Christopher was amused when he looked at my glum expression as though the world was falling apart. To lighten the mood, he made a face and poked softly at my cheek. I smacked his hand and said anxiously, “Stop being silly! Can’t you tell I’m worried?”
The man smiled slyly. “Don’t you worry. I have everything under control. You’ve overestimated Monica’s capability. She can’t even get to Darius, let alone me. For now, you just need to sit back, relax, and follow your dear husband’s lead for the evening.”
Lyle and I had our wedding ceremony at the Smith household. Maybe that was why Crystal insisted to have the wedding held at a big hotel. Perhaps she had considered having the ceremony at the Tanner residence. However, she was not a Tanner, after all. People might mistake Yvette as the bride instead.
As we walked toward the hotel entrance, I saw an emotionless Lyle standing stiffly to greet his guests. There was not a trace of joy on his face. I couldn’t help but wonder why he had insisted on marrying Crystal when there was not an ounce of love left between them.
Is this all because he wants to get back at me?
“Congratulations, Mr. Smith. You finally got your wish granted.”
“That’s right. Hats off to you, Mr. Smith, for marrying the much-adulated new school artist. Although the way Crystal has treated her cousin as a stepping stone was questionable, I’m sure you don’t mind that, as your family has benefited immensely out of it too.”
“I agree. Crystal is such a beautiful bride. But unfortunately, this is someone who is prone to backstabbing. If it wasn’t for Sabrina, I would have given her a piece of my mind on the wedding.”
These greetings sounded strange to me. On closer look, I recognized them to be Sabrina and Zachary’s fathers. No wonder they had wrapped their greetings in a form of sarcastic comments. Lyle, being the host, had no choice but to play along despite being infuriated.
I looked to another side and saw Sabrina and Zachary getting out of their car. What a matching couple—one is calm and reserved, the other bubbly and sociable. Zachary walked up to Lyle and uttered coldly, “Congratulations. Just so you know, we have not forgotten the special gift that Ms. Yates had given to us on our wedding day.”
Sabrina, on the other hand, was a lot more combative. “Given how Crystal had crashed our wedding, the woman has the audacity to invite us to her own wedding. How do you think we should repay her? Maybe I should just announce that you’re not the groom. What do you think of that?”
Lyle’s expression darkened. He only learned of what happened at that wedding the next day. Frankly, he found it shocking that Crystal and Benjamin were capable of carrying out such a thing. Even though he was not part of the wedding-crashing party, he had to share the blame.
“That’s funny. If I’m not the groom, then who is? Zachary?” Lyle scoffed. “Sabrina, may I remind you that you’re a pregnant woman now? I suggest you spend more time looking after yourself than planning any funny business on my wedding day.”
Lyle is still the same vicious man who always knows where his opponent’s soft spot is. I finally got out of the car with Christopher and walked toward him. We stopped in front of Lyle and I handed him an exquisite gift box. “Congratulations,” I said flatly.
“Yvonne.” Lyle shot me a glare as he took over the gift box, denting the corner of it as he was holding it with excessive force.
Wendy, who was greeting other guests on the other side, took notice of my appearance and let out a penetrating wail of woe. “Yvonne Tanner! How dare of you to show your face here?”
