Chapter 5

Their laughter echoed through the lavish banquet hall.

I looked at Liam in the distance, mingling with guests. He wore a perfectly tailored custom suit, his posture upright.

A perfectly measured gentle smile played on his lips.

If I didn't know that the hickeys on his neck were covered with concealer, I might have been fooled into thinking this really was just an ordinary wedding.

Suddenly, the heavy doors of the banquet hall were forcefully pushed open.

Mia stood at the entrance.

She wore a glaringly inappropriate bright red halter dress, the slit reaching her upper thigh.

So red it was blinding—like a piece of bloodied flesh freshly torn from someone's body.

The guests around fell silent instantly, their gazes shifting between her and me.

She walked straight toward Liam and reached out to grab his sleeve.

In that instant of pulling and tugging, I saw clearly—Mia discreetly slipped a crumpled note into Liam's suit sleeve.

"Mr. Blackwood, I came to see how beautiful Claire looks today."

"I don't mean anything by it. I just wanted to be part of the most important day of your life."

The smile vanished from Liam's face instantly.

He jerked his hand away from Mia as if electrocuted, stepping back two large paces.

"Get out! Where's security? How did trash like this get in here?!"

He turned to look at me, panic flooding his eyes.

"Claire, don't misunderstand. I never invited her! She's like a leech, showing up on her own."

Liam's father's expression darkened.

"Liam, deal with this disgusting woman. Don't let her dirty Claire's eyes."

Security rushed over and grabbed Mia by both arms, forcibly dragging her toward the exit.

"These clothes she touched make me sick."

Liam's eyes filled with apology.

"There are twenty minutes until the ceremony. I'll go upstairs to the suite and change into a backup suit. I'll be right back."

Before the elevator doors closed, I heard his thoughts.

[Mia looks so beautiful today. That dress definitely has nothing underneath.]

[The note says room 8012 upstairs. This little vixen, demanding I give her passionate sex right now.]

[Got to make it quick. Having sex with her while wearing the groom's suit—she's definitely going to scream loud.]

Mia had prepared ahead of time, slipping through the back door upstairs to wait for him in the suite.

Seems my words yesterday really got to her. Only openly cuckolding me could satisfy her.

Ten minutes later, I activated the micro-camera in my necklace pendant and looked at my parents and relatives beside me.

"Liam prepared a wedding gift for everyone. Come with me to get it."

Dozens of friends and family followed behind me in a grand procession. Liam's father walked at the front, his face wearing a gratified smile.

Walking on the thick wool carpet, my high heels made no sound at all.

Closer and closer to him. The man's heavy panting exploded in my mind again.

[So pale, so soft. The way that waist moves—I'd give my life for her.]

My mother reached out to help adjust my heavy wedding dress train, then said:

"Claire, you're going to be so happy. A couple years ago when you had that high fever, Liam brought a folding bed into your hospital room and stayed by your bedside all night. Even the nurses said they'd never seen a man who loved his wife so much."

A relative immediately chimed in:

"That's right! Everyone in our circle knows how devoted Liam is, and how much he dotes on you."

"Last Christmas, to buy you a strawberry cake, his car broke down halfway. He walked five miles through the snow. When he got back, his ears were frostbitten."

Liam's father's voice was steady as he advised me:

"Liam's been raised by me to be rigid since childhood. He doesn't know romance, but he takes after me—he only has eyes for his wife."

"That crazy woman Mia just now, don't give her a second thought."

"You saw Liam's attitude. Even touching her makes him sick."

But at this moment, my attention was focused only on Liam's thoughts:

[Mia really isn't wearing anything under that dress. I was getting hard downstairs in the hall.]

[If Claire and Dad hadn't been right there, I would've wanted to bend Mia over the table right then and fuck her hard.]

I lifted my feet and walked forward step by step. The heavy train of my wedding dress dragged across the floor with soft rustling sounds.

Closer. Even closer.

I stopped at the suite door. Dozens of relatives and friends stopped behind me.

Everyone was smiling warmly at this door.

I gripped the cold metal handle and pushed down with all my strength.

Click. The door opened.