Best Man, Best Choice

After the wedding, once the crowd cleared out, I stood by the car, eyeing Emmett.

He looked away fast, lips tight—but his ears? Bright red.

Bold on stage, but now he's shy over eye contact? Cute.

Then he said, "Irene, don't waste your tears on someone who's not worth it."

Caught me off guard for a sec.

I didn't say a thing—just waved him over.

He hesitated, then awkwardly climbed into the back seat. I reached out and pulled him in.

He sat stiff as a statue, legs clamped together. I spotted the bruises on his cheek and lip, reached past him, and grabbed the first aid kit.

"Let me clean you up."

He paused, one brow lifted, then tilted his face up without a word.

I dabbed gently at the bruises.

Eyes still shut, he asked, "What are you planning to do now?"

"Move out. Cut Malcolm off for good."

A flicker of a smile touched his lips, but when he caught the tension in my face, he sighed and looked up, serious.

"I've got a few things to handle. In three days, I'll pick you up. We'll get the marriage license."

"Okay."

***

By the time I got back to the Irving estate, it was late.

Every light in the living room was on. Our parents were stiff on the couch, faces like thunderclouds.

Lumi was fake-crying into Mom's arms. "I was just teasing Irene... I didn't think she'd take it so seriously..."

With no Lowell marriage deal to cash in on, Dad was livid. But instead of calling out Lumi, he turned the full blast on me.

"Irene! Lumi's just a kid, but you? You actually went along with Malcolm's stunt?"

His hands shook. "The second you saw the groom had changed, you should've stopped the wedding! Do you have any idea how badly you embarrassed us?"

Mom gave me the classic disappointed look. "Tomorrow, you're divorcing that man—whoever he is—and announcing you're single again."

I cut her off. "I'm not leaving him."

The room went dead quiet.

I looked up, straight at them.

"Today was my wedding. You didn't show. Malcolm swapped himself out in front of everyone, and not one of you said a word. Mom, Dad—are you seriously telling me you didn't know?"

They froze for a beat.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Of course we didn't know! Something urgent came up!"

"You messed everything up yourself, and now you're blaming us?"

They scrambled to defend themselves, talking over each other.

I didn't need more proof. I'd been the only idiot in this whole setup from the start.

I cut in with a cold laugh. "Save it. I'll be back tomorrow to pack my stuff. I'm done being your eyesore."

Then I turned and walked out.

Just as I stepped out of the estate, my phone lit up—one of Malcolm's buddies.

I answered, and panic hit me through the speaker.

"Irene! You need to get to the hospital—Malcolm got drunk, got into a fight, and he won't stop calling your name..."

I stood there for a while, torn. Then I gave in, hailed a cab, and headed over.

When I finally reached his hospital room and went to open the door, I heard him inside.

"Told you she'd come," Malcolm said, smug as ever.

One of his buddies snorted. "See? She only married that other guy to mess with you. Soon as she heard you were in the hospital, she came running."

Another chimed in. "Come on, everyone knows Irene's obsessed with Malcolm. She drank herself sick meeting his clients, threw everything into his startup. No way she'd actually leave him."

"Man's got serious game—both Irving sisters, wrapped around his finger!"

Then someone scoffed, "But Irene's not the heiress anymore. Why bother marrying her? Lumi's the real deal. Better package."

Malcolm didn't even hesitate. "Who says I'm not marrying Lumi? I already told her I'd sign the papers. As for Irene? I'll just fake the license, keep her fooled. Let her keep working for us—like a live-in maid."

Laughter.

Then one of them said, "Damn, genius move. When she's back in your bed, Malcolm, mind if we get a turn?"

Malcolm snapped, "Enough. She'll be here any second. Shut up."

Outside the door, it felt like the floor dropped out from under me.

The cold hit hard, sinking deep. I bent over, chest tight, barely able to breathe.

All those years—everything I gave up, everything I did—he remembered. He knew. And still, this is how he chose to treat me.

Malcolm, you're beyond heartless.

Whatever feelings I had left? Gone. Burned to ash.

Tears blurred my vision. I grabbed the wall to steady myself, then turned and walked away without looking back.