The Billionaire's Revenge Bride,She Married His RivalChapter 1
On the day of the engagement party, my fiancé Carter Gilbert went to City Hall and married the real heiress.
Carter's voice dripped with contempt.
"You didn't actually think you were the one I was marrying today, did you?"
Nora Henson clung to his arm, her smile razor-sharp with triumph.
"I'm the one who said you deserved a lesson. Carter only played along for a few days, and you really thought you were going to be Mrs. Gilbert?"
My parents didn't care in the slightest.
"So what if Carter was your boyfriend for five years? You stole twenty years of Nora's life. This is exactly what you deserve!"
In that moment, I finally understood.
Carter and Nora had been together long before this.
The engagement party I'd been counting down to was nothing but a setup, orchestrated by every person in this room to humiliate me.
Laughter and mockery swirled around me.
I didn't say another word.
I just met the sneering gazes of Carter and the Hensons with perfect calm.
And smiled.
"After tonight, I hope none of you have any regrets."
——
Carter scoffed, clearly taking it as the bitterness of a sore loser.
"Amanda, don't blame me. Blame yourself for caring more about work than about us. I'm a man. I have needs."
"Nora is better suited to be my wife than you ever were."
"The apartment in Northside is yours. Consider it a parting gift."
He squeezed my hand, pressing a set of keys into my palm. The implication in his eyes was unmistakable.
I stared at the keys. All I felt was disgust.
"Carter, before you start setting up a love nest, maybe you should've asked whether I'd even want a man who's already been used."
He hadn't expected me to throw his filthy little scheme back in his face.
His expression shifted instantly.
Before he could respond, one of his buddies cut in with a sneer.
"Amanda Henson, don't even try to come between Carter and Nora. He only offered you that apartment out of pity because your own family kicked you out."
"Stop flattering yourself. You're embarrassing to look at."
Carter stood there. Silent. Letting every word land.
For a moment, I couldn't move.
The Carter I used to know would have already thrown punches at anyone who spoke to me that way.
He never would have let me suffer even the smallest slight.