Chapter 4: The Bride Was Next
My fingers closed around the envelope.
“My house is paid off,” I said.
“My parents left it to me.”
Malik lowered his voice.
“That’s why the bank approved the application.”
The words landed harder than a shout.
“You applied for a loan against my home?”
“You signed the forms.”
“I signed catering changes and insurance papers.”
“You should read before you sign.”
Harold drew in a broken breath.
“You did the same thing to her.”
Malik turned on her.
“This happened because you froze the payment.”
“The bank froze it,” I said.
“And now I understand why.”
The manager led us into a private office beside the ballroom.
Wesley came with us, while Malik’s uncle kept the other guests outside.
Malik shut the door.
“Everyone calm down.
The ceremony can still happen.”
I removed my engagement ring.
“The ceremony is the least important thing in this room.”
His eyes dropped to the ring.
“Put that back on.”
“No.”
“If you walk away now, the venue will demand its money.
Your name is on the cancellation agreement.”
The manager opened a folder on his desk.
“He is partly correct, Ms.
Bennett.
Your electronic signature appears on a reimbursement agreement for two hundred and forty thousand dollars.”
Malik smiled for the first time.
“Marry me, Naomi, and I’ll handle it.”
Harold gripped the back of a chair.
“You planned this.
You tied her to the wedding so she’d be afraid to leave.”
“I planned our future.”
“With our houses and my money,” I said.
A knock sounded.
A silver-haired woman entered carrying a leather case.
“I’m Delia Shaw, Harold’s attorney.”
Malik’s smile vanished.
“You had no right to come here.”
“Your mother called me at six this morning.”
Delia placed a tablet on the desk.
“The bank found three attempted transfers, a power-of-attorney form, and a loan application using Ms.
Bennett’s property.”
Malik crossed his arms.
“All properly authorized.”
“Then you won’t mind explaining why Harold’s documents were uploaded from your phone.”
He reached for the tablet.
Delia closed its cover.
“Copies have already been preserved.”
Malik faced me.
“Naomi, she’s manipulating you.
My mother never wanted us together.”
Harold’s knees seemed to weaken.
I pulled out a chair for her, but Malik kept talking.
“She told me you weren’t good enough for this family.”
Harold’s head snapped up.
“I said you deserved someone honest.”
“You called her ordinary.”
“I called her kind.
You heard what suited you.”
Malik pointed at Harold.
“She’s lying because she hates losing control of me.”
Delia removed another document.
“This was filed yesterday.
MC Holdings attempted to register an interest against Ms.
Bennett’s property.”
I stared at my address printed beneath Malik’s company name.
“Can he take my home?”
“If the signature is accepted, he can delay a sale or refinancing while he argues his claim.”
Malik leaned against the desk.
“So now you see the problem.
Fight me, and your house could be trapped in court for years.”
My legs gave way against the chair.
“You never loved me.”
He looked at the ring in my palm.
“I loved the life we could build.
Don’t pretend your house wasn’t part of that.”
The room blurred.
Harold rose and put both arms around me.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I should have warned you sooner.”
I pressed my face against her shoulder, and she held me while I cried in the dress I had chosen to marry her son.
The manager quietly placed a glass of water beside us.
“No cancellation charge will be collected today,” he said.
“Not while these signatures are disputed.”
Malik slammed his hand onto the desk.
“You can’t do that.”
“I just did.”
May you like
Wesley unlocked his phone.
“And now,” he said, “Naomi needs to hear what you said when you thought no one was listening.”
