Chapter 5 - The Grand Evacuation
Within five minutes, the grand pavilion began to empty out in a chaotic, scrambling rush. Wealthy socialites who had fawned over Sarah just twenty minutes prior now actively avoided eye contact with her, slipping past her bridal party as if they carried a contagious plague.
Lord Sterling grabbed his wife by the elbow, his face purple with humiliation. He glared at Greg with pure venom. "You absolute fool," Lord Sterling hissed loud enough for the remaining microphones to pick up. "You’ve ruined our family name, you’ve dragged us into a bankrupt fraud, and you’ve embarrassed us in front of international investors. Don't ever call me again."
Greg didn't look up. He sat paralyzed in his folding chair, staring blankly at the polished wooden floorboards as his father abandoned him to his fate.
Sarah stood frozen near the flower arch, her magnificent French lace gown dragging in the spilled red wine on the floor. She looked like a shipwreck survivor washed ashore on a dead planet.
"As for my family," I continued, my voice cutting through the remaining chatter as I stepped down from the stage, "your private luxury villa bookings are canceled effective thirty seconds ago. Your luggage has already been brought down to the main dock and stacked by the cargo crane."
My mother let out a hysterical gasp, clutching at her chest. "Elena! You can't leave us here! We're your flesh and blood! Where are we supposed to sleep?!"
"You wanted to bask in luxury you didn't earn, surrounded by people you thought were superior to everyone else," I said coldly, walking past them toward the exit. "So you can enjoy the authentic experience of the island."
"What does that mean?!" my father shouted, finally finding his voice, stepping forward with clenched fists. "Where are our accommodations?!"
I paused at the heavy double doors, turning back to look at them with absolute indifference.
"Since you both believe my daughter and I are parasites who take up too much space and deserve no basic human decency, you can wait for the public commuter ferry," I said smoothly. "It arrives at the public pier at seven o'clock tomorrow morning. Bring sunscreen. The tropical sun is quite harsh when you don't have air conditioning."
"You can't do this!" Sarah shrieked, finally snapping completely. She lunged forward, collapsing against the flower arch in a storm of hysterical tears and ragged sobs. "It's my wedding day! You ruined my life! You planned this! You planned all of this just to destroy me!"
May you like
"You ruined it yourself the second you put your hands on my child," I said quietly, my voice barely above a whisper, yet carrying the weight of finality.
I set the microphone down on the glass podium, turned my back on them, and walked out into the warm Maladic breeze. Without looking back at my mother’s pleading sobs or my father’s paralyzed silence, I walked down the stone path toward the private marina, where the resort's private launch was waiting to take me back to my daughter.
