Chapter 8
PART 8:
A murmur spread through the room.
Diane snapped, “You don’t get to speak to me that way.”
The little girl began to cry.
That sound finally broke something in Graham.
He stepped toward the children, then stopped when Claire moved protectively in front of them.
The message was clear.
You do not get to walk into their lives just because the truth embarrassed you.
Graham looked at Claire.
His voice was hoarse.
“You tried to tell me?”
Claire laughed once.
It was not funny.
“I begged you.”
His eyes filled.
“I never got—”
“You got enough,” she cut in. “You got my tears. You got my calls. You got a wife standing in front of you telling you she wasn’t lying. You chose your mother’s story because it hurt your pride less.”
The words landed harder than the report.
Brielle turned to Graham slowly.
“You knew she might be pregnant?”
Graham looked at her, devastated.
“I thought…”
“You thought what?” Brielle asked. “That humiliating the woman you abandoned would make you look innocent?”
Diane grabbed Brielle’s arm.
“Do not let this woman ruin your wedding.”
Brielle pulled free.
“No. You already did.”
The room went dead silent.
Then Brielle removed her engagement ring.
Graham looked at her.
“Brielle…”
She placed it on the altar rail.
“I wanted to marry a man who was ready to be a husband,” she said, voice shaking. “Not a man still hiding behind his mother.”
Then she walked away from the altar.
Her bridesmaids rushed after her.
Diane looked like she might collapse.
The attorney closed the folder.
“There will be an emergency trust hearing. The children’s rights will be protected. Claire will receive full back support, medical coverage, and legal recognition of both minors.”
Diane snapped, “Over my dead body.”
The attorney looked at her coldly.
“If the court confirms interference, you may want to worry about your own liability first.”
Diane finally shut her mouth.
Graham stood in the wreckage of his wedding, surrounded by flowers, cameras, and the truth.
He looked at the twins.
The boy still stared at him with those gray Ellison eyes.
The girl clung to Claire.
Graham took a breath that broke halfway.
“What are their names?”
Claire’s jaw tightened.
“No.”
One word.
May you like
He deserved it.
👉 Graham wanted to know his children’s names, but Claire refused to let pain become his reward.
