Chapter 10 The betrayal
THIRD PERSON’S POV.
Serena immediately tried calling Clara, she didn’t pick up, neither did Jonathan or her father. It was like her entire family had blacklisted her, erased her when she needed them the most.
She tried to book a flight back to Monterra but the only available flight was in the next two days. She was desperate, her chest tightened with the kind of fear that she couldn't swallow.There was only one person she knew with a private jet, Damon, but she couldn’t call him, she didn’t have his number, despite all his attempts to give it to her, She never saw a need to have it. Now she hated herself for it.
So she spent the next 48 hours stalking every blog that posted updates of the wedding of the year, she tapped every post that had the wedding hashtag that was now trending all over instagram. Each picture felt like a slap.
She tried to call Trisha, but her line didn’t go through. She remembered Trisha was away on her annual camping retreat, off the grid for days. Of all the weeks, why now, she screamed.
Serena felt like she was having an out of body experience. Her life was falling apart on the other side of the continent and there was nothing she could do about it but sit and count down the hours.
When the day for her flight finally came, she couldn’t feel a thing, her mind was numb but inside her chest was a storm of emotions twisting so tightly she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t even realize she had forgotten her suitcase in the hotel room till she was at the check-in counter.
The flight back was blurry, she tried pinching herself to steady her thoughts, to stay grounded but nothing was working. She had to get to the house fast if she was going to stop this wedding from happening. She'd seen somewhere that the wedding date was moved up. Of course it was. She guessed they must have figured out she knew when they saw her calls and were now trying to rush the wedding.
Makes sense, she had been living under the same room with snakes disguising as family.
Clara had pretended to be her confidant, how could she do this? And Jonathan? The thought of them together made her throat bitter. She had to remind herself to breathe before anxiety crushed her.
Back at the Gregory estate, the compound flooded with guests, the wedding was supposed to be an intimate affair with just family and important business partners but once Clara had granted one interview, the internet went crazy, all the top influencers wanted invites to the wedding, magazines plastered hers and Jonathan’s pictures on their covers they even started an instagram hashtag.
When all three of them received calls from Serena they knew something was wrong and Horace in his wisdom had moved the wedding date, instead of in two weeks, they were getting married today.
“You better make sure you and Jonathan sign the marriage certificate before Serena makes it back here,” Horace was about to walk Clara down the aisle, the bloggers saw him whispering in her ear and assumed he was sharing some fatherly advice, cameras shuttered from all angles as everyone was awed at the assumed father daughter moment.
But Clara was tense, her family was tense and shaky, she knew her father would make sure she suffers if this wedding didn’t hold. She said a silent prayer and carried on the wedding procession bravely.
The vow exchange ceremony had concluded smoothly, now all the guests were gathered in the compound’s greenhouse for the wedding reception.
“You know, I’ve heard of the Gregory Greenhouse and I always wanted to see it in person,” Martha, one of the guests, was saying. “The pictures in the tabloids do not do it justice “.
Tony looked around slowly, taking in the view, “you are absolutely right, the ensemble of flowers is breathtaking. And the way the sun rays flood in from the glassed walls, I’ve never seen anything like it”.
“Charles Gregory and his daughter spent a lot of time in here after his wife died of cancer. It was their sanctuary. And when Charles lost his daughter as well he pumped more money into the building.This greenhouse has been in their family for centuries, a lot of the family's exclusive events were held here. But Charles Gregory was the one that brought out the true grandeur of the place with his architectural style.” Daniel, Charles Gregory’s oldest friend, and the mayor of the city, spoke with quiet pride. “I’ve not seen Serena all night, I wonder where she is”.
When Serena arrived at the estate it was crowded with rows of luxurious cars. It felt like all the elites of Monterra were gathered here tonight. The house was empty save for a few staff wandering about, she was informed that the ceremony was being at the greenhouse.
That piece of information destroyed her even more.
She knew the symbolic significance of the greenhouse. Another reason why it hurt her was because using the greenhouse meant the wedding had her father’s approval. All through her flight back, she had held on to this desperate hope that her father had no knowledge of the wedding and that he would stand by her when she returned, but now she realized that she was truly, devastatingly alone.
She stormed her way to the greenhouse.
Horace hated bad publicity and she was determined to create such a scene that the town would not forget anytime soon.
As she drew closer to the glassed doors of the entrance her steps slowed, her hands trembled. She knew when she opened those doors her entire life would turn upside down. She had no idea what she was going to do but she knew she wanted to stop Clara from stealing the happiness that belonged to her.
The usher hesitated before opening the door to let her in. He eyed her choice of outfit for such a prestigious event, and her tear-stained eyes. He didn’t know who she was and he was sure she was here to cause trouble but after the ill treatment he had suffered at the hands of the snobbish guests tonight, he was grateful for any entertainment.
So let her in.
Inside, every inch of the building was covered in fairy lights, the atmosphere was sophisticated and soothingly intimate, it was like someone had stolen the inspiration right off her own Pinterest board.
She looked around, every important person in Monterra was present, the air was filled with expensive perfumes, laughter and joy.
She made her way further into the room and that’s when she saw them.
At the front of the crowd were Jonathan and Clara, clinking glasses in a toast and sharing what didn’t look like their first kiss. Serena's heart shattered into a million pieces, her legs buckled but she stopped herself before she could fall, she stared at them,frozen, hollow.
On the other side of the room her father was engaged in an intense conversation with Bill Gerald, the family’s attorney. Immediately she knew what this was.
Clara and Horace weren’t just stealing her husband, they were planning to steal her inheritance too, because Bill doesn’t make an appearance unless the family’s properties are involved.
Anger charged through her bloodstream and she stormed to the front,..
But she wasn’t moving.
A hand had grabbed her from the back and was leading her away from the crowd and out of the room, she kicked and bit and the hands didn’t bulge. She tried to scream but the music drowned out her struggle.
And as she was pulled farther away, she watched her chance to destroy the wedding slip from her fingers, drifting farther and farther until it disappeared completely.