Chapter 57
Thanks to my best friend’s encouragement, my daydreams and my own admiration for him, I dreamed of Soren that night.
My wedding to Edward had continued. I walked down the aisle in the bridal gown I had sewn for myself.
The crowd showered me with cheers and praise as I made my way toward my Prince Charming
The man lifted my veil.
I gazed into the eyes of the groom.
It was not Edward at all. It was Soren!
I scanned the crowd in bewilderment, searching for Edward certain there had been a mistake. But Soren… He took my hand, and we continued down the aisle, walking and walking, as though we would remain on this path together forever.
I was about to kiss him when the alarm started to buzz.
I held onto the dream as tightly as I could, trying to savor this moment, but reality had a way of breaking your dreams apart.
I opened my eyes with difficulty and reached for my phone.
My reminder memo shook off any lingering grogginess: [Divorce appointment.]
I quickly jumped out of bed and prepared.
On my way to the office, I called Edward.
I expected him to avoid my calls, given his attitude during the auction, but he picked up quickly.
“What?” he said coldly.
No greeting at all? I wondered who had pissed him off this early in the morning.
“Mr. Kennedy, I’m calling to remind you that you need to be at Mayor Hall at 3:00 p.m. We have an annulment procedure to follow.”
“Must it be today? Maddie isn’t doing well. I can’t just leave her,” he snapped impatiently.
“Goddamn it! How long do you want to drag this out, Edward? If you think we can still be together after dead–wake the fuck up! Let’s just get this over with!” 1 retorted, my rage rising
lie’s
He ignored me and ended the call.
It seemed we had to do it the hard way.
As soon as I arrived at the office, I had Cherry look for a lawyer specializing in divorce.
At 11:00 am, I was on a call with the lawyer.
Cherry knocked on my door and informed me, “There’s a Mr. Zack here who claims to be your cousin.”
That was my aunt’s son. Why was he here?
“Let him in.” I replied.
Chapter 57
+25 BONUS
I ended the call, turned to my cousin, Wayne Zack, and smiled. “Good morning, Wayne! How can I help you?”
He scowled at me. “What are you on, Taylor? You’re tearing your own family apart, and now you’re doing it to ours too? My mom has been treating you with kindness because of your life experience, and this is how you repay her?”
I was baffled by his sudden anger. “What does this mean? Did something happen to Aunt Sarah?”
“Didn’t you borrow money from my mom?!” he snapped..700,000 dollars, up front! Aren’t you even remotely embarrassed?”
I reeled. Was the source of her loan questionable?
“I did borrow some money from her, but I never used it,” Lexplained. “I’ve already returned the exact amount. Is there any problem after that?”
After Soren bought the bracelet, I had been returning every loan from family and friends. My aunt’s loan had been paid back the night of the auction.
“Of course there fucking is!” Wayne shot back. “My mom siphoned money from the company to lend you that! She hid it from Dad, and he only found out today.
“Even though you returned the money, it was still a serious breach of ethics. My parents fought! The living room is a mess because of it! And now they might be getting a divorce!
“Isn’t this your fault?!” Wayne cried, raising his voice.
Bewildered, I could imagine what had really happened.
The company belonging to Sarah’s husband, Marcus Zack, was a mess, heading toward ruin.
The chief reason?
Marcus had appointed all of his relatives to positions based on blood ties rather than merit. They had all treated the company as a free lunch, exploiting it for their own benefit.
Chanter S
Chapter 58
