Chapter 4Wedding Day Ultimatum: Shackle All Your Kin

Mom and Dad were already a step ahead of me. They'd grabbed the bag of tracking monitors before I could touch it.

Inside the car, Giselle shifted in her seat and began to step out, one high-heeled shoe reaching for the pavement. The rigid tension in her posture melted into the beginning of a triumphant smile.

"Don't touch it," Dad said, turning back to me. "I told you, your mother and I will handle this. You're the groom today. Don't let anyone make you feel small today."

They were going to take this so I wouldn't have to.

"Hold on a second!" Shawn stepped forward, blocking them. He looked around at the rest of my relatives who were still standing near the entrance, sizing them up like inmates in a police lineup. "If we don't let them steal and freeload, they're obviously going to hold a grudge. Once they get inside the venue, they'll be looking for payback."

He turned to Giselle. "Trashing the venue would be the least of it. What I'm really worried about is them sabotaging the ceremony on purpose out of spite, ruining everything you've spent so long planning."

The smile instantly vanished from Giselle's face. The dream wedding she had obsessively crafted for two years was her holy grail.

"Then what do we do?"

Shawn didn't miss a beat. He walked to the trunk of the bridal car and pulled out a bag of stainless-steel leg shackles connected by short, heavy chains.

"Don't worry, I came prepared," Shawn said, locking eyes with me. "We'll have Roy's family go in first. My guys will chain them to their chairs and unlock them only after the reception is completely over. I dare anyone to try something after that."

Giselle took a deep breath. When she looked at me, some of the confidence had left her eyes. "That's too much. Roy's not going to be okay with this."

"Come on!" Shawn glared at me as if I were the enemy. "If something actually goes wrong during the ceremony, are you honestly sure he's going to take your side over his broke relatives?"

"Roy wouldn't do that," Giselle said, shaking her head. "He loves—"

"He's one person. His family is something else," Shawn cut in. "If they wreck the wedding, everything you've put into this goes up in smoke."

Giselle nodded. "Roy, just do what Shawn says. I'm terrified of my wedding being ruined. I can't help it. I just don't trust your family."

I walked up to her. She looked at me, shy and hopeful.

Then I shut the car door, and the driver locked it from inside. The bridal car began to pull away.

Everyone stood frozen.

By the time Giselle realized what was happening, she slammed her hands against the window, rolling it down frantically. "Stop the car! What the hell are you doing?

"Roy! Are you trying to drag me to the hotel by force?"

I turned around and unclasped the monitors from Mom and Dad's wrists. Then I tossed them into the trash along with the wedding ring.

The bridal motorcade followed the lead car out of the neighborhood.

"Stop the car!" Giselle pounded the back of the driver's seat. "I'm not going to the hotel until the ceremony is finished!"

"I'm sorry," the driver said, eyes straight ahead. "The groom said no stops. You don't get out until he says you get out."

Giselle's breathing turned ragged. She grabbed her phone and started texting me. Every message she sent failed to deliver.

Panic began creeping in. Something was very wrong.

She called me five times in a row, and not once did I pick up. Her hands were shaking when she dialed Brody Tate. He was one of my closest friends and one of my groomsmen.

"Kind of busy right now. Can't talk. Bye." That was all he said before hanging up.

Giselle stared blankly at her phone.

"We're here," the driver said, bringing the car to a stop and unlocking the doors in one smooth motion.

Giselle looked up.

The silk banners had been torn down and trampled into the pavement. The congratulations banner that had been put up that morning was ripped half off the wall.

"You went to the wrong place. I need to go to the hotel!"

"No mistake. Groom's orders."

The motorcade had taken the long way around and brought her straight back to her parents' front door. She'd been sent back.