A low growl rumbled through the line, that same protective anger that made me believe him when he said he’d save me. “Stay right where you are. I’ll be there soon, baby. You hear me? You’re not going to spend one more night in that hellhole.”
A tear slipped down my cheek. I didn’t bother to wipe it away. “I’m ready to leave.”
Third person’s pov
Back at the grand ballroom, the celebration that was supposed to showcase perfection was already teetering on chaos.
Guests milled around awkwardly beneath the glittering chandeliers. The tables were half-empty, no servers in sight, and the main buffet remained sealed shut in the catering trucks that never arrived. No music drifted through the hall.
Lauren’s mother was the first to snap. Her sharp voice cut through the crowd like a whip as she rounded on Xander, who was standing near the bar, checking his phone for the third time in five minutes.
“Where is she?!” her mother hissed. “Where is that useless girl? She’s the one who was supposed to handle all this, the catering, the band! I want her here now.”