Chapter 4

"Stop playing dumb! Her clothes, her jewelry, her legal documents—everything is in there!"

Ethan's mother let out a soft chuckle.

"Are you sure those belong to your daughter?"

My mom was stunned.

Standing behind her, realization hit me like a slap in the face.

They had changed the passcode. The Reeds had moved in before us.

They had orchestrated all of this the moment they left the venue.

My dad's voice boomed from behind. "What are you playing at?"

Ethan's mother crossed her arms, barring the door completely.

"Nothing much. Just clearing things up. Your daughter decided to dump my son at the altar, made our entire family a laughingstock in front of everyone, and now she thinks she can just casually walk in and take whatever she wants?"

She paused, raising her eyebrows.

"Sure, you can have them. Just leave your wedding contribution and house funds with us."

My mother went pale with rage.

"Have you lost your mind? That money belongs to our family!"

"Your family's money?"

Ethan's mother sneered.

"Who was that money prepared for? For my son's marriage! Since the wedding is off, shouldn't that money stay with us to cover our emotional damages and wedding costs?"

My dad shoved the door open.

"Get out of the way."

The force made her stumble back a step, but she quickly bounced right back into the doorway, her voice screeching down the hall.

"You're pushing me?! You think you can assault a woman in her own home?!"

She turned her head and shrieked into the apartment.

"George! Get out here! They're getting violent!"

Ethan's father strolled out of the living room wearing pajamas, holding a mug of tea.

He took his sweet time walking over, settling smugly behind his wife.

"Like we said: agree to leave the marriage funds with us, and you can take your junk."

His eyes swept over me from head to toe, patronizing and cold.

"Natalie, let's be real here. The tantrum your family threw at the wedding ruined Ethan's reputation. How is he supposed to face his friends and colleagues now? You want to break it off, fine, but you don't get to trash our family without paying for it."

I stared at him, cold and silent.

He continued, "No money, no belongings. Simple as that."

My dad pointed a trembling finger at them. "This is unlawful seizure of private property!"

"Unlawful seizure?"

Ethan's father blew softly on his tea.

"This is the matrimonial home. Everything inside was bought jointly for the marriage. Who's to say what belongs to you and what belongs to us?"

Shaking with fury, my mom pulled out her phone to call 911.

Before she could dial, Ethan emerged from the bedroom.

He walked to the doorway, his eyes completely ignoring my parents and landing squarely on me.

"Natalie... when you said all those things on that stage, did you stop for one second to think about how I would feel?"

I just stared at him.

He pressed on:

"Chloe is just a friend I grew up with. There is literally nothing going on between us! You walked out on me in front of six hundred people. How am I supposed to explain this to my parents? To my friends, my bosses?"

"You humiliated my entire family today."

"Do you even realize that?"

My mom couldn't take it anymore. "We humiliated you?! What about you putting a damn ring on your female friend at your own wedding?!"

Ethan furrowed his brow, looking utterly exasperated.

"Mrs. Foster, it was literally just a nostalgic childhood joke! She was crying her eyes out down there. Was I supposed to just leave her hanging on stage?"

"Then why didn't you comfort Natalie?!"