I Canceled The Wedding After His Female Bro Ruined Everything Chapter 05
Margaret’s face turned livid. She pressed her palm against the table and stood up.
“Elena-”
Then the ballroom doors swung open.
A middle-aged man in a dark suit stood at the entrance. Behind him was a tall, sharp-featured young man. And behind them, four lawyers carrying briefcases.
Marcus walked in first.
His gaze swept across the crowded room and landed on me.
“Elena. Come here.”
I froze.
What was my brother doing back?
Weren’t they overseas, closing a deal?
I squirmed inside. Marcus strode across the ballroom, and the crowd parted like the Red Sea.
He stopped in front of me and looked down at my clenched fists.
“Relax. Even if the sky falls, Dad and I have got your back.”
Richard barely glanced around. He walked straight to the head table and sat down across from Harold.
The lawyers set their files on the table.
Every document carried the Hayes Group corporate seal.
“Mr. Cole, my daughter made herself clear. Hayes Group is pulling out of every active Cole project.
Termination of all partnerships. Effective immediately.”
Harold’s face finally cracked.
Margaret gave a nervous laugh.
“The children are just being emotional. Let’s sit down and talk as adults-”
“Emotional?”
Marcus turned around.
His voice was colder than Richard’s. Cold enough that you could cut the tension with a knife.
“When my sister was publicly humiliated at her own wedding, your family tried to brush it off as her being
emotional?”
He stepped forward twice and stopped directly in front of the head table, looking down at Margaret
“Mrs. Cole, you and my mother go back. You sat here today and let them tear my sister apart.”
His voice dropped lower.
“And you still call yourself a family elder?”
Before Margaret could answer, Marcus turned to Katherine.
“You must be Katherine Blake?”
Katherine stepped back. Her heel caught on her gown, and she stumbled.
Marcus let out a cold snort.
“This is what they wanted to compare to my sister?”
Sebastian opened his mouth to speak, but Marcus pinned him in place with a single look.
After Richard pushed the documents toward Harold, he didn’t bother waiting for a reaction.
He walked over to me. He sighed – tired and pained.
“I never liked your choice, Elena. You always said he was young and had potential. But a man who hides behind his parents when things go wrong has no real backbone.”
He reached out and patted my shoulder.
“The only reason I didn’t fight you on this is because my daughter can afford to make mistakes. I’m your
safety net.”
My eyes suddenly burned.
–
Through the whole wedding – even when Sebastian and Katherine were practically kissing on stage – even when everyone pushed me to kneel for the parental acknowledgment speech – I hadn’t cried a single tear
But the moment my father and brother walked into that ballroom, my fingers started shaking.
I felt so wronged.
I grabbed my father’s arm and held back the sting in my throat.
“I see him clearly now, Dad. Sebastian is weak and fake. He’s not good enough for me. Next time, I’ll choose
better.”
He nodded. Then he led me away, with Marcus guarding my back.
As they passed the head table, Marcus slowed for a moment.
He turned his head toward Harold.
“Oh, and Mr. Cole? My sister was generous. She only pulled Hayes funding and partnerships. But I don’t have
her patience. Your family humiliated mine in public. You will pay for that.”
Harold’s face went pale. But years in business had taught him not to lose composure.
The moment Marcus took my hand and pushed open the ballroom doors, sunlight flooded in.
Warm. Blinding. It streamed through the massive windows at the end of the corridor and lit up the whole
marble floor.
The doors closed behind us, cutting off all the noise.
The hallway was silent.
I kept my head down. My voice came out hoarse.
“I thought you were overseas.”
Marcus let out a short laugh.
“Your wedding video – Katherine’s little entourage tried to livestream the whole thing. Your sister-in-law saw
it while we were changing planes in Singapore. She went ballistic. When she gets back, she’s going to give
you an earful.”
He didn’t slow down. He glanced at Richard.
“You have no idea. I said I’d fly back first. But Dad refused to let me go alone. He was on the phone the whole flight. By the time we landed, everything you asked for was already done.”
I blinked hard.
I held onto my father’s arm and my brother’s.
And somehow, the last of the hurt in my heart faded away.
