Chapter 3 - The Broken Wedding
"Marcus?" Chloe demanded, her voice rising into a sharp, shrill register that echoed over the silent crowd. "What is wrong with you? Look at her! She’s a monster!"
Standing behind Chloe, her father—Senator Thomas Vance, a towering, silver-haired man in his sixties—stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he recognized the woman approaching the altar. A flicker of deep, visceral terror crossed the old politician's face before he quickly forced a mask of cold, legalistic authority.
"Guard!" Thomas shouted toward the back of the hall. "Apprehend that trespasser immediately!"
Two heavy-set security guards in black suits rushed down the aisle, their hands reaching toward their concealed holsters.
"Touch her, and I'll kill you where you stand," Marcus roared.
The entire ballroom recoiled in shock. The voice that came out of the groom was not that of a refined corporate heir; it was the raw, thunderous bark of a battle-hardened officer.
Before anyone could process the outburst, Marcus did something that rendered four hundred elite guests mute.
He stripped off his black tuxedo jacket, throwing it over his arm as he broke into a full sprint down the altar steps. He ignored Chloe’s panicked scream, he ignored his father’s booming orders, and he ignored the flashing cameras of the social press.
May you like
Marcus stopped inches away from the scarred woman in white satin.
Without a second thought, he draped his heavy black wool jacket carefully over her bare shoulders, using the fabric to completely cover the raised keloid scars on her neck and back, shielding her from the cruel, prying eyes of the room.
