Chapter 5 - The Uninvited Guest
The entire dining hall erupted into shocked gasps and frantic whispering.
I stared down at the strange man kneeling in front of me, completely paralyzed by confusion.
"I have no idea who you are," I said, my voice shaking as I shrank back in my chair.
The man looked up, faking a perfectly tragic expression of heartbreak.
"Don't do this, Em," he pleaded loudly. "Don't pretend you don't know me just because you found a richer guy to scam."
My mother smiled triumphantly from the head table, clearly enjoying the humiliating spectacle she had orchestrated.
Alexander did not yell, nor did he stand up to cause a physical scene.
He calmly picked up his crystal water glass, took a slow sip, and set it down.
"Fascinating performance," Alexander said, his voice carrying effortlessly over the whispers in the room.
He looked down at the kneeling man with eyes completely devoid of warmth.
"What is your name, son?" Alexander asked politely.
"Marcus," the man said, puffing out his chest to look intimidating.
"Well, Marcus, you have exactly ten seconds to tell the room how much my mother-in-law paid you to do this, or I will ruin your life," Alexander stated evenly.
Marcus scoffed, trying to maintain his confident facade.
"Nobody paid me anything, man, I'm here for my girl."
Alexander pulled his phone out, tapped the screen, and held it up for the man to see.
"This is your acting portfolio on Backstage, isn't it?" Alexander asked.
Marcus swallowed hard, his confidence instantly shattering.
"And this," Alexander continued, swiping to a new screen, "is a screenshot of the Venmo transaction my mother-in-law sent you two hours ago for five hundred dollars."
The room went dead silent once again.
Marcus scrambled to his feet, dropping the wilted roses on the floor.
"She told me it was just a practical joke!" Marcus stammered, backing away quickly.
Without another word, the actor turned and sprinted out of the dining hall, letting the heavy doors slam shut behind him.
Every eye in the room slowly shifted toward my mother, who was now gripping the microphone with white knuckles.
Lucas stood up, throwing his napkin onto his plate in pure disgust.
"Are you insane?" Lucas screamed at our mother. "You hired an actor to ruin my rehearsal dinner just to embarrass Emily?"
Before my mother could formulate a lie, the doors at the back of the room swung open one more time.
An imposing older man with silver hair and a sharp, tailored suit stepped into the room.
He walked with a silver-tipped cane, his mere presence commanding the absolute attention of everyone present.
Alexander went completely rigid beside me, his jaw clenching so hard I thought his teeth might break.
The older man stopped at our table, looking down at me with absolute, unfiltered disgust.
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"So," the man said, his voice a deep, gravelly baritone that sent chills down my spine.
"This is the pathetic little gold-digger my son secretly married."
