Chapter 4 The Ugliest Ones Always Make a Scene
Chapter 4 The Ugliest Ones Always Make a Scene
“Listening in on gossip, are we
Cordelia’s smile was all sunshine. “Alisa, I didn’t think you had a taste for this sort of thing.”
She still hadn’t figured out why Alisa was doing it, assuming it was nothing more than idle curiosity.
But to Alisa, taking over the hotel was about the future of their family.
She didn’t bother explaining and simply chuckled. “Human nature, Cordelia. Aren’t you curious?”
“Sometimes it’s a nice distraction,” Cordelia admitted.
Alisa laughed again.
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Cordelia gave her hand a warm squeeze and said gently, “My wedding’s just around the corner. Next month, I want you and Megan as my bridesmaids.”
Alisa’s thoughts froze for an instant.
Cordelia’s wedding, in the story she knew, was the stage for Sabrina’s first big comeback–her first chance to humiliate the Roffes.
The Roffes had held the Nelsons down for months. All of Qodon had laughed
at the Nelsons‘ downfall.
Cordelia had even gone to the Nelsons‘ doorstep to publicly bring Alisa home, offending many people in the process.
Naturally, she was at the top of Sabrina’s revenge list.
Sabrina’s first act after returning from her wild nightlife spree was to show up at Cordelia’s wedding in person, making a bold, calculated move. She put Cordelia in place and shattered the Roffes‘ reputation.
It was Sabrina’s official declaration of war.
Cordelia had spent six months preparing for this day. It was supposed to be the happiest, most dazzling moment of her life. Instead, Sabrina’s intrusion turned it into a disaster, making Cordelia a citywide joke.
In the original story, this was Sabrina’s first glorious comeback moment.
Alisa intended to stop that from happening–and of course, she had to be there in person.
She smiled and gave Cordelia’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Of course, Cordelia. I wouldn’t miss the chance to see you walk down the aisle and see you happy.”
Cordelia embraced her warmly. “Thank you, cupcake.”
The bridesmaids gowns arrived quickly.
While they were designed to be simpler so as not to steal the bride’s spotlight, Cordelia still wanted her cousins to look beautiful at her side.
Alisa’s and Megan’s dresses were custom–made from fine fabric–expensive and elegant in every detail.
On the eve of the wedding, both families gathered for dinner.
Cordelia’s fiancé, Darcy Garner, was the eldest son of the Carners, a man she’d met in college.
On paper, they were a perfect match–two well–bred, well–connected heirs in what seemed like a storybook union.
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Chapter 4 The Ugliest Ones Always Make a Scene
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The Garners treated the Roffes with great respect, and because the Roffes valued Alisa highly, Darcy’s parents were gracious toward her as well.
Darcy himself greeted and treated her warmly at every opportunity.
The atmosphere was pleasant–except for Alie
cool, detached demeanor.
She doesn’t have a good impression of Darcy.
Alisa knew how the story went–beneath the polished exterior, Darcy was just a spoiled mama’s boy.
In the original plot, his marriage to Cordelia was more business than love, two families united for business.
Their affection was lukewarm at best–five or six points out of ten.
Darcy’s heart secretly belonged to someone else: his unattainable first love, Bailey Snow.
Bailey had no social pedigree, and the Garners would never accept her, so Darcy kept her hidden.
His parents knew all about it and chose to turn a blind eye.
Darcy had been secretly showering Bailey with gifts for years. The most outrageous of them all? The engagement ring. The one he’d commissioned for Cordelia was exquisite–yet he had an even larger, more expensive version made for Bailey.
Cordelia never knew.
Not until the wedding day, when Sabrina tore the secret wide open in front of a room full of high–society elites. The revelation didn’t just humiliate Cordelia–it made her the punchline of every joke in Qodon. She’d barely married into the Garners and was already being branded with the biggest betrayal imaginable. It turned her into the biggest joke of the city.
In the story Alisa knew, events would unfold exactly that way.
Darcy was trash, and she had no interest in saving his dignity.
So while he kept greeting her with a warm smile, she met him with cool indifference.
Eventually, he caught on and stopped wasting his charm on her,
After dinner, on the ride home, Rhea turned to her.
“Alisa, you’ve got quite the opinion about Darcy, don’t you?”
Alisa raised a brow. “How could you tell?”
“You’re joking, right? You pull a long face throughout the dinner. You think no one noticed? Now, come on–why don’t you like him?”
If Alisa told her that Darcy would eventually show his true colors and treat Cordelia badly, Rhea would probably think she’d lost her mind.
After all, Darcy had always projected the image of a perfect gentleman endlessly patient and attentive to Cordelia. He’d passed every test the Roffes put before him, which was the only reason they’d agreed to the marriage.
So Alisa chose her words carefully. “Aunt Rhea, I just think my soon–to–be brother–in–law talks a little too smooth for my Taste.”
“pinooth–talking? That’s the impression you get from him?”
“Yeah. And honestly, something about his face just … puts me off
Rhea fell silent.
Alisa thought she’d overstepped and was about to make her aunt unhappy
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Chapter 4 The Ugliest Ones Always Make a Scene.
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But then Rhea nodded.
“You’re right. Reading a man’s face is an art. I’ve met more men than I can count in business. My first impression of Darcy wasn’t great either. But then he seemed to put in the effort for Cordelia, and with his family backing him and Cordelia willing to marry him, I agreed to the match.
“Still, you’re wise to be cautious. Men are the most unreliable creatures alive. But don’t go thinking Cordelia’s a pushover. If Darcy ever dares to cross her, she’ll make sure he regrets it.”
Alisa smiled faintly. Since Rhea already had her doubts, there was no point in saying more.
Everyone here was being pushed along by the plot.
The Roffes and the Garners had already sealed the deal. Their business interests were tied together, invitations had been sent, and it was far too late to back out now.
Even if Rhea changed her mind, the wedding would still happen–just as it had in the original story. It was too late to stop it.
The days passed quickly.
The wedding day arrived, and Alisa was ready, practically counting down the minutes to Sabrina’s grand entrance.
Midway through the ceremony, with Cordelia and Darcy standing at the altar reciting their vows, the grand doors of the chapel suddenly burst open–slammed apart by a speeding sports car.
Bang!
Well, that was one way to make an entrance.
Gasps rippled through the crowd as heads whipped toward the back.
The double doors hung shattered, a bright red sports car lodged in their place. In the stunned silence, the driver’s door swung open. Sabrina stepped out from the car, sliding her sunglasses off with practiced ease. She was breathtaking–no one could deny it. The entire room stared, struck speechless.
Everyone, that is, except Alisa. She simply stood there, calm as ever, and murmured under her breath.
At that moment, just as in the original story, everyone was frozen in awe, their eyes wide with shock and reluctant admiration.
In the hushed, utterly silent chapel, only Alisa broke the stillness with a quiet, almost casual remark-
“The ugliest ones always make the biggest scene.”
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