The Don’s Discarded Bride Chapter 05

The Don’s Discarded Bride Chapter 05

In the wedding chapel, Adrian Moretti’s gaze was fixed, unseeing, on the oceans of white baby’s 

breath that surrounded them. Even when the 

priest addressed him directly, his responses were distant, mumbled distractions. 

Laurel Hayes watched, digging her nails so hard 

into her palms they turned red and swollen. 

“Adrian, please look lovingly at your bride.” 

“Do you take her to be your lawfully wedded wife, 

to stand by her through poverty and wealth, for all 

the days of your life?” 

Adrian held the microphone, silent for far too long. 

He couldn’t say the words. He could feel the 

Rosinos‘ knife–like glares burning into his back. 

from the back of the hall. 

Urgent, subtle nudges came from the groomsmen 

beside him. From the front row, his father, 

Salvatore Moretti, gave a single, sharp shake of 

his head–a clear command to end this. An 

invisible vise of pressure tightened around him. 

After a long, heavy silence, he drew a sharp breath 

and finally mumbled, 

“I do…” 

The second the words left his mouth, his phone 

buzzed violently in his pocket. 

A flicker of surprise crossed his face, and he 

pulled it out instantly. 

But when he read the text, all color drained from his face. He swayed, nearly collapsing. 

[Adrian Moretti, are you happy now that you’re marrying Laurel on top of my mother’s corpse?] 

The microphone crashed to the floor. 

The priest scrambled to smooth things over and repeated the question. 

Beneath Laurel’s eager gaze, Adrian spoke clearly, his voice cold and unforgiving, 

“I don’t.” 

The entire room erupted in murmurs, guests exchanging shocked glances. 

The Morettis‘ faces turned ashen with rage. The 

Rosinos smirked. 

He tore off his boutonnière and stormed for the 

door, but Laurel blocked his path. 

Her eyes filled with tears, and she asked pitifully, 

“Adrian, you regret this?” 

He didn’t hesitate. “Yes.” The word was a bullet. “I 

regret letting you stand where she should have been. I regret signing that paper with you. And I regret, more than anything, the day I ever laid eyes 

on you.” 

The words left her gasping for air, speechless. 

She’d expected him to regret the ceremony at worst, never that he’d disavow her entirely. 

She had no idea what had turned him against her so completely. 

So she ventured carefully, 

“What did Clara tell you?” 

His silence was confirmation enough. Laurel bowed her head, a single tear tracing a perfect path down her cheek. When she looked up, her face was a masterpiece of wounded innocence. 

“Adrian, you know Clara’s always looked down on me. She talks to me like I’m beneath her.” 

“And now even you don’t believe me. What am I supposed to do…” 

The loaded pause said it all. 

Adrian’s gaze was arctic. “Interesting,” he said, his 

voice dangerously soft. “I never mentioned Clara. 

Yet here you are, scrambling to throw the first 

stone. Tell me, Laurel, does your conscience ever 

trouble you? Or is slandering her just second. 

nature now?” 

“And let’s not forget–if it weren’t for her, your 

family would’ve sold you to that old drunk in West Virginia years ago. That gambling debt your 

brother owed? It was to a Rosino enforcer. Clara 

wiped it clean with one word. You owe her your 

life. Instead, you seduced her fiancé. You 

ungrateful backstabber.” 

Laurel stared at him in disbelief. 

She’d never expected him to say that. 

She’d thought if he’d abandoned an eight–year relationship and broken the alliance between two 

families to marry her, he must have cared for her. 

Now he was publicly crucifying her in front of 

everyone. 

She trembled under the weight of every stare in the room. 

“Adrian, I’m your wife. You can’t do this to me.” 

Adrian laughed bitterly. 

“It’s just a piece of paper. You’re my wife only as 

long as I say you are. The second I stop, you’re 

nothing.” 

Before she could reply, he pulled up his text 

messages and held the screen up to her face. 

“Laurel Hayes, Clara’s mother is dead.” 

“You kicked her phone away. You killed her.” 

Laurel screamed and clamped her hands over her 

ears, shaking her head violently. 

“I didn’t! I’m not a murderer!”