Rejected by Family, Spoiled by My Ex's Billionaire Uncle
Chapter 1
Cathryn Clarke sat in the bridal suite and slowly raised her eyes toward the mirror.
A white wedding gown flowed around her, and her long hair had been arranged beneath a veil that fell all the way to the floor. The sheer fabric left her smooth, delicate shoulders faintly visible.
The bridesmaids and makeup artists stood around her, filling the room with praise. They kept telling her she looked beautiful and that she would become the happiest bride in the world.
Cathryn gave a small smile, but there was no real warmth in it.
If the tragedy that followed had never happened, if Derek Morgan—her husband-to-be—had never run out on their wedding, if she had not died when she did, she might have gotten exactly what she wanted. She would have married the man she had loved for years, and maybe she really would have been happy.
However, life had no patience for wishes that came too late.
Her thoughts had begun to drift when someone pushed open the door to the bridal suite.
Derek walked in with long, steady strides, dressed in a suit that fit him perfectly.
His presence was hard to ignore. His face was strikingly handsome, and his deep eyes had a way of making people feel as if they were the only one he saw.
The bridesmaids and makeup artists understood the moment and quietly left the room.
"Are you ready?" asked Derek, glancing at Cathryn as impatience crossed his face.
Cathryn turned toward him and spoke calmly. "Do you like the wedding dress I picked?"
Derek looked her over quickly, as if he only meant to give the dress a passing glance. Before he could answer, his phone rang and cut through the room.
He took it out.
Tessa Lawson's name appeared on the screen.
"The ceremony is about to begin. Can you ignore her call this once?" said Cathryn gently.
"Don't be unreasonable, Cathryn. Tessa wouldn't call me unless something happened. She knows it's my wedding day, so it has to matter," said Derek, frowning.
After that, he picked up the call.
His frown deepened little by little as he listened.
"Something happened to Tessa," said Derek after ending the call, turning to Cathryn in a rush. "I need to leave. You handle the wedding however you can."
He turned toward the door right after saying it.
Cathryn caught his arm. "Derek, this is our wedding. Tell me the truth. Is this ceremony more important to you, or is Tessa?"
"Tessa matters more to me than my own life. I owe her," said Derek. "This wedding is only a formality. It can continue even if I'm not here. But if I stay, Tessa might be in real danger."
Cathryn let out a quiet, bitter laugh, and disappointment dulled the light in her beautiful eyes.
"Derek, have you ever seen a wedding continue without the groom?" said Cathryn, keeping her voice calm.
Derek pushed her off. "Enough, Cathryn. Whenever Tessa needs me, you start making trouble. Can you try being sensible for once?"
"Sensible?" Cathryn gave a cold laugh. "Fine. If you leave through that door, Derek, I'll find another man and make sure the wedding continues."
She released his arm and stepped back.
Derek dismissed her words as another fit of anger and walked out after opening the door.
She had always been like that. She got angry, said things she never meant, and then returned to him in the end.
Jenna Clarke, the Clarke family's adopted daughter, hurried into the room moments later. And Cathryn's parents, Robert Clarke and Lauren Clarke, followed close behind her.
Jenna's eyes flashed with cruel delight as soon as she saw Cathryn.
Still, she covered it so smoothly that neither Robert nor Lauren caught on.
Pretending had always been Jenna's strength, and Cathryn had grown used to watching her do it.
"Cathryn, why did Derek just drive away? The ceremony is about to begin. Don't tell me he left the wedding because of his first love," said Jenna, sounding falsely worried. "Every guest is already here. Our relatives came, and so did Dad's business partners. If this wedding collapses now, the Clarke family will become a joke."
Jenna wore a flawless look of concern and added, "Did you upset Derek somehow? Cathryn, just say something sweet and bring him back."
"Cathryn, can you stop making everything harder for once?" said Lauren, rushing toward her in a temper. "You were the one who begged to marry Derek. Now that the wedding is finally here, you're going to let him walk away for some other woman? The ceremony is about to begin, and the groom is gone. Do you know how shameful this is?"
Cathryn did not answer. She only looked at her parents with a trace of calm indifference, as if she were looking at strangers who had once shared her blood.
She had not seen them since fate dragged her back from death.
Even now, they had come only because they feared she would make the family look bad. If not for that, they might not have cared whether she lived or died.
In her last life, she had called them while she was dying and begged for help. They had not come. They had been busy celebrating Jenna's birthday with an extravagant celebration.
While the whole family laughed around a bright, crowded table, Cathryn had been sinking alone into despair.
From that day on, Jenna's birthday had also marked the day Cathryn died.
"Cathryn, why do you always have to bring trouble home?" Lauren went on, still furious. "You and Jenna are both daughters of this family. I don't expect you to be as capable as she is, but can you at least stop dragging us down?"
Cathryn answered indifferently, "You don't have to worry. The wedding will continue. Please wait outside."
Robert studied her for a moment before he took Lauren by the arm and led her out.
Once the door closed behind them, Jenna turned back to Cathryn. Mockery brightened her face now that no one else was watching.
She moved closer and lowered her voice beside Cathryn's ear. "Derek went after Tessa. He won't come back for you. You are ditched at your own wedding, and everyone in the city will laugh at you."
A slap cracked across Jenna's face before the last word had time to settle.
Jenna raised her head and stared at Cathryn in disbelief.
"Have you lost your mind?" she cried, holding her stinging cheek.
Cathryn met her eyes and spoke in a low, steady voice. "I have. Stay and watch, Jenna. You'll find out exactly how far I'll go."
Something in Cathryn's eyes made Jenna's chest tighten.
Jenna stared at her and felt a rare flicker of fear.
Cathryn had always been timid. She had always lowered her head and tried to please everyone, chasing her parents' affection like someone starved for warmth. Today, she looked like a different person.
...
Cathryn walked out of the bridal suite and went to another room in the hotel.
Richard Morgan and Vincent Holt were already waiting inside.
Richard was Derek's grandfather while Vincent was Richard's youngest adopted son and the current head of the Morgan family.
No one in Bloffield wielded more power than Vincent did. Every member of the Morgan family regarded him with awe and fear, apart from Richard.
"What did you just say? Derek left?" asked Richard. His hair had gone partly gray, but his spirit still seemed strong.
Cathryn nodded. "Does your promise still count?"
"I owe you my life. If you've made up your mind, I won't go back on my word," said Vincent.
He sat on the sofa across from Richard.
Authority seemed to sit naturally on him. His face was handsome in a dangerous, almost unsettling way. When he lifted his eyes, the room seemed to tighten around him, and most people would have struggled to breathe under that look.
"That brat has gone too far," said Richard. "Derek will regret this someday. He doesn't know what matters, but we do."
Richard stood and gave the order without hesitation. "Vincent, we'll follow the plan Cathryn agreed to. Replace the groom. Remove everything tied to Derek. Since Cathryn chose you, treat her properly. This wedding will continue."
A quiet sigh left him before he walked out.
Only Cathryn and Vincent remained in the room.
Cathryn glanced at Vincent, but then quickly looked away.
Vincent was the most mysterious and powerful man in the Holt family.
His eyes carried a pressure that made him difficult to face, and even harder to understand.
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