Page 38 of The Bad Wedding Date

“It’s not too much, but I do have something to say to you, and I’m going to need you to really, really listen to me because what I’m about to tell you is the truth.”

She frowned, waiting for me to go on, and I gripped her arms, careful not to hurt her with my big, callous fingers.

“I need you to ignore your parents. Your sister, too. Fuck them, Charlotte. Fuck everyone here who can’t see that you’re obviously the greatest person in this room, and then fuck yourself a little bit for not realising that you don’t need approval from any of these fools, because none of them, not one of them, could ever hold a candle to you.”

Whether she was stunned, offended, or complimented, I didn’t know, and I didn’t have time to figure it out, either.

Before either one of us could function enough to speak again, a drink landed right over my arms and Charlotte’s dress, and when both of us turned to see who had been responsible, her sister Emmie stood there with an empty glass and a look of pure hatred on her face.

“Oops.”

11

Charlotte

My mouth fell open, and my shoulders hunched together as the cold drink trickled down my stomach and into my underwear, the dark liquid now splattered all over my dress and part of Fraser's white shirt.

I turned to face my sister in disbelief.

She wore a smug, satisfied look on her face as she wafted the now-empty glass around in her hand like it was a trophy she’d later display behind a glass cabinet. Her “Oops” had washed over me. It was the same “Oops” she used to let slip every time she ‘accidentally’ tripped me up as a kid. Every time she ‘accidentally’ dropped my toothbrush down the toilet, broke my vinyl records, snapped my favourite necklace, or pushed me into the wall when walking past me.

I’d been her plaything for years, even on the day of her wedding.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I seethed.

“It was an accident, Lottie.”

I could feel the sticky residue trickling down my skin, curling its way through my hair. The stomach of my dress clung to me.

“It looks like you need to change.” Emmie raised a brow.

“The only thing I need to change is your attitude. Maybe we should get a start on that right now, huh?”

She huffed out a laugh. “I’m not scared of you.”

“You really should be. I’m the one with nothing to lose here.”

Emmie glanced from side to side, no doubt seeking out our mother dearest, or at least her weak as hell father who might ask us both to play nicely or move along. But no one was there except her harem of bridesmaids who wouldn’t say a word—probably couldn’t unless they’d been given a clear instruction to do so by their leader.

“Is this really what you want to be doing on yourweddingday, Emelia?” I said through gritted teeth. “With all these people here to celebrate you, is thisreallywhat you’ve been building up to do for the last few hours? To make a fool out of me.”

“You make a fool out of yourself without me having to try.”

She glanced over her shoulder at Fraser, raising her brow at him. That’s when I knew her real problem. She was attracted to Fraser, yet he’d barely looked her way all day. The woman couldn’t let me have a thing.

“It’s embarrassing watching you fawning over a guy you don’t even know out here on the dance floor. I mean, don’t get me wrong; I understand why you’re loving the attention. It’s not like you usually get it.”

I snarled like an animal, there to feed off her flesh and leave her at the side of the road for the pigeons to pick at. “Don’t you worry about me and my life. Allyoushould be worried about right now is your very convenient marriage rather than wasting your time and your drinks on someone like me who doesn’t matter.”

“If it gets that hideous dress out of my wedding pictures, it’s not a waste.”

Before I could think of anything to say, Lucas came rushing to Emmie’s side, pulling her around to face him.

“What’s going on?” he asked, breathless. His eyes searched hers like he couldn’t believe what stared back at him.

I pitied the guy. He had a lifetime of her to contend with—or at least until it wasn’t so scandalous to file for divorce—and he had no clue what that entailed. “Did you just throw a drink over your sister, Em? Everyone is looking, for Christ’s sake.”

Emmie passed her empty glass to one of her minions before she stepped closer to Lucas and pressed her hands to his chest. “Just hoping the trash takes itself out, babe.”

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