220

Constance led us into her suite the next morning after we spent hours in my bed, crying together. We were both at our lowest, but somehow, we felt stronger. She was ready to face Braxton, and I was ready to stand by her side. This was her chance to free herself from a man who had caused nothing but pain.

Braxton was lying on his back, snoring loudly, his naked body exposed. Constance and I stood at the foot of the bed, hands on our hips. He had no idea what was about to hit him.

She kicked the bed and called his name sharply. “Braxton!”

He jolted awake, clutching his head. “Jesus, what time is it? I need more sleep, Chris. I feel like crap.”

“You’re about to feel a lot worse.” I couldn’t help but smile as Braxton shot up, pulling a sheet over himself in embarrassment when he saw us.

“What the hell is this?”

Constance raised her chin defiantly. “This is your reality check. You and I are done, Braxton. I want nothing to do with you. You’re a lying, cheating pig, and I feel sorry for the woman who eventually gets stuck with you.”

“Wait. Wait a minute. What are you talking about? Constance, baby, what’s wrong? Talk to me.” He glanced nervously at me. “Has she been lying to you? You can’t believe her. She’s trying to break us up.”

I scoffed. “You think I went through all this trouble just to break up your wedding? Are you that stupid?”

“I went through your phone,” Constance’s voice wavered with emotion, and I squeezed her hand for support. “You’re an asshole.”

Braxton scrambled to find his phone, as if that could change the truth. When he gave up and glared at us, it was clear he had no excuse left. “Whatever you saw, it’s not real.”

“Shut up,” Constance sighed, clearly done. “It’s over. I’m not marrying you. Get out of my house, and never come back. You’re a piece of shit. You’re mean just because you can be.”

“Nice black eyes, by the way,” I said with a smirk. “Did Jaxon do that?”

His face turned an even deeper shade of red, and I knew I was right. “You can’t do this. You can’t call off the wedding. Our families are here.”

“They can stay for the party if they want,” Constance retorted, “but I’ll be celebrating dodging a massive bullet.” She scowled at him. “Get out. If you’re still here when I come back in an hour, I’ll have security throw you out.”

“This is ridiculous! You’re going to regret this. This is the biggest mistake you’ll ever make! If you walk away from me, you’ll never get another chance. You’re losing the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

Just then, there was a quick knock at the door. I flinched, but when Constance opened it, my body froze. Sharley  entered, as graceful as ever in a white shift dress, her nose in the air. She didn’t seem to realize anything was wrong until no one greeted her.

“What’s going on?”

“Your son is a cheater, and the wedding is off. That’s the short version,” Constance said coldly.

Sharley ’s sharp gaze immediately locked on me. “This has something to do with you, doesn’t it? My husband told me exactly what you were up to with Lucas, and now I see you’re causing a scandal here.”

“Me?” I raised my eyebrows. “No, Sharley . I didn’t cause this.”

I’d always been intimidated by Sharley . She’d never been shy about letting me know how much she thought Braxton was settling for someone like me.

Constance stood firmly by my side as Braxton tried to protest. “She had nothing to do with this. Braxton’s been cheating on me with several women,” she said, moving closer to me. “None of them were Margot.”

Braxton attempted to speak, but Sharley  immediately cut him off. “You’ve invited the entire family here, Constance. I had to leave Milan to be here. You’re getting married.”

“No, I’m not,” Constance replied firmly. She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door. “Have a nice flight back to Milan. Try not to be too disappointed in your son when you hold him accountable for wasting so much of your time.”

“This is ridiculous. Grow up—” Sharley  began, but I interjected.

“She wants Braxton out of this suite. Now.” I kept my shoulders back, meeting Sharley ’s glare. “You’re wrong about one thing. You should be very disappointed in the man you raised.”

We closed the suite door behind us, cutting off Sharley ’s rant. Constance looked at me, her eyes filled with tears. She gripped my hand tighter, and I gently tugged her away from the room. Braxton didn’t deserve to see her cry.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said softly. “We can get away from the lodge so you don’t have to talk to anyone until you’re ready.”

“I can’t go anywhere else right now. Look at me.” Tears streamed down her face as she whimpered. “I’m pathetic.”

“Lucas’s cabin is still open. We can hide there.” I glanced away, not wanting to think of him. “Since he’s gone, we can drink whatever’s left behind and hide for as long as you need.”

Constance squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Let’s just get to the cabin and start drinking.”

We managed to make our way to Lucas’s cabin, which was stocked with liquor. Constance and I sat on the same leather couch where I had once shared a moment with the guys, now drinking whiskey straight from the bottle. The silence was heavy, and we both fought back tears. After a while, Constance turned her head to look at me, clearly already drunk.

“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.

I let out a laugh, though it was hollow. “Not at all. You?”

“Not even a little bit.” She sighed, her voice full of regret. “I’m so embarrassed, Margot. I’m ten years older than you, and I’m going through what you went through three years ago. You’re so far ahead of me. I already felt behind. All my friends are having kids, and here I am, struggling to find a good man.”

“I’m not ahead of you. We’re both crying over the same thing right now. It might look different, but it’s still the same pain.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, offering comfort. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed. Braxton’s the only one who should be.”

“I’m part of the reason you’re hurting, Margot. I hurt you,” she admitted, guilt in her eyes.

“No.” I shook my head. “They hurt me. They believed the worst of me and left me behind. I thought Lucas was going to tell me he loved me just days ago, but they just ran as soon as anything went wrong. You didn’t do this. They did. They’re not the men I thought they were.” I wiped away fresh tears in frustration. “Seems like all the Heather  men should just be forgotten.”

“You don’t believe that,” Constance said, her voice soft but steady.

I hardened my gaze and took another swig from the bottle. “I do. Or at least, I will.”

“I need to text everyone,” Constance groaned, sinking deeper into the couch. “Social media is going to have a field day with this.”

“I’ll do it,” I said. “I might be fired, but I still have the guest list. Honestly, I’ve never been happier to be fired. I never want to plan a wedding for a man like Braxton. They don’t deserve a beautiful ceremony.”

“Okay,” Constance said, nodding. “And maybe text my family and friends to stay for a big party tomorrow.”

“A bullet-dodging party,” I said with a grin. “I like it.” I pulled out my phone, only to groan when I saw it was still dead. “Houston, we have a problem.”

“Let’s go. If we hurry, we’ll find a charger and get back without anyone seeing us,” she said, though I knew her logic was flawed. Either way, we needed that charger.

“Let’s go,” I agreed, getting up.