Chapter 2
Chloe found her voice first, her breath hitching as a frantic, high-pitched panic broke through her carefully constructed socialite facade.
"Ethan! What do you think you are doing? Are you out of your absolute mind in front of all these people?" she shrieked.
Ethan ignored her completely, walking past the tiered wedding cake until he reached the table where his mother sat alone.
He extended his hand toward Eleanor with calm, deliberate grace, offering her the shelter and respect she had been cruelly denied.
Eleanor placed her trembling hand in his strong palm, allowing her son to lift her gently from her isolated side chair.
"Come with me, Mother; this place has nothing to offer either of us," Ethan said, his voice steady, resonant, and entirely unyielding.
Camera flashes from hidden wedding bloggers and paparazzi suddenly erupted around the room like lightning storms capturing a historical disaster.
Chloe lunged forward in her champagne dress, her manicured fingers clawing at the empty air as realization crashed over her.
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"You can't walk away from me! You are humiliating my family! My father spent half a million dollars on this reception!" she screamed.
Ethan paused for a fraction of a second, glancing over his shoulder with a look of absolute, chilling contempt that froze her in place.
