Chapter 3
Coraline Ashford was not used to being interrupted.
Especially not at her own wedding.
She had spent months designing every second.
The flowers.
The seating chart.
The media angles.
The champagne tower.
The guest list full of investors, judges, donors, and names that made weaker families nervous.
She did not love Garrett’s world.
She wanted to own it.
A marriage to Garrett Hale meant access to old money, private security, political favors, and a family network that did not appear on business cards.
So when Mave appeared near the ceremony path, Coraline did not see a woman carrying a frightened child.
She saw contamination.
A stain on the image.
A threat to the merger dressed as motherhood.
“Remove her,” Coraline whispered first.
No one moved.
Because Garrett was staring.
Not at Mave.
At Posie.
At the girl’s gray eyes.
The same rare shade guests had praised all afternoon in Garrett’s wedding portraits.
Coraline saw recognition spreading across his face and panicked.
That was when she made the mistake.
“Five hundred guests are waiting. Leave them here.”
She thought she was reminding him of power.
May you like
Instead, she revealed she had none over the part of him that had just awakened.
Read the full story 👉 Coraline tried to protect the wedding image, but one cruel sentence forced Garrett to choose in front of everyone.
