CHAPTER 8: A FAMILY TORN APART

The chaos on the wedding stage was far from over. Flora was still slumped on the marble floor, her shoulders shaking violently as she held back her sobs. Her father’s slap had left a glaring red mark and a stinging numbness spreading across her cheek.

"You damn brat! You've completely ruined my reputation!" Harvey barked. His chest heaved as he fought to contain his explosive rage. He glared at his daughter with a look of pure hatred. "Get out of here, Flora! As of this second, you're not my daughter anymore! Get the hell out of my house!"

Seeing her husband raise his hand, ready to deliver a second blow, Diane jolted. Her shock instantly vanished. She quickly ran over and shielded her, hiding Flora’s trembling body behind her back.

"That's enough, Harvey! Stop it!" Diane screamed. Tears streamed down her face, but her gaze boldly challenged her husband. "Don't you dare lay a hand on Flora! Don't kick her out!"

Diane’s defense only added fuel to the fire. Harvey pointed a trembling finger right at his wife's face. "You're still defending her, Diane?! Didn't you see that damned video?! This is all because you're useless at raising a kid! You spoiled her too much, and now she's turned into a whore behind our backs!"

That accusation instantly shattered whatever patience Diane had left. She glared back at her husband just as fiercely.

"Don't you just pin this all on me, Harvey!" Diane shrieked. "Where the hell have you been all this time?! You failed as a father, too! You only ever cared about your business and washed your hands of raising your own child! And now, when everything goes to hell, you're just gonna wash your hands clean and throw our daughter away?!"

The screaming match between Flora’s parents became a sickening spectacle for the remaining guests. Disgusted by the escalating chaos, Devon finally stepped forward, cutting through the space between Flora's parents.

"Mr. and Mrs. Vance, that's enough! Please, don't fight here!" Devon reprimanded with a firm voice.

The man then turned to look at Flora, who was still weeping. A deep sense of guilt was clearly etched in his eyes. Devon took a deep breath, then shouted loudly toward the crowd of guests.

"Listen up, everyone! This wedding is not off! I've already made my vows at the altar. Flora is my lawful wife, and I'm gonna stand by her side!"

Hearing that reckless declaration, Devon's parents instantly flew into a rage. Devon's father stepped forward, his jaw clenched tight.

"Shut your mouth, Devon! I am never gonna allow this sheer stupidity!" his father barked. "This wedding is off! We are never gonna give you our blessing, not now, not ever!"

Devon's mother chimed in hysterically, "I don't wanna hear it! You need to come home right now, Devon! Leave that shameful woman, or you're no longer a part of the Cross family!"

"Dad, Mom, please understand! Flora is a victim!" Devon argued, standing his ground.

"We don't care if she's a victim or not! Our family's reputation is worth way more than that woman!" his father stated firmly, handing down a death sentence to their relationship right then and there.

In the midst of the heated argument, Vanessa, who had been quietly watching from the corner of the stage, finally made her move. She walked over to Devon. She hung her head, deliberately making herself look as devastated and fragile as possible.

"Then... what about me, Devon? What's gonna happen to me?" Vanessa asked. Her voice sounded hoarse and shaky. She stared intensely at Devon. "You gotta take responsibility for what you did to me last night!"

That sudden question instantly brought the commotion to a grinding halt. The hall abruptly fell as silent as a graveyard.

Devon's father furrowed his brow, looking at Vanessa with sharp scrutiny. "Vanessa... what the hell do you mean by that? Take responsibility for what?!"

Vanessa took a deep breath, then let her crocodile tears stream down her cheeks. With near-perfect acting, she began to speak, deliberately forcing her voice to tremble violently.

"Last night... Devon came over to my place completely wasted, Mr. and Mrs. Cross," she sobbed, wiping away her tears. "He was so frustrated thinking about Flora's problems. I wanted to take him home, but... Devon pulled me in instead. He thought I was Flora. He... he forced himself on me last night at his apartment..."

That confession dropped like a bomb on the stage. Devon's mother covered her mouth with both hands in utter shock. Meanwhile, Harvey and Diane stood completely frozen, unable to believe that the man who had just defended their daughter was equally depraved.

Flora looked up at Vanessa. Her chest felt unbearably tight. The best friend she trusted the most had actually slept with her fiancé, just hours before the wedding was supposed to take place.

Realizing everyone was buying her story, Vanessa rushed to wrap up her little drama. She approached Flora, dropping to her knees in front of her best friend, and gripped both her shoulders with a fabricated look of immense guilt.

"Flo... I'm so sorry, Flo..." Vanessa's tears broke, pleading as if she were genuinely shattered. "I am really sorry. I swear to God, I never wanted to steal Devon from you! I didn't wanna ruin your marriage, but Devon forced himself on me last night... I'm so sorry, Flo..."

Flora was speechless. Her tongue was tied. Her mind went completely blank, unable to process the insane reality hitting her over and over again today. Betrayed by her fiancé and her closest best friend at the exact same time, Flora felt like her world had completely and utterly collapsed.