Chapter 1: The Groom Who Revealed His True Face
Thirty minutes before my wedding, I found my father on his knees while my fiancé laughed and his female best friend shaved my father's hair onto the floor.
“Hold still, old man!”” Derek Whitmore barked, pressing one hand against my father's shoulder.
“You wanted to be part of the wedding so badly. Now you're going to entertain us!””
Vanessa Reed giggled as she dragged the electric clippers across my father's head.
“Look at him, Derek! I bet Camille has never seen Daddy looking this pathetic.””
For three seconds, I couldn't breathe.
Then I screamed.
“STOP IT!””
My wedding dress swept across the hallway as I charged into the dressing room. My father, Robert Brooks, looked up at me with tears gathering in his bloodshot eyes. Half his silver hair had been shaved away, leaving uneven patches across his scalp. Tiny strands clung to his white shirt and shoulders.
The man who had carried me through childhood fevers, worked double shifts to pay my college tuition, and held my hand at my mother's funeral was kneeling on a cold tile floor.
And the man I was supposed to marry stood over him, laughing.
“Camille?”” Derek said, lowering the clippers.
“Baby, what are you doing here?””
I stared at him.
Then I looked at Vanessa, who was wearing a designer dress that cost more than my father's monthly mortgage payment. She still held the clippers as if she'd merely finished trimming a hedge.
“Get away from him,” I whispered.
Derek rolled his eyes.
“Don't start. Your dad was being difficult.””
“My father?””
“He spilled champagne on my shoes,” Derek explained, pointing toward his polished black loafers.
“I told him to apologize properly.””
Vanessa burst out laughing again.
“Honestly, Camille, you should thank us. The old man needed a makeover anyway.””
Something inside me snapped.
I rushed to my father's side and helped him stand. His knees trembled, and he gripped my arm with the desperation of someone afraid the ground might disappear beneath him.
“Dad, are you hurt?”” I asked.
“I'm fine, sweetheart,” he murmured.
But his voice cracked on the last word.
He wasn't fine.
He was trying to protect me from the truth, even now.
I turned toward Derek.
He opened his arms, wearing the familiar smile that had convinced me he was the man of my dreams.
“Baby, calm down. It was just a joke.””
I slapped him.
The sound cracked through the room.
Derek's head snapped sideways. His smile vanished, and one hand flew to his cheek.
“You hit me?”” he demanded.
“You humiliated the man who raised me,” I said, my voice shaking.
“You forced my father onto his knees and let your best friend shave his head. And you expect me to marry you?””
“Camille, don't be ridiculous. He's an adult. He can take a joke.””
My father flinched at those words.
That small movement hurt more than anything Derek had done.
Vanessa set the clippers on the counter and folded her arms.
“Oh, please. Derek and I were just having fun. Your father could have walked out if he didn't like it.””
“He was on his knees!”” I shouted.
“Because he was told to apologize,” Derek snapped.
“You really need to learn to control your emotions. This is exactly why I didn't want you involved in the preparations.””
I stared at him.
There it was.
Not an apology. Not shame. Not even the smallest flicker of regret.
He genuinely believed he had the right to decide how my father should be treated.
I glanced at the counter beside Vanessa. A bottle of black ink sat next to a stack of wedding place cards.
Before either of them could react, I grabbed it.
Vanessa's smug smile faltered.
“Camille, what are you—”
I pulled the cap off and flung the ink across the front of her ivory designer dress.
Black liquid splashed over the silk, staining the bodice and cascading down the skirt in ugly streaks.
She screamed.
“My dress! Are you insane?””
I dropped the empty bottle onto the counter.
“Now you can enjoy the attention you wanted so badly.””
Vanessa stared at the ruined fabric as though I'd committed a crime against humanity.
“You'll pay for this!”” she shrieked.
“Do you know how much this costs?””
“Not as much as my father's dignity, apparently.””
Derek stepped toward me.
“Camille, you are not walking out of here. There are three hundred guests downstairs, both our families, and a business delegation waiting for this ceremony. Do you have any idea what you've done?””
I slipped my arm around my father.
“Yes,” I answered.
“I've finally seen who I'm marrying.””
His face darkened.
“You're emotional. We'll discuss this privately after the ceremony.””
“There won't be a ceremony.””
“Don't you dare threaten me!””
I looked him straight in the eyes.
“This wedding is over. Our marriage ends before it even begins.””
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Derek laughed, but the sound was brittle and forced.
“You'll come crawling back before the day is over. You have no idea how much you need me.””
I guided my father toward the door.
Behind us, Vanessa was sobbing over her ruined dress, while Derek shouted my name and demanded that someone stop me.
I didn't turn around.
We had barely reached the hallway when my father suddenly gripped my wrist.
“Camille,” he whispered, his face drained of color.
“There's something you need to know about Derek.””
I stopped.
“What is it, Dad?””
He looked back toward the dressing room, then toward the staircase leading to the waiting guests.
“I didn't come here to ruin your wedding. I came because I found something in his office last night.””
He swallowed hard.
“Something that proves this wasn't the first time he tried to destroy our family.””
And before I could ask what he meant, my phone began ringing.
May you like
The caller's name made my blood run cold.
*Derek's mother.*
