Nine months too late: After divorce

2

It was a big shock to the Harper family when the authorities showed up to arrest Rebecca. Despite their struggles and arrogance, Rebecca was taken into custody. She kept raining curses, insisting she didn't know anything about the allegations.

"What do you even think I am? My daughter's trying to marry into that family this weekend. Why in God's name would I want to kill him?" she yelled at the officers in the interrogation room. "We're as curious as you are, Mrs. Harper. Why do you want Lancelot dead?" the officer answered.

"I do not want him dead! I don't even know this Hailey nurse. How can you take her word over mine? Isn't it obvious someone's trying to plant discord here?"

The officer presented a paper to her. "This is Hailey's bank statement. It shows here that you made a payment into her account yesterday. What is it for? And how do you explain sending money to her when you claim you don't know her?" Rebecca glared hatefully at them. "Yesterday, I patronized a small business. That was the account detail that had been given to me. My God, it's obvious this is all a setup. I can't believe I fell for it."

Rebecca stood by her defenses even when her lawyer arrived. But in the end, she wasn't released, with Lancelot's family insisting on pushing the case forward.

Lana visited her. She cried uncontrollably in the room.

"What do we do, Mum? How can this even happen?" she whimpered. "The wedding might be canceled. If they believe you did it, it's over." She lowered her head and wept.

"You

I must stay strong, Lana!" Rebecca snapped. "I'll get out of this, okay? But for now, you must go out there and try to fix things."

"How?"

"Convince the Hawkins this is a setup. Remember, you're pregnant. The wedding must take place."

"You should've been more careful." Lana wiped her face, but the tears kept coming. "You should've been smart about this." "Well, how was I supposed to know the dimwit was going to get caught? And how would I know she'd rat me out?" "I don't care, Mum! But because of you, I might be losing the one thing that's most important to me."

Rebecca's face tightened. "You brat! Are you forgetting I am in this situation because of you? If you hadn't been so careless with opening your legs for just anyone, I wouldn't have a reason to want Lancelot dead."

Lana stood up. "It doesn't change the fact that you messed things up. You should've done a better job."

She picked up her bag and turned to leave. Rebecca's eyes darkened.

"How dare

you

walk out on me!? This is

your

fault!"

Lana ignored her and left.

*****

Sylvie was just as shocked when the news hit her. It confirmed her suspicions that Lana was hiding something-something Lancelot knew and probably blackmailed her with. That explained the argument and why he'd ended up with a gunshot the next day. Now he was almost killed in his hotel room. Sat, Oct

dact

She heard that Rebecca was still denying the allegations, so the full story wasn't out yet.

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Sylvie stood by the window, her hand on her bump. She couldn't bring herself to care. She was done with the whole drama and just wanted to be away.

She glanced at her passport on the bed. Everything was already set. By the weekend, she'd be out of the country.

*****

Lana had never been so nervous to see Kage before.

Entering the house, she found him at the wine counter, where he took some shots.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Prior to that, Kage had been acting very cold towards her. She was happy their relationship had gotten better. Turned out it couldn't really be better for someone like her.

"Hi." She fiddled Iwith the strap of her bag as she stood before him.

He simply glanced at her before taking his gaze away. "Hi, Lana

Kage was angry. He'd been in a meeting with his family concerning what had happened. He thought it was a good reason to have the wedding postponed, but his family was convinced that Rebecca was being set up.

In his mother's words, "It's possible this is the work of Sylvie. She doesn't want you two to get married and decided to plant this discord."

Kage had lost his s mind. He snapped at his mother, warning her never to lay such accusations against Sylvie.

Lancelot's family kicked against the wedding, but their unit and the power they held were too small to influence the decision of the whole family-especially those who were so determined to prove a point by making the wedding happen. Lana cleared her throat. "I was hoping I could talk to you."

T

umaid nothing, simply refilling his glass.

Kage said

"I'm deeply sorry about this whole ruckus. But I need you to know my mother would never hurt anyone, let alone a member of this family. This is a setup, and I'm sure with time, the truth will be revealed."

She heard him scoff, and it filled her with a certain dread.

Your

mother's innocent, right?" He finally looked at her. "There's no reason you know of that she'd want Lancelot dead for?"

"No!" Lana stepped forward. "My mother and Lancelot have never even met. She wouldn't hurt him."

"Okay." He shrugged.

He downed the last of his drink before standing up.

"Wh... Where are you going?" Lana asked when he began walking away.

"My room. I need to rest."

Her lips moved to speak, but no words were formed. Alone, she fell hopelessly to the couch.

It was Saturday.

Lana nervously stood before the mirror, her heart beating faster than the music playing in the background.

Everything looked perfect-her hair, her makeup, her dress. This was supposed to be the best day of her life, but with her mother still locked in jail, she couldn't be happy.

45

A few minutes later, she was led into the car where they headed for the church.

The wedding was taking place. She was going to get married to Kage like she's always wanted. Her mother will find a way and will be out of jail. "Everything will I be fine, Lana," she assured I herself.

They reached the church, and Lana was led down the aisle when it was time. She saw a lot of familiar and friendly faces. She tried to hold onto their smiles and feel good. Kage was waiting at the altar already, but he was hardly looking at her. When she

she reached and stood before him, her nervousness increased.

The priest wasted no time in commencing the wedding vows.

He asked her the questions first, all of which she answered, "I do," to.

Then, he turned to Ito Kage. Lana took a deep breath. This was going to happen. Everything would be fine.

Kage

Hawkins, do you take Lana Harper to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest asked the first question.

Lana bit down on her lower lip, her blood pressure seeming to rise.

Kage was silent. When it took too long, the congregation began to murmur.

Lana took a dry gulp.

"Mr. Hawkins?" the priest called.

He remained silent, his eyes on Lana.

"K... Kage," Lana whispered. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears.

"Mr. Hawkins, I asked-do you take Lana Harper to be your..."

"No." The word came out clipped.

A hush fell over the crowd, heads turning in shock.

Lana's hands, which had been holding her flower bouquet, dropped to her sides.

"No, I can't marry her," Kage confirmed.