“It is a merger of two great dynasties. It is Vanessa’s happiness. And you—you were always jealous of her. Jealous of her beauty, her charm, her success with Liam.”
Vanessa had noticed the confrontation. She broke protocol, leaving the altar and rushing halfway up the aisle, her veil trailing behind her like a shroud.
“Daddy, don’t!” she shrieked, playing the victim with practiced ease. Tears instantly welled in her eyes. “She’s just here to ruin my big day! She’s obsessed! She can’t handle that Liam chose me!”
Vanessa looked at the guests, breathless and tragic. “She’s been stalking us for years! She’s mentally unwell!”
Clara stood up. She was shorter than her father, but in that moment, she felt ten feet tall. She pulled her arm from his grip with a sharp yank.
“I’m not here for you, Dad,” Clara said, loud enough for the back rows to hear. “And I’m certainly not here for her.”
She looked past them, directly at Liam.
“I’m here for the groom.”
Vanessa let out a strangled laugh, clutching her father’s arm. “He doesn’t want you! He loves me! He forgot about you the moment the ambulance took you away! We all did!”
Clara looked at her sister with a mixture of pity and revulsion. “Is that what you told yourself, Nessie? That he forgot?”
