When Love Cuts Deep, Loneliness Bleeds

Roxanne continued, "I'll tell everyone at the wedding that it wasn't Gabby's fault. No one should blame her for any of this."

The more she gave in, the tighter Clinton pulled her into his arms.

His expression darkened, and in the next second, he launched into a tirade. "Just look at your sister! She's always thinking of you!

"Gabriella Simmons, I'll give you ten minutes to bring over everything your mother left you and hand it over to Roxanne. Don't forget—I still have that video of you coming on to me the night you got drunk!"

I stared at him in disbelief. My voice was hoarse as I shot back, "Clinton Whitfield, are you seriously using that to threaten me? And you call yourself a man?"

But he scoffed in response. Whatever trace of guilt he had shown before was already gone.

"Don't forget today is the anniversary of your mother's death," Clinton hissed. "She spent her life teaching you to have self-respect. You wouldn't want her to know how shameless you've become since she died, would you?"

His words cut deep, and for the first time, he felt like a stranger to me.

Even so, I unclenched my fists and nodded, a bitter smile tugging at my lips. "Fine. I'll give it to her."

…

The sudden change of bride at the Whitfield and Simmons wedding quickly became the subject of everyone's gossip.

Without warning, Clinton's assistant, Martin Grant, appeared at my door.

He practically dragged me to the venue and forced me to change into a bridesmaid's dress, saying, "Mr. Whitfield said rumors are going around that Ms. Roxanne stole your fiance. He's asking you to do her the favor of being her bridesmaid to put an end to the gossip."

I looked down at the dress and laughed through the tears.

What a joke. I was standing as a bridesmaid at the wedding of the man I once loved—nothing more than a prop to make his new bride happy.

Then, I was pushed onto the stage. Roxanne linked her arm through mine, smiling sweetly.

"Gabby, haven't you noticed the way everyone's looking at you?" she whispered, her voice laced with provocation.

That was when I realized all the men were staring at my chest and waist. Their eyes crawled over me, lewd and filthy.

A beat later, Roxanne added with a smug smile, "Clint didn't want anyone gossiping about me, so he shifted all the attention to you. The video he mentioned last night? He's already uploaded it. It's got over 100 thousand views!"

My mind went blank at once. I fumbled for my phone and saw the trending headline.

It read, "Shocking! Simmons Heiress Caught Cheating Before the Wedding! Clinton Whitfield Forced to Marry Another!"

The man's face was blurred in the photo, but mine was unmistakable. I was naked and shown as the one who made the move.

Beneath it, the comment section was a torrent of insults.

One wrote, "She's about to get married, and she can't even hold herself back?"

Another said, "She looks so innocent, but turns out she's so freaky!"

My hands trembled as I shoved Roxanne aside and ran backstage, only to hear Clinton laughing with his friends.

"Hey, Clint, that's you in the photo, right? Gabriella's body is unreal! How did you even have the heart to post that? Aren't you afraid she'll back out of the wedding?"

Clinton let out a resigned sigh. "I had no choice. It's the only way to give Roxanne a wedding without scandal. Besides, I know Gabriella. After all these years together, she'd never actually walk away."

I couldn't take it anymore. In a flash, I stormed into the room and struck him hard across the face.

"Clinton Whitfield! You're despicable!" I yelled.

Panic flashed across his face. He grabbed my hand instinctively and explained, "Hear me out, Gabriella. This is for your own good. You know what people say about Mr. Sterling. Maybe if he sees this, he'll call off the engagement himself."

Clinton spoke so self-righteously. He had trampled my dignity, yet saw it as doing me a favor.

A chill ran through me as I asked, "This was Roxanne's idea, too, wasn't it?"

His eyes flickered. But just as he was about to speak, Roxanne burst in, sobbing.

"Clint, what should I do? Mr. Porter grabbed me by the waist, and I couldn't help it. I threw water at his face! Now, he's demanding that I grovel in front of everyone!"

All at once, Clinton let go of me and rushed to comfort her. "That's outrageous! Roxy, I won't let you apologize to someone like that!"

Then, he turned to me, his gaze icy. "Gabriella, you'll apologize to Mr. Porter on Roxanne's behalf!"

Having said that, he hauled me toward Landon Porter.

"Mr. Porter, Roxanne only lost her temper because of that scandal online about Gabriella. That's why she offended you. I'll have Gabriella apologize. Please don't hold it against Roxanne."