Chapter 154 Arguments
ANNA'S POV
Dad exhaled slowly, and I noticed the way his shoulders dropped just slightly, as though he had been holding in more than just breath this entire time.
“I don’t forget easily,” he said, his voice steady but firm. “But I do believe in second chances.”
The words hung in the air longer than they should have.
Mom’s hand immediately reached for his arm, her fingers wrapping around it tightly as relief washed across her face. It was the kind of relief that came from carrying worry for too long. Her eyes shimmered slightly, and I could tell she had been praying for this exact moment.
I stood there quietly, trying to process what had just happened.
The bitterness I had prepared myself for wasn’t there. The tension I expected to slice through the air never fully formed. Instead, there was this strange, fragile calm that settled around us like thin glass, beautiful but delicate.
For the first time in a long while, I felt something unexpected rising in my chest.
Hope.
I blinked slowly, glancing at Dan. His expression mirrored my own disbelief — eyebrows slightly raised, lips parted like he still wasn’t sure what he had just witnessed. Then I looked at Mom, who seemed seconds away from bursting into grateful tears.
And I realized something.
I wasn’t scared.
I wasn’t angry.
I was just… surprised.
If Isabel truly meant what she was saying, if that apology wasn’t some elaborate performance, then maybe today wasn’t just the merging of companies.
Maybe it was the merging of something else too.
And that possibility left me completely speechless.
Before Dad could say anything more, before the fragile warmth of the moment could settle properly—
There was a sound.
It wasn’t loud at first. Just a sharp disruption beneath the hum of conversations and clinking glasses. But then it grew clearer.
Voices.
Raised voices.
Arguing.
All of us turned instinctively toward the entrance.
The noise didn’t belong here.
Everything was meant to go perfectly today.
Dan shot me a confused look, and without saying a word, we all began walking toward the main entrance. My heels clicked faster against the floor, my heart picking up pace for reasons I couldn’t explain.
Maybe it was just someone lost.
Maybe a guest had been delayed and was frustrated.
Maybe it was nothing.
That’s what I told myself as we approached.
But as soon as I stepped into view of the entrance, my breath caught.
“Melissa?” I said, disbelief spilling into my voice.
No.
My eyes weren’t deceiving me.
That was Melissa.
Standing right there at the entrance of my ceremony.
She wasn’t on the guest list.
She wasn’t invited.
So what was she doing here… causing a scene?
I walked closer, my expression tightening. “What’s going on here?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. My voice was calm, but there was steel beneath it.
The security guard standing between Melissa and the entrance immediately straightened.
“Ma’am,” he began respectfully, “this lady came here saying she deserved to be in the ceremony. When I informed her she wasn’t on the list and asked for confirmation, she suddenly tried to force her way through.”
Melissa scoffed loudly behind him, but he continued.
“When I stopped her, she slapped me and claimed I tried to molest her by putting my hands on her. I was only preventing her from entering without authorization.”
My stomach tightened.
For a split second, everything felt oddly familiar.
The same strange, unsettling feeling I had when I was around Tracey last week crept back into my chest. That small whisper in my mind telling me something wasn’t right.
I shifted my gaze slightly.
My eyes found Isabel.
She stood just behind Dan, almost like she was positioning herself out of direct focus. Her expression was neutral. Her hands were clasped in front of her again, and for a brief moment, I wondered…
Did she know Melissa was coming?
They had once been close. Allies, even.
Was this connected to her?
Or was this purely Melissa acting on her own?
“Well, well, well,” Melissa’s voice cut through my thoughts sharply.
I looked back at her.
She stepped forward slightly, though security didn’t let her get too close. Her brows were knitted together tightly, her eyes blazing with something that looked dangerously close to resentment.
“Look who it is,” she added.
Her tone wasn’t friendly.
It wasn’t even sarcastic.
It was bitter.
I took a slow breath, keeping my composure intact.
“I don’t know what you plan on doing,” I said calmly, locking eyes with her, “but whatever it is, tonight is not the night.”
She let out a humorless laugh.
“It can wait,” I continued firmly. “Right now, I have a ceremony to attend to, and it has to go perfectly. So I would appreciate it if you take your… madness elsewhere.”
The word hung between us.
Madness.
Dan remained quiet beside me. So did Dad. So did Mom.
They were letting me handle it.
After all, Melissa had once been my best friend.
That history made this heavier than it should have been.
Melissa’s jaw tightened visibly.
“You think you can just dismiss me like that?” she asked.
“I’m not dismissing you,” I replied evenly. “I’m asking you to get out now before I call the police, you already know that you're not welcomed here, have some shame and leave”
“Shame?” she snapped. “You want to talk about shame?”
Her voice rose slightly, drawing attention from nearby guests. I could already feel eyes turning toward us, whispers beginning to stir.
This was exactly what I didn’t need.
And why was she raising her voice now?
It almost looked like she was being overly dramatic.
And she still hasn’t said what she was even doing here in the first place
“Melissa,” I said quietly but firmly, “this is not the place.”
“Oh, but it is,” she shot back. “It’s the perfect place.”
That sentence made something cold slide down my spine.
Perfect place?
For what?
The security guard shifted uncomfortably, clearly unsure whether to intervene again.
“Why are you really here?” I asked, narrowing my eyes slightly.
She held my gaze, breathing heavily, like she was debating whether to say more.