Chapter 2

2

I smirked at them with unmasked mockery.

The crowd gasped, exchanging baffled looks.

Nobody expected me to pull a move like that.

Jenna froze, and then her perfectly made-up face contorted in sheer fury.

She kicked the car door open, stomped over in her high heels, and shoved a finger in my face.

"What is wrong with you?! Garrett, have you lost your mind?!"

Looking at her hysterical face, I felt no anger, only profound exhaustion.

"Oh, so now you feel embarrassed? You looked pretty thrilled being cradled in Austin's arms a second ago."

My voice was calm, stating facts without a hint of emotion.

Jenna's face turned red and white as she stammered, "You… stop making things up!"

"That doesn't matter right now! The ceremony is starting and hundreds of guests are waiting! Can't we talk about this later?"

I pointed at the boutonnière resting on Austin's chest, my words dripping with venom.

"Why talk? Your husband is right there."

"Go ahead and get married. I'll just sit back and enjoy the free meal."

Cornered, Jenna shrieked in frustration.

"I… I twisted my ankle!"

I cut her off immediately, pointing at her bare ankles.

"Didn't you claim your ankle was broken? How did you just sprint out of the car in three-inch heels?"

"Run out of lies already?"

I let out a cold laugh filled with utter disappointment.

Her lies exposed, Jenna lashed out angrily.

"Garrett! Don't push it! Today is our wedding! How can you treat me like this after everything?!"

"Treat you like this?"

I chuckled as if hearing the funniest joke in the world.

Before I could speak, Austin jumped in, playing the peacemaker.

"Garrett, I know you're upset, but it's not what you think…"

"Jenna and I are just good friends. Please don't misunderstand."

He put on a heartbroken act, making it seem like I was the villain breaking a pure girl's heart.

He reached out to pat my shoulder, but I dodged him with disgust.

I glared at him, tired of his pathetic drama.

He kept talking with such earnestness, acting like some devoted secondary lead in a soap opera.

I sneered, watching him perform like a clown.

"What are you smirking at?!"

Jenna screamed, pointing at me again.

"Garrett, you're being ridiculous! Austin is trying to help, and this is your attitude?!"

Looking at her throwing a tantrum like a shrew, I felt a deep wave of sorrow.

Was this really the woman I loved for seven years?

"My attitude? What kind of attitude should I have toward a cheating woman like you?"

My voice was terrifyingly calm.

"You…"

Jenna choked on her words, her face twisting in rage.

Seeing this, Austin stepped in again, gently grabbing Jenna's hand to comfort her.

"Jenna, don't be mad. Garrett is just speaking out of anger."

He turned back to me with a look of righteous indignation.

"Garrett, how can you insult Jenna like that? I know you're hurting, but you can't slander her honor!"

"If this misunderstanding is because of me, I'm willing to apologize."

Austin picked up the boutonnière and tried to hand it back to prove his innocence.

I scoffed and slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me. You disgust me."

To my surprise, Austin threw himself backward onto the pavement, clutching his chest in agony.

"Austin!"

Jenna screamed in horror, rushing over to pull him up with frantic concern in her eyes.

"Garrett! Are you insane? There are so many people watching! How dare you assault him?!"

Jenna glared at me, seething with fury.

I stood there, watching their melodrama unfold with cold detachment.

"Assault him? Which eye saw me touch him?"

"I…"

Jenna paused for a second before snapping, "Stop lying! If you didn't push him, how could he fall?!"

Austin clutched his chest, putting on a weak, saintly front.

"Jenna, it's okay. I was just so excited yesterday that I couldn't sleep all night. I felt dizzy, that's all. Garrett didn't do it on purpose."

Hearing that, tears welled up in Jenna's eyes as she looked at Austin with pure adoration.

I stood there, utterly speechless at their daytime soap opera.

Did Jenna actually think Austin stayed awake all night pining over her?

Last night, this punk broke into the company office to steal proprietary tech files, and my security guard and I beat the crap out of him.

Of course he was dizzy!

Seeing a smirk on my face, Jenna exploded in fury.

"Garrett, do you have any humanity left?! You hit someone and you're still laughing?!"

"If you don't apologize and give me an explanation right now, this wedding is off! Let's see what you do then!"

A sudden tightness gripped my chest.

She was actually defending Austin with such a ridiculous lie and using our marriage as a threat?

What kind of monster had I been loving all these years?

Looking at her smug face, I clenched my fists and walked straight toward Austin.

A glint of triumph flashed in Jenna's eyes.

"That's more like it! If you had just behaved earlier, we wouldn't have to make things difficult…"

Before she could finish, I kicked Austin hard where he lay on the ground.

"Difficult?"

"Then let's not do it at all!"