The news spread faster than anyone could have imagined. By evening, every social circle, news outlet, and gossip blog in the city was buzzing with one story — the abandoned wedding of Carson and Bridget.
The once-celebrated union between two powerful families had turned into the biggest scandal of the year.
Victoria sat rigidly on the edge of her grand sofa, her perfectly manicured fingers trembling around a half-empty glass of wine. The mansion was silent except for the sound of her sharp breathing. Her eyes were red with fury, not from tears, but from humiliation.
The whispers, the pitiful looks from guests, the photographs of Bridget standing alone at the altar — it was all playing again and again in her mind like a cruel loop.
“How could he do this?” she muttered, her voice low a
