Chapter 4The Game Was Rigged

By 11:00 that night, Charlotte still hadn't come home.

I sat alone in the living room of our new house and read through the entire wedding plan.

In the whole schedule, my name appeared only twice.

This didn't feel like a wedding between Charlotte and me.

At 1:00 a.m., I heard the front door unlock.

When Charlotte walked in, she still carried the smell of the hospital with her.

She frowned when she saw me still awake. "Why aren't you in bed yet?"

I looked at her. "Where are my cuff links?"

She froze for a second before explaining, "Connor still needs them tomorrow morning for the video shoot, so I left them with him for now."

I stood up.

"I want you to get them back. Right now."

Charlotte had already run out of patience. "George, you're the one I'm marrying tomorrow. What more do you want?"

I answered without hesitation, "I want my things back."

Charlotte suddenly let out a cold laugh. Her voice was full of arrogance.

"Connor is only borrowing your cuff links for a little while. Is that really enough to upset you? George, don't be so greedy."

I stared at her in shock.

So asking for the keepsake my father had left me made me greedy in her eyes.

Just then, Lyra called in a panic. "Charlotte, something's wrong. Connor says the cuff links are missing."

I froze.

Half an hour later, Charlotte and I rushed backstage at the hotel.

Connor sat in front of the makeup mirror with Charlotte's coat around his shoulders. His eyes were red from crying.

The makeup table was a complete mess.

The only thing missing was the silver cuff links my father had left me.

I looked at the makeup artist. "Are there security cameras here?"

She lowered her head. "The cameras stopped working this afternoon."

What a coincidence.

I looked at Connor. "Please give my things back."

Connor immediately burst into tears.

"George, I really didn't take your things."

"Then let's call the police."

The moment he heard the word police, Connor's face turned white. He suddenly ran toward the wall and tried to slam his head into it.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have touched George's things! I deserve this!"

Charlotte quickly grabbed him.

Lyra rushed over to support him too.

The two of them stood protectively around him.

Charlotte turned back to me, her face icy. "You need to apologize to him."

I thought I had heard her wrong. "What did you say?"

She looked at me seriously. "I want you to apologize to him. He's already falling apart. Why do you keep pushing him?"

I looked at her. "Charlotte, he lost the keepsake my dad left me."

"He already said it wasn't on purpose."

"And you just believe him?"

"Do you have any proof that he did it on purpose?"

I didn't know how to answer that.

Lyra lowered her voice and tried to persuade me too. "George, just admit you were wrong. You've already won. Why do you still have to embarrass Connor?"

I looked at both of them, completely drained.

Connor was obviously the one who had everything. Yet everyone kept saying he was the one to pity.

So I nodded.

I didn't want to argue anymore.

I just wanted to get away and calm down.

"Fine."

Charlotte frowned, as if she hadn't expected me to agree so quickly.

Lyra froze too.

I looked at Connor. Tears still filled his eyes as he hid behind Charlotte.

I said to him, "I'm sorry."

Lyra looked at me, wanting to say something. "George..."

I didn't look at either of them again.

I took off my engagement ring and gently placed it on the makeup table. "The wedding can go on as planned tomorrow. Don't let me ruin everyone's mood."

I turned and walked away.

Charlotte looked like she wanted to stop me, but Connor suddenly grabbed his wrist and said in a trembling voice, "Charlotte, it hurts so much..."

Charlotte instinctively turned back to him, and Lyra immediately looked at him as well.

At that moment, I walked out of the backstage area.

By the time they looked back again, the door had already closed.

And I never looked back.

That night, I returned to the house and canceled every wedding reservation.

The wedding planner answered my call in the middle of the night and asked nervously, "Does Ms. Kilbourn know about this?"

"She doesn't need to."

Before sunrise, I dragged my suitcase away and left everything behind.

The wedding had been scheduled to begin at 10:00 that morning.

Charlotte personally went to the jewelry store and quickly picked out a men's wedding band with space for an engraving inside.

Looking down at the ring, she said quietly, "He's liked this style ever since he was 18."

Lyra was holding a black umbrella with a curved handle.

My name was engraved on it.

She smiled. "Mine will work too. He's remembered that rainy day from when he was 18 all these years."

Charlotte glanced at her. "You actually knew about that?"

Lyra's smile faded a little. "Of course I knew."

She paused before adding, "He apologized way too quickly last night."

Charlotte let out a quiet laugh. "I think he was just tired. After making such a fuss all night, he needed a way to end it."

Lyra nodded. "You're probably right."

She smiled again. "George has a soft heart. You'll give him the ring, and I'll give him the umbrella. Once he sees them, he'll forgive us."

When the two of them arrived at the hotel, the manager was directing workers to take down the decorations.

Charlotte stopped walking. "Who told you to take everything down?"

The manager looked surprised when he saw her. "Ms. Kilbourn, wasn't the wedding canceled already?"