Chapter 5 - THE UNRAVELING
The ballroom erupted into chaos,
a whirlwind of whispers and gasps that drowned out the string quartet.
Nathan stood there,
his hand still hanging in the air where he had tried to grab me.
He looked small.
For the first time in our marriage,
the golden boy of Charleston looked like he was made of straw.
“You can’t kick us out,”
he stammered,
glancing at the hundreds of guests watching the spectacle.
“Caleb is your cousin too,
technically.”
“This is his wedding day!”
“Caleb is a good man,”
I said,
my voice cold as the ice in the buckets.
“And he’s the only Ashford who ever treated me like a human being.”
“He can stay.”
“But you,
your mother,
and your sister are leaving.”
Vivian was hyperventilating now,
her hand clutching at her pearls as if they could save her from drowning.
“This is a scandal!”
she wailed.
“We will be the laughingstock of the entire state!”
“You already are,
Vivian,”
I said,
taking a step toward her.
“People don't respect you.”
“They fear your bank account.”
“And now that the bank account is frozen,”
“there’s nothing left to fear.”
Sloane tried to rally her pride,
tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder.
“We’ll sue you!”
“We’ll take everything you have!”
“With what lawyers,
Sloane?”
I asked,
tilting my head.
“The ones I’ve been paying for through the Ashford trust?”
“The ones who have already been notified that their retainers are cancelled?”
The reality of the situation finally seemed to sink in.
The Ashfords weren't just being insulted.
They were being erased.
The wealth they had used as a shield was gone,
dissolved by the very woman they had mocked for her simple dresses.
I looked at Caleb,
the groom,
who was standing by the altar with his bride.
He didn't look angry.
He looked at me with a strange kind of understanding.
He knew what his family was.
He had seen the way they treated me for years.
“I’m sorry,
Caleb,”
I said,
raising my voice so he could hear me.
“But the party is over for them.”
He nodded once,
a slow,
solemn movement.
“I understand,
Madison.”
“They brought this on themselves.”
Nathan looked at his cousin,
betrayal flaring in his eyes.
“Caleb!
You’re going to let her do this?”
“She’s a Brooks!”
“No,
Nathan,”
Caleb said,
his voice echoing through the hall.
“She’s the woman you should have been proud to call your wife.”
“Now,
May you like
please leave.”
“You’re ruining the atmosphere.”
