“You can watch from home,” they said. So I did. And the stream froze on the chaos. Bride screaming. Glass shattering. Everything fell apart… right on camera. I never said a word.
I am Amanda Miller, 32 years old, watching my half-sister Natalie’s wedding from my apartment when my world imploded. They claimed the venue had limited capacity, so I could only attend virtually. As the ceremony reached its peak, I spotted something impossible. My fiancé Thomas, sitting with my family, wearing a suit he claimed was at the dry cleaners. He was supposed to be in Chicago on business.
The live stream froze at that exact moment, capturing the betrayal perfectly. That frozen image would shatter my family forever and expose 6 years of elaborate lies.
Phân cảnh 2: My Parents Divorce
If you’re watching this right now, I’d love to know where you’re tuning in from.
This family revenge story still makes my hands shake when I tell it. If betrayal by those closest to you sounds familiar, hit subscribe because trust me, what happened next changed everything. The karma that came back around in this family drama was something no one saw coming.
To understand how I ended up watching my half-sister’s wedding online while everyone else in my family attended in person, you need to know our complicated history.
My parents divorced when I was 14. I still remember the night my dad, Richard Miller, told me he was leaving. He packed his suitcases while my mom Karen sobbed in their bedroom. I stood in the hallway, clutching my childhood teddy bear, even though I was too old for it, watching as 18 years of marriage disintegrated before my eyes.
“It’s not about you, Amanda,” he said, not even looking at me as he zipped his luggage. “Your mother and I just grew apart.”
That was the first lie in what would become an intricate web of deception.
Within three months, my father married Stephanie, a woman 15 years younger than him, who worked at his real estate development company. I later discovered their affair had been going on for 2 years before the divorce.
Phân cảnh 3: My Father Married Stephanie
When I was 16, they had Natalie, my half-sister. From that moment, I felt myself being gradually erased from my father’s life. The photos of me that once lined his office walls were replaced with professional family portraits of him, Stephanie, and baby Natalie.
When I visited their new home every other weekend, I stayed in the guest room that felt increasingly less like it belonged to me. My bedroom at my mom’s house remained frozen in teenage decor well into my 20s because we couldn’t afford to update it after the divorce settlement left her financially strained.
My father’s real estate business boomed after the divorce. He built luxury housing developments across three states, while my mom worked two jobs to keep our modest three-bedroom house. The contrast between my two lives couldn’t have been more stark. At Dad’s house, everything was premium and pristine. At Mom’s, we clipped coupons and drove a car that made concerning noises when it rained.
The pattern of exclusion started small. When I was 17, they took Natalie to Disney World because you have finals that week, Amanda. When I was 20, they celebrated Christmas in Switzerland, but couldn’t get another ticket at such short notice.
Phân cảnh 4: The Pattern of Exclusion Started Small
By 25, I was routinely discovering family events had occurred only after seeing photos on social media.
“You’re being too sensitive,” became my father’s go-to response whenever I expressed hurt feelings. “We’re not excluding you on purpose. It’s just logistics.”
My mother passed away from breast cancer when I was 27. The funeral was the last time the entire extended family was together in one place. My father gave a stiff formal eulogy that focused more on their early dating years than their marriage or her role as a mother. Stephanie stood beside him, her hand possessively on his arm, while Natalie, then 11, looked bored and played games on a tablet throughout the service.
Phân cảnh 5: When I Was 27
After mom died, I threw myself into my career as a graphic designer. I built a modest but growing freelance business, working remotely for clients across the country. My apartment was small but mine, paid for with money I earned myself, unlike my half-sister’s private school education and designer wardrobe.
I met Thomas Reeves 3 years ago through mutual friends at a housewarming party. He was charming, attentive, and seemed genuinely interested in my design work. With dark hair that always fell just right and an easy laugh, he quickly became the center of my world.
Phân cảnh 6: I Met Thomas
He worked at a tech startup developing some kind of financial software I never fully understood. But his ambition impressed me. Within 6 months, we moved in together, and last year he proposed with a modest but beautiful ring.
Thomas knew all about my family situation. He held me on the anniversaries of my mother’s death when I couldn’t stop crying. He listened to my frustrations about being excluded from another family vacation. He even encouraged me to keep trying with my father.
“Family is important,” he would say. “Sometimes you have to be the bigger person.”
In retrospect, his insistence that I maintain contact with my father despite the ongoing hurt should have been my first red flag.
Thomas met my father and Stephanie at a tense dinner shortly after we got engaged. I noticed they seemed to hit it off surprisingly well, with my father asking detailed questions about Thomas’ startup. They exchanged phone numbers to discuss potential investment opportunities.
I was pleased at the time, thinking it might help bridge the family gap. Over the past year, I noticed increasingly strange behavior from both Thomas and my family. Thomas had more business dinners and investor meetings than seemed normal for his position. My father occasionally mentioned Thomas in phone calls, but would quickly change the subject when I asked for details. Stephanie began sending me birthday and holiday cards, something she had never bothered with before. It all seemed odd, but I was so happy to see positive movement in our family relationships that I ignored my instincts.
Phân cảnh 7: After years of feeling like an outsider
After years of feeling like an outsider, I was finally seeing glimmers of acceptance. Or so I thought.
The truth was much darker than I could have imagined, and it would take a wedding live stream freezing at exactly the wrong moment for everything to come crashing down.
The digital invitation to Natalie’s wedding arrived in my email on a Tuesday morning in April. I nearly spat out my coffee when I saw it. My half-sister was only 17, barely out of high school. The invitation was elaborate, with animated butterflies that fluttered across the screen and a custom soundtrack. It announced the union of Natalie Miller and Jackson Price at my father’s sprawling estate in the Hamptons, 3 months from now, in July.
I immediately called my father, who sounded strangely nervous when he answered.
Phân cảnh 8: I immediately called my father
“Amanda, I was going to call you today,” he said before I could even mention the invitation.
“Dad, Natalie is 17. Isn’t this a little young to be getting married?” I asked, genuinely concerned.
“She’s very mature for her age,” he replied defensively. “Jackson comes from an excellent family. His father and I have business connections going back 15 years.”
The conversation quickly took an uncomfortable turn when I asked about travel arrangements.
Phân cảnh 9: When I asked about travel arrangements
“Actually, about that,” my father said, clearing his throat. “We’re having to limit the in-person guests quite strictly.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, already feeling a familiar sinking sensation.
“The venue has capacity limitations,” he explained, though the venue was his own 15-acre estate with multiple buildings and expansive grounds. “Fire codes and all that. But we’ve arranged for a professional live streaming for extended family and friends who can’t attend in person.”
Phân cảnh 10: My voice cracked
“You’re saying I can’t come to my own sister’s wedding?” My voice cracked despite my efforts to remain composed.
“Half-sister,” Stephanie interjected in the background, not quite quietly enough.
“And it’s not just you, Amanda. We had to make difficult decisions about the guest list.”
I later discovered that distant cousins I’d never even heard of had received physical invitations, while I was relegated to the virtual experience.
Phân cảnh 11: I knew too
“It’s really the next best thing to being there,” my father continued, his voice taking on that patronizing tone I knew too well. “The streaming company is top-notch. Multiple camera angles, high definition. You’ll be able to see everything. We’ll even wave to the camera for you.”
That night, I told Thomas about the wedding and my exclusion from the in-person guest list. He seemed unusually interested in the details, asking questions about the date and location. Then he delivered his own news.
“That’s the same weekend as the Chicago conference,” he said, frowning as he checked his calendar. “I have to present our new software platform to potential investors. There’s no way I can reschedule.”
Phân cảnh 12: Im sorry babe
“So, I’ll be watching Natalie’s wedding alone.” I try not to sound as pathetic as I felt.
“I’m sorry, babe.” He kissed my forehead. “But hey, maybe it’s for the best. Those family events are always stressful for you.”
Anyway, in the weeks leading up to the wedding, I received increasingly detailed emails about the live stream, technical instructions, testing links, even suggestions for creating an immersive at-home experience, including recommended champagne pairings for different parts of the ceremony. The level of production value for excluding me was almost impressive.
Meanwhile, Thomas became busy with preparation for his Chicago trip. He bought a new suit, claiming his old one was too worn for important investor meetings. He took it to the dry cleaners and said he’d pick it up right before his flight.
“This deal could change everything for us,” he said excitedly. “If I land these investors, we might be able to afford the house we looked at.”
I was supportive, if distracted by the approaching wedding. I helped him prepare his presentation, giving design feedback and practicing questions with him late into the night.
Phân cảnh 13: Late into the night
A week before the wedding, I started seeing social media posts from relatives. Aunt Judith posting about her flight to New York. Cousin Patrick checking in at a hotel near my father’s estate. Everyone was arriving early for various pre-wedding events. A welcome dinner, a beach party, a golf outing.
The night before Thomas was scheduled to leave for Chicago, I used his laptop to order food while he showered. A notification popped up from his email.
Phân cảnh 14: A notification popped up
Without really thinking about it, I clicked it open. It was a hotel confirmation for the Hampton Bay Resort, less than a mile from my father’s estate, for the entire wedding weekend. The reservation was for two adults.
My hand shook as I quickly closed the email and shut the laptop. It had to be a mistake. Maybe it was for someone at his company. Perhaps he’d booked it before realizing he had the conference. I created a dozen explanations in my mind, none of which addressed the gnawing feeling in my stomach.
When Thomas emerged from the shower, I almost confronted him, but some self-protective instinct held me back. Instead, I smiled and asked if he’d packed everything for Chicago.
“All set,” he said, kissing me casually. “I’ll call you every night, I promise.”
The morning Thomas left, he seemed oddly formal. His hug was stiff, his kiss brief. He left 4 hours before his supposed flight, claiming he needed extra time for security.
“Have fun watching the wedding,” he said as he rolled his suitcase to the door. “Take some screenshots for me.”
If only he knew how literally I would take that suggestion.
The day before the wedding, I received texts from both my father and Stephanie reminding me to log in early to get the full pre-ceremony experience. Natalie sent a single message.
“Hope the stream works, lol.”
Phân cảnh 15: The day before the wedding
I spent that evening alone in my apartment, trying not to feel sorry for myself. I opened a bottle of wine and scrolled through social media, torturing myself with images of the rehearsal dinner I wasn’t invited to. There was Aunt Judith with her arm around Natalie. There was Uncle Robert making a toast. And in the background of one photo, so quick I almost missed it, a familiar profile that looked unnervingly like Thomas. But when I went back to look more closely, the photo had been deleted.
Sleep eluded me that night as my mind raced with possibilities, each more painful than the last. By morning, I had convinced myself I was being paranoid.
The wedding was at 2:00. I had 5 hours to pull myself together and prepare to watch my half-sister get married through a computer screen. The morning of Natalie’s wedding, I decided to make the best of the situation. If I had to watch from 200 miles away, I would at least do it with style.
I put on a navy blue cocktail dress I’d been saving for a special occasion, did my makeup carefully, and even ordered myself a small bouquet of flowers to mark the day. I sat my laptop on the dining table, connected it to the television for a larger view, and opened the bottle of champagne I’d been saving for Thomas’s return.
The live stream began an hour before the ceremony with sweeping drone shots of my father’s estate. The property looked even more impressive from the air, with manicured gardens, a reflecting pool, and white chairs arranged in perfect rows on the main lawn. A string quartet played softly as guests arrived, the women in colorful summer dresses, the men in light suits appropriate for a July afternoon.
I poured myself champagne and watched as the camera panned across the gathering crowd. I recognized relatives I hadn’t seen in years, my father’s business associates, Stephanie’s large extended family. Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time, greeting each other with hugs and air kisses, accepting flutes of champagne from circulating waiters.
The camera occasionally focused on Natalie getting ready in my father’s house, her makeup being applied by a professional artist, Stephanie fussing with the veil. My half-sister looked beautiful in an elaborate gown that probably cost more than my annual rent. For a moment, I felt a pang of something like affection for her. She was just a teenager after all. This whole excessive production wasn’t her fault.
At exactly 2:00, the music changed and the ceremony began.
The officiant took his place under an archway covered in white roses. The groom, Jackson, walked to the front with his best man. I didn’t know much about Jackson except that he came from money and had known my father for years through business connections.
Phân cảnh 16: The ceremony begins
The wedding party proceeded down the aisle one by one. Bridesmaids in pale pink dresses. Groomsmen looking uncomfortable in their formal wear in the summer heat. A flower girl who looked to be about four, scattering rose petals with determined concentration.
As the camera panned across the seated guests during the procession, I started noticing faces that made my blood run cold. My cousin Melissa, who had told me she couldn’t afford to fly in from California. My father’s oldest friend, Bernard, who had messaged me last week saying he was having surgery and would also be watching online.
And then, in the third row on the groom’s side, partially obscured by a large floral arrangement, but unmistakable to me, Thomas. My Thomas. My fiancé. The man who was supposed to be in Chicago presenting to investors.
Phân cảnh 17: Thomas my fiance
He was wearing the new suit he’d bought, his hair freshly cut, looking completely at ease. He was seated between my uncle Phillip and a woman I recognized as my father’s executive assistant.
I choked on my champagne, spilling it down the front of my dress. I fumbled for the remote to pause the stream, but in my shock, I dropped it. By the time I retrieved it from under the table, the camera had moved on to show Natalie beginning her walk down the aisle on my father’s arm.
I sat frozen, barely breathing. As the ceremony continued, my mind was spinning, trying to make sense of what I’d just seen. There had to be an explanation, a coincidence, a misunderstanding. But deep down, I knew.
The camera returned to wider shots of the guests during the vows. I scrutinized every frame, searching for Thomas. There he was again, smiling as Natalie and Jackson exchanged rings. He looked completely at home, occasionally leaning over to whisper something to my uncle. This wasn’t someone who had been invited at the last minute. This was someone who belonged there.
As my half-sister and her new husband shared their first kiss as a married couple, the camera panned across the applauding crowd, and that’s when the live stream froze.
Phân cảnh 18: The camera panned across the applauding crowd
The image that burned itself into my retinas was devastating in its perfect clarity. Thomas standing and applauding with everyone else, a broad smile on his face. My father with his arm around Stephanie, looking triumphant. And most shocking of all, around Stephanie’s neck was my grandmother’s sapphire pendant, a family heirloom that my mother had always told me would be mine someday.
I stared at the frozen image, unable to move or think clearly. The seconds ticked by, but the stream didn’t resume. The technical difficulties couldn’t have happened at a more revealing moment. It was as if the universe wanted me to have time to fully absorb every detail of the betrayal playing out before me.
With shaking hands, I took screenshots of the frozen frame, zooming in on Thomas, on the necklace, on my father’s smug expression. I tried refreshing the page, but a message appeared saying, “Connection lost. Please stand by.”
I grabbed my phone and called Thomas. Straight to voicemail. I texted him.
Phân cảnh 19: I tried refreshing the page
I can see you at the wedding. What the hell is going on?
The message showed as delivered but not read. I tried my father next. Again, voicemail. I left a message that consisted mostly of incoherent questions and barely contained sobs.
Finally, I texted Natalie.
“Congratulations on your wedding. Interesting to see Thomas there when he told me he was in Chicago.”
Three dots appeared immediately, showing she was typing a response. Then they disappeared.
Phân cảnh 20: No message came
No message came.
I sat in my apartment, still dressed up with nowhere to go, surrounded by the trappings of my pathetic solo wedding viewing party, and let the tears come. I cried until my makeup ran in black streaks down my face. I cried until the champagne went flat. I cried until the neighbors knocked on the wall to check if I was okay.
When the tears finally subsided, something else took their place. Cold, calculating anger. I looked again at the screenshots I’d taken.
Phân cảnh 21: Cold calculating anger
There was a story here that needed to be uncovered. Why was Thomas at my half-sister’s wedding? Why was Stephanie wearing my grandmother’s necklace? Why had so many people lied to me?
The live stream never came back online. Instead, an apologetic email arrived from the streaming company, citing technical difficulties beyond our control. But it didn’t matter. I’d seen enough.
I spent the rest of that evening in a strange calm state, methodically making notes about everything I’d observed and every question I needed answered. As night fell, I opened my laptop again, but not to check for updates on the wedding. Instead, I began what would become a week’s-long investigation into the web of lies surrounding me.
If you’ve ever had that moment where everything you thought was true suddenly shatters, you know exactly how I felt. The betrayal cuts deeper when it’s family, doesn’t it? Looking back now, I realize that frozen wedding live stream was actually a gift, forcing me to see what had been happening right in front of me all along. If you’re dealing with family betrayal, too, comment below with a ice cube emoji, so I know I’m not alone in this experience.
Now, let me tell you how I started uncovering the full extent of their deception.
Phân cảnh 23: The day after the wedding
The day after the wedding, I woke up with a strange sense of clarity despite having barely slept. The initial shock had given way to a cold determination to uncover the truth.
I called in sick to my freelance projects, made a large pot of coffee, and transformed my living room into an investigation headquarters. I started with social media. While the wedding party would be celebrating at brunches and gift openings, guests would inevitably be posting photos. I wasn’t friends with many of my father’s social circle, but their privacy settings were often lacking. Through public tags and location markers, I began piecing together more of the wedding than the live stream had shown me.
There was Thomas in the background of a group shot at the rehearsal dinner, his arm casually draped over the back of my cousin’s chair. There he was again in a selfie taken by one of the bridesmaids, raising a glass during a toast. Each image was a fresh stab of betrayal, but I saved them all as evidence.
Most revealing was a photo posted by my father’s golf buddy, a candid shot of my father, Thomas, and Jackson’s father standing together near the bar, deep in conversation. The caption read, “The three musketeers planning the next venture. #familybusiness #weddingweekend.”
Family business. What family business involved Thomas?
I moved on to email. Thomas and I shared a cloud storage account for practical purposes, and he hadn’t been careful about what synced there.
Phân cảnh 24: Emails
I found emails going back 8 months between him and my father, discussing the arrangement and keeping Amanda in the dark until the time is right. Most details were frustratingly vague or conducted in phone calls I wasn’t privy to, but the pattern was clear. They had been in regular contact without my knowledge.
The most damning evidence came from Thomas’s calendar, which also synced to our shared cloud. For months, entries labeled investor meeting or client dinner corresponded exactly with texts he’d sent me about working late. But in his private notes section, the true nature of these meetings was revealed. Dinner with Richard and Stephanie. Or golf with Richard and Jackson’s dad.
As morning turned to afternoon, and then evening, I kept digging. I created a timeline on my bedroom wall using sticky notes and string like a detective in a crime show. Yellow for lies Thomas had told me, blue for family events I’d been excluded from, red for financial transactions I was beginning to uncover.
Through my father’s company website, I found press releases announcing a new partnership with Reeves Tech Solutions to develop property management software. Thomas’s startup. The timing coincided with when he’d first met my father, right after we got engaged.
Had their entire relationship been a business arrangement? The thought made me physically ill.
Phân cảnh 25: Phone Call
Around midnight, my phone rang. It was an unknown number, but I answered anyway, hoping it might be Thomas calling from a hotel.
“Amanda, it’s Brad Jenkins.”
It took me a moment to place the name. Brad had been my grandmother’s attorney before she passed away 5 years ago. I’d met him only once at the reading of her will.
“I hope I’m not calling too late,” he continued when I didn’t immediately respond. “I saw your sister’s wedding announcement in the Times, and it reminded me of something I’ve been troubled by for years.”
“What is it?” I asked, fully alert now.
“Your grandmother’s will.”
Phân cảnh 26: Brad Jenkins
“The one we executed wasn’t the one she had me prepare originally. She made changes in the final weeks of her life when she was heavily medicated. I had concerns about her capacity at that time, but your father insisted she was lucid.”
My grandmother had left everything to my father, with specific items designated for Stephanie and eventually Natalie. I had received only a small cash bequest and none of the family heirlooms or property that had been promised to me throughout my childhood.
“What was in the original will?” I asked, my heart pounding.
“She left her house in Vermont to you specifically.”
Phân cảnh 27: What was in the original will
“And the sapphire jewelry set that had come down through the maternal line. She was quite clear that those items were to go directly to you, not through your father.”
The sapphire pendant that had been around Stephanie’s neck at the wedding. The Vermont house that my father had sold almost immediately after my grandmother’s death, claiming it had been too much of a burden to maintain.
“Can you send me documentation of the original will?” I asked.
“That’s why I’m calling. I kept copies against my better judgment. I always felt something wasn’t right.”
The next morning, the documents arrived by courier. The contrast between the two wills was stark. In the original, I was a primary beneficiary alongside my father. In the revised version, I was nearly written out entirely.
Armed with this new information, I contacted a lawyer specializing in estate fraud. Then I reached out to a financial journalist who had once interviewed me for an article about freelance designers. She put me in touch with a colleague who covered real estate development and had been looking into my father’s business practices for some time.
Phân cảnh 28: Thomas finally called
For days after the wedding, Thomas finally called. I let it go to voicemail. His message was a masterpiece of deception.
“Amanda, I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch. The Chicago meetings ran long and then my phone died. I’m flying home tomorrow. Can’t wait to see you and tell you all about it. Love you.”
I texted back just four words.
I saw you there. Screenshots.
His response came minutes later.
We need to talk. It’s not what you think.
But it was exactly what I thought, and worse.
As my investigation continued, I uncovered a complex web of financial entanglements between Thomas’s startup and my father’s company. What had initially appeared to be a standard investment was actually something closer to a bribe or payoff. I found a transfer of $50,000 from my father to Thomas shortly after we began dating. Another $75,000 when we got engaged.
The startup was essentially a shell company, existing primarily on paper and funded almost entirely by my father.
Phân cảnh 29: The most devastating discovery
The most devastating discovery came a week after the wedding, when I met with Maria, my father’s former assistant, who had been let go the previous year. Over coffee in a quiet corner of a cafe, she confirmed my worst suspicions.
“Your father hired Thomas to date you,” she said, unable to meet my eyes. “It started as a way to keep tabs on you after your mother died. Richard was worried you might contest your grandmother’s will.”
“So, our entire relationship was a lie?” My voice sounded hollow, even to my own ears.
Phân cảnh 30: Our entire relationship was a lie
“At first, yes. But Thomas talked about you all the time at the office. I think he genuinely fell for you eventually.” She reached across the table to touch my hand. “That’s why I got fired. You know, I told your father it was wrong to keep manipulating you, that you deserve to know the truth.”
That night, I sent Thomas a carefully worded text.
I know everything about the money, about why you started dating me. If you want any chance of explaining your side, come home tomorrow. Otherwise, don’t bother coming back at all.
His response was immediate.
I’ll be there. There’s more to this than you know.
As I waited for the confrontation that would determine the course of my future, I gathered every piece of evidence I had collected. Emails, bank records, calendar entries, the two versions of my grandmother’s will, the wedding photos showing Thomas integrated with my family. I arranged them all in a folder labeled The Truth.
Phân cảnh 31: I had collected emails
Then I waited for the man I had loved, the man who had been paid to love me in return, to come home and face what he had done.
Have you ever felt that gut-punch moment when you realize someone close to you has been living a double life? The pieces were all falling into place for me, but I still had to confront Thomas face to face. Before I tell you about that explosive conversation, hit like if you’ve ever had your trust shattered by someone you thought you knew. And stay with me because what I discovered next changed everything about how I would get justice.
Phân cảnh 32: Thomas returned on a Wednesday afternoon
Thomas returned on a Wednesday afternoon, 6 days after the wedding. I heard his key in the lock and steeled myself for the confrontation I had been rehearsing in my mind. He entered cautiously, setting his suitcase by the door, as if unsure whether he would be staying. He looked tired, his usually perfect hair disheveled, his expression wary.
“Amanda,” he began, taking a step toward me.
I held up my hand to stop him. “Don’t come any closer.”
We stood in silence for a long moment, 3 years of what I thought was love hanging in the balance between us.
“I can explain,” he finally said.
“Please do.” My voice was steadier than I expected. “Explain why you were at Natalie’s wedding when you told me you were in Chicago. Explain why you’ve been meeting with my father behind my back for months.”
Phân cảnh 33: It started as a business arrangement
“Explain the $50,000 he transferred to your account 3 years ago, right around the time we mysteriously met through mutual friends.”
His face paled. “You’ve been investigating me?”
“If you saw your fiancé at a wedding he claimed he couldn’t attend, sitting comfortably with a family that excluded you—”
Thomas sank onto the couch, rubbing his hands over his face.
“It started as a business arrangement,” he admitted. “Your father approached me through a contact at my previous job. He said he needed someone to keep an eye on you after your mother died. He was worried about potential legal challenges to your grandmother’s estate.”
“So, you were hired to date me?” The words tasted bitter in my mouth.
“Initially, yes.” He looked up at me, his eyes pleading. “But, Amanda, I fell in love with you for real. After the first few months, it wasn’t an act anymore.”
Phân cảnh 34: You were hired to date me
“Is that why you kept meeting with my father? Why you kept lying about where you were going? Because it wasn’t an act?”
“I got trapped in the situation. I tried to back out of the arrangement once I realized my feelings for you were genuine, but your father threatened to pull funding from my startup. Everything I’ve built would have collapsed.”
“Your startup that’s actually just a shell company funded entirely by my father.” I raised an eyebrow. “The one that doesn’t actually have any real clients or products.”
Thomas flinched. “We’re developing real software. The funding arrangement is complicated, but the business is legitimate.”
Phân cảnh 35: Your father insisted
“Is that why you needed to be at Natalie’s wedding for business?”
“Your father insisted. He said it would look suspicious if his future son-in-law wasn’t there.”
“But not suspicious that his actual daughter wasn’t invited.” I laughed bitterly. “And what about our engagement? Was that part of the business arrangement, too?”
“No.” Thomas stood up, taking a step toward me. “I proposed because I love you. Your father was actually against it. He thought it would complicate things.”
“Complicate what things exactly?”
Before Thomas could answer, my phone rang. My father’s name flashed on the screen. I showed it to Thomas, whose expression shifted from pleading to resigned.
“He’s probably calling to do damage control,” Thomas said. “He knows I’m here.”
I put the phone on speaker.
“Hello, Dad.”
Phân cảnh 36: I put the phone on speaker
“Amanda,” my father’s voice was tight with controlled anger. “I understand Thomas is with you.”
“Yes, we’re having a fascinating conversation about how you hired my fiancé to spy on me. Would you like to join us and add your perspective?”
There was a pause.
“This isn’t a topic for a phone call. We should meet in person.”
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