark suit and still worn from the trip, walked straight up to the stage.

Damien immediately went down to meet him.

"Mr. Thornton, you came in person? It's just a little family matter. I'm sorry you had to see this."

Adrian didn't look at him.

His eyes were on the curve of Bianca's stomach.

"How far along?"

Damien was caught off guard.

Then, like a man who had finally found someone to back him up, he moved to shield Bianca.

"Three months. She scares easily, and she's had a bit of a shock just now."

"She was married once before and ended up with the wrong man. Someone's been using that to humiliate her today. Please don't listen to the gossip."

Adrian slowly raised his eyes.

"The wrong man?"

Bianca dropped to her knees with a thud.

The moment she knelt, Damien finally sensed that something was off.

"Bee?"

She didn't look at him. She only clung to the leg of Adrian's pants.

"I can explain. Just get them to leave first..."

Adrian pulled his leg free.

"Yesterday you were telling me you couldn't stand the food at the convalescent center."

"And today you're in a wedding dress?"

The smile on Damien's face went completely stiff.

Adrian took out a marriage certificate and opened it in front of him.

"Mr. Grant, the woman you're marrying is my wife."

Someone in the audience gasped, and the teacup in Damien's mother's hand smashed to pieces on the floor.

Damien stared at the certificate. It was a long moment before he managed to force out a few words.

"That's impossible. She already..."

Adrian handed me another document envelope.

"Miss Sinclair, I confirmed it in the car on the way over."

I tore it open, read only the first line, and looked up at Damien.

He was still holding on to Bianca, as if as long as he didn't let go, he could prove this wedding wasn't a mistake.

"Even if she lied to me, the baby is mine."

His voice was tight.

"She started seeing me three months ago. I went to her prenatal checkups with her. The timing adds up."

Bianca suddenly lunged at me.

"Don't look at that! Give it to me!"

Damien caught her on instinct.

She swung around and slapped him across the face.

"Who told you to call him here? Didn't you say you were the one in charge of this wedding?"

The slap knocked Damien's head to the side.

I turned to the last page of the document.

It didn't just have Bianca's signature.

It had Damien's too.

The signing date was the day my mother died.

I looked up and gripped the microphone tighter.

"Damien, you said you didn't know she was still married."

"Then why did you sign this agreement too?"