My Fiance‘s Kindness To Her Was My Humiliation In A Bridal Shop Chapter 06
Margaret’s face went a splotchy, furious shade of
red.
But Ryker seemed to finally, truly understand that I
wasn’t coming back.
He stared at me for a long moment before his
voice came out low. “Presley, have you made up
your mind for good?”
I looked at him, and for a split second I was back
in that bridal shop, watching the back of his head
as he bent down to fix the crystal–encrusted
necklace on Willa.
So natural. So effortless.
The way I’d spent years believing a certain kind of
devotion belonged to me–only it had never fully
landed where it was supposed to.
I nodded.
“That’s right.”
“So what you should be thinking about right now
isn’t how to talk me back.”
“It’s how to pay me back.”
I pulled the door open again.
The message was clear enough.
Margaret’s chest heaved. She shot me a
venomous glare and turned on her heel.
Ryker didn’t move right away.
He stood in the doorway, looking at me for a long
beat, like he was seeing me for the first time.
Too bad it came way too late.
“Three o’clock tomorrow,” I reminded him. “Don’t be
late.”
The second the door clicked shut, I heard
Margaret’s voice on the other side, thick with
suppressed fury.
“She’s lost her mind.”
Then Ryker’s, low and quiet.
“She hasn’t lost her mind.”
“She’s really done with me.”
I leaned back against the door and shut my eyes.
I’d waited seven years to hear that tone from him.
But as of today, I didn’t need it anymore.
The next afternoon, I arrived at the hotel twenty
minutes early.
The banquet hall hadn’t been touched yet, but
there were already a few people seated in the
conference room.
The hotel sales manager, Maya from the event
planning team, and Carson Vance, the commercial
director who handled venue coordination.
Carson and I had worked two retail events
together before. We weren’t close, but he was
solid. Steady.
He stood when I walked in and pulled out a chair
for me. His gaze stayed on my face for maybe two
seconds. He didn’t ask a single question. He just
said, low, “You’ve got all the paperwork?”
“All of it.”
“Then that’s enough.”
The words weren’t heavy, but they pressed down
the last lingering tremor in my heart.
I set my folder on the table and laid everything out
in order.
Dress deposit and balance records.
Hotel banquet deposit and supplementary
payment records.
Event planning contract, favor purchase orders,
estate soft furnishing balance.
And the full settlement breakdown I’d stayed up sorting until the early hours.
At three o’clock sharp, Ryker and Margaret walked
- in.
Behind them, my parents.
My mother’s first glance was at me. Only after she
saw my expression was steady did she take the
seat beside me.
My father didn’t waste a word. He just set one
hand on the back of my chair, like he was bracing me without needing to say it out loud.
Margaret’s expression soured the instant she saw
them.
“This is between two young people. Was there
really a reason to bring both sets of parents into
it?”
Before I could open my mouth, my father
answered, flat and calm. “My daughter is
canceling a wedding and collecting a debt. That has everything to do with her parents.”
The words shut Margaret up cold.
The room settled into a tense quiet.
The hotel manager spoke first, all formality. “We’ve asked everyone here today primarily to confirm the cancellation liability for the banquet and the
settlement of remaining costs. Ms. Lancaster’s
side has already submitted a portion of the
payment documentation.”
“At this point, I need both parties to confirm. whether the wedding will proceed.”
“Canceled,” I said.
Almost simultaneously, Ryker’s voice cut in. “We
can talk about this.”
“Nothing to talk about.” I turned to him. “I made myself clear yesterday.”
His jaw tightened. He looked like he wanted to
argue, but I cut him off clean.
“We’re not here today to discuss whether I’m
coming back.”
“We’re here to discuss how you’re going to settle
up.”
The words landed, and the eyes around the table shifted from him back to the materials in front of
- me.
I pushed the settlement breakdown forward.
“I didn’t come here to talk about emotions. I came
here to talk line items.”
“I fronted six main categories.”
“Dress balance and alteration fee: thirty–one
thousand six hundred dollars.”
“Hotel banquet deposit: fifty thousand.”
“Event planner down payment: eighteen
thousand.”
“Luxury favors and confections: ninety–seven
hundred.”
“Estate soft furnishing balance: twelve thousand.”
“Plus miscellaneous costs. They’re all itemized in the attached pages.”
“Amounts, payment dates, payment accounts,
corresponding services. All of it.”
I spread the printed receipts across the table as I
listed each one.
Every page had a color–coded tab on the upper
right corner.
Easy to read. Easy to verify.
The hotel manager flipped through the first two
pages, and his expression sharpened. “These
records are thorough.”
Maya nodded. “The items I can confirm on my end
match what Presley has listed.”
Margaret’s face was losing color fast, but she was
still clenching her teeth. “The wedding didn’t
happen. Both sides took a loss. How does it all fall
on Ryker?”
I lifted my eyes to her.
“In your opinion, whose head should it fall on?”
She had no quick answer. Her eyes cut to Ryker.
Ryker finally spoke, his voice compressed. “I’ll
cover the money.”
“But the liability statement doesn’t have to be
worded like that.”
