I marched down the aisle with a torn veil and bloodied lip. My husband-to-be, Caleb, chuckled at his groomsmen and exclaimed loudly, “She needed a reminder of who’s in charge before we sign the marriage certificate.” The laughter from the entire congregation (including his mother) was subdued, but very audible nonetheless. Although my lip was split, I took a deep breath to center myself, reached into my bridal bouquet for a flash drive and plugged it directly into the pastor’s projector for all to see. “Let’s see what the real reminder is,” I stated softly as the screen came to life.
As I approached Caleb, who stood at the altar wearing a custom-made black tuxedo, he wore a grin that resembled that of a king awaiting a royal tribute. In the first row of the church sat Evelyn Whitmore, his mother, dressed in champagne silk and enough diamonds to glow brighter than God.
Caleb leaned in to speak to his groomsmen.
“She needed a reminder of who’s in charge before we sign the papers,” Caleb said in a loud voice.
The silence was deafening.
Then the laughter began.
Not everyone laughed; however, many did.
Caleb’s groomsmen laughed. Evelyn was holding her mouth closed with her gloved hand, and her eyes were sparkling with excitement. Several cousins shifted their gaze away from Caleb and the beautiful bride walking towards him.The pastor stood there with an open Bible locked in place, staring at me like I was deranged.
Tears did not leave my eyes.
Caleb’s grip was so tight around my wrist that I could feel bruising.
“Smile, Amelia,” Caleb whispered. “This is so embarrassing for you.”
I stared back directly at him, looking at that attractive face that once seemed to represent safety and now seemed like something entirely different. I could not believe that this was the same man who had hit me in the bridal suite just twenty minutes before because I wouldn’t sign the prenup that his mother had pushed on me at the last minute.
The prenup was not a prenup; it was a forced surrender of my Equity Shares in ValeTech, the Voting Rights from my deceased father, and my deceased Grandmother’s Estate as all were to be put into some type of marital trust that would be controlled by Caleb’s family.
I was told by Evelyn that if I did not marry him, the photos would be released that same evening.
These pictures were photoshopped, they were fake affairs. They had forged emails; all of this was a publicity smear to ruin me and make it impossible for me to take my proper place on a Board meeting and vote by Monday.
Caleb had smiled at me; he smiled then. They thought they had won me; they thought they trapped me. They thought I was fragile, due to grief from the death of my father six months before, who left me ValeTech and a board filled with wolves.
And Caleb entered my life with flowers, sympathy, and lots of timing.