Chapter 17
The room fell into a stunned silence as the three of them stared at the document in the box.
Scarlet blinked, disbelief curling her lips into a sneer.
“Aurora’s gone mad,” she scoffed.
“All this because we didn’t let her attend the wedding? What, she sends this to Sterling just to make us look bad?”
“She must think she’s so clever-probably grinning to herself now that the ceremony’s ruined.”
Mr. and Mrs. Wyndham exchanged glances, Scarlet’s words beginning to sound awfully reasonable.
Their hearts quickly filled with resentment.
Mr. Wyndham grabbed his phone, face darkening with fury.
“I’ll teach that ungrateful girl a lesson. I’m still her father!”
But when he dialed her number, all he got was a cold, mechanical voice:
“The number you have dialed is unavailable.”
He hung up and redialed. Still nothing.
“She blocked me,” he snapped. “She really thinks she can grow wings and fly now?”
Mrs. Wyndham frowned and tried calling too. Same result.
“She’s completely cut us off,” she muttered. “After all we’ve done for her…”
Scarlet, sensing the timing was perfect, pressed forward.
“She’s already humiliated me. Why should we keep her in the Wyndham family?”
“She wants out? Fine. Let’s make it official. Kick her out!”
Her parents didn’t even hesitate.
“You’re right,” Mr. Wyndham said grimly. “We’ll find a lawyer. First thing tomorrow, we’ll notarize this ourselves.”
Only then did Scarlet finally let out a breath of relief.
Back at the Wyndham estate, she stormed through the front door-only to be met with rows of crimson wedding decorations plastered across the walls.
Scarlet’s face contorted.
She let out a scream and began ripping everything down like a woman possessed-streamers, flowers, lanterns- shredding them one by one.
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She refused to eat dinner. Slammed her door shut. Locked it from the inside.
Outside, Mr. and Mrs. Wyndham hovered anxiously, knocking repeatedly on her door.
“Sweetheart, you’ve had a long day… don’t skip dinner, alright?”
“Come out and eat something, darling. You need to stay strong.”
Finally, her voice rang out from inside, shrill and hysterical.
“I don’t care what happens-I am going to marry Sterling!”
“The whole city knows we’re engaged! If I don’t marry him now, I’ll be the joke of the century!”
“You said you had a plan-so fix it! Now!”
Later that evening, the Wyndhams pulled up in front of Sterling’s estate.
Before their car had even fully stopped, a group of men in black suits approached and blocked the driveway.
“Stop right there,” one of them said coldly, tapping a stun baton against his palm. “This is private property. No
trespassing.”
Mr. Wyndham rolled down the window and puffed up his chest.
“We’re not trespassers! I’m Sterling’s future father-in-law!”
“You better let us in. If Mr. Blackwood finds out you’ve been rude to his in-laws-”
The guard gave a short laugh.
“Father-in-law?” He sized them up, eyes filled with disdain. “Funny. Last I checked, there wasn’t a wedding.”
“Nice try. Get lost. Unless you want me to escort you out myself.”
He raised the baton for emphasis.
Mrs. Wyndham flinched and shrank back in her seat.
Mr. Wyndham, gritting his teeth, stepped out of the car anyway.
“Sterling! Listen to me!” he shouted in the direction of the house. “There’s more to this story than you know-let us
explain!”
“The whole city’s already heard about the wedding. If you back out now, it won’t just embarrass us-it’ll damage your reputation too!”
One of the guards stepped forward to restrain him, but before he could act, a middle-aged man in a tailored vest appeared
from inside the house.
He whispered something into the lead guard’s ear.
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The man frowned, then gave a short nod.
“You got lucky,” he said to Mr. Wyndham. “Mr. Blackwood will see you.”
“Me?” Mr. Wyndham pointed to himself.
“Yes. You. Just you.”
He turned to Mrs. Wyndham with a glare.
“And she stays outside. No wandering.”
Mrs. Wyndham opened her mouth to protest, but the glare was enough to make her snap it shut.
Mr. Wyndham straightened his jacket, swallowed his pride, and followed the butler into the estate.
