Chapter 4

[What choice do they have? Maybe it's a shotgun wedding. She does have decent looks.]

The comments got increasingly vulgar.

I originally thought the Harpers had no class prejudice.

But now I realized.

At Mrs. Harper's age and with her scheming mind, she couldn't possibly miss what Sienna was doing today—disrupting the wedding under the guise of jokes.

She was just happy to let it happen.

Using Sienna's hand to put me in my place.

To let me know that compared to a rich heiress like Sienna, I was nothing.

And Lucas too.

He was confident I wouldn't back out of the wedding over this.

So he let Sienna do whatever she wanted.

Twenty years of childhood friendship?

Doesn't see her as a woman?

More like he wanted to have his cake and eat it too under the guise of friendship.

Finally, Ethan raised the microphone and called my name.

"Let's give the warmest applause to welcome today's true star—"

Just then Sienna burst through the dressing room door.

"Emma, why are you still here?"

Her voice was sickeningly sweet.

"They're about to toss the bouquet outside. Come play?"

I closed my lipstick and turned to look at her.

"Toss the bouquet?"

I smiled.

"Without the bride present, who's the bouquet for?"

"That's why we need you."

Sienna stepped forward and affectionately linked arms with me.

"I know you probably don't care for all those stuffy wedding rituals anyway. Come on, I'll go out with you. Let's play a game, okay?"

Without waiting for my answer, she pushed me into the spotlight.

I signaled to the staff I'd arranged to follow me with the items.

This wedding had completely turned into a farce.

No one cared about the bride's entrance.

I walked casually alongside Sienna.

As we walked, I asked:

"What game do you want to play?"

"Catching the bouquet!"

She held up the lily of the valley bouquet to my face.

"If I catch it, Lucas has to grant me one unconditional request. If you catch it..."

She paused, her smile deepening.

"I'll give you back the bracelet Mrs. Harper just gave me. Fair, right?"

She deliberately stopped and looked toward Mrs. Harper.

Mrs. Harper's expression changed.

"Nonsense!"

She walked over quickly, first glaring at me before turning to Sienna.

"Sienna, that bracelet was my gift to you. How can you use it as a wager?"

Then she looked at me.

"Emma, Sienna likes to play around. You don't need to humor her."

The room fell quiet.

Everyone was watching me.

I laughed lightly.

"Mrs. Harper, Miss Winters proposed both the bet and the game. She also skipped all the original wedding ceremony steps. I think she's quite eager to play this game."

Mrs. Harper was speechless.

I stopped looking at her and turned to Sienna.

"Since we're playing, let me add to the stakes. If you win, I'll give you a big gift."

Sienna's eyes lit up.

"What gift?"

"You'll find out soon."

A space had already been cleared in the banquet hall.

Their friends formed a semicircle, ready to catch the bouquet.

She showed a confident smile and stood in the center of the crowd.

The groomsmen exchanged glances and inconspicuously positioned themselves behind her.

Ethan began the countdown.

"Three."

The groomsmen quietly moved forward half a step.

"Two."

Sienna was already rising on her tiptoes.

"One!"