Chapter 8 - The Breakdown of the Golden Sister
Charlotte sat alone on the vast expanse of the ballroom floor, surrounded by thousands of withered white rose petals and broken crystal shards.
Her parents were being marched out in federal chains, their frantic screams echoing down the marble corridors of the Plaza Hotel.
Her multimillion-dollar wedding was an international laughingstock, broadcasted across every television network and social media platform in the world.
She looked up at Dominic and me, her hands trembling as she clutched her head, her sanity completely unraveling beneath the weight of total ruin.
“What am I supposed to do now?” Charlotte whimpered, her voice hollow and dead.
“Julian’s family blocked my number… my credit cards are declined… I have nowhere to go tonight.”
Dominic looked down at her with cold, detached indifference, adjusting the lapels of his charcoal suit.
“The Plaza Hotel security team will escort you to the subway station on Fifth Avenue in five minutes, Charlotte,” Dominic informed her softly.
“You can take the train to a public shelter in Brooklyn, or you can find a job and learn how to pay rent like every other citizen in this city.”
Charlotte let out a wail of utter despair, burying her face in her ruined lace dress as two hotel security guards stepped forward to escort her from the premises.
She was led out through the service exit in her wedding gown, walking past the flashing cameras of a hundred paparazzi shouting questions about her father’s crimes.
The girl who had spent her entire life walking on red carpets was now walking alone into the dark, rainy streets of Manhattan without a single dollar to her name.
Dominic turned to face me, the icy darkness in his eyes melting into a warmth so deep and pure it took my breath away.
He reached out, taking my cold hands into his warm palms, bringing them gently to his lips to kiss my knuckles.
“Are you ready to go home, Vivienne?” Dominic asked softly.
I looked around the ruined ballroom where my family had tried to bury my dignity, feeling completely light, unburdened, and free.
May you like
“Take me home, Dominic,” I smiled, resting my head against his broad chest.
“Our new life begins tonight.”
