Still holding my arm, James quickly tried to explain, “Oh, her? She’s the one I told you about… Natalie Clark, the one who’s been taking care of my mom…”
Before he could finish, I raised my hand and slapped him hard, twice.
The sharp sound of my hand hitting his face left everyone in the room stunned.
His head snapped to the side from the impact.
Before I could say anything, James straightened up and spat blood onto the floor. Then, trying to take control of the situation, he barked, “Natalie, don’t get out of line. Today is my wedding day with Quilla.”
I yanked my arm free from his grip, turned to the bride, and said, “I married him two years ago. What you’re doing is illegal. This is bigamy.”
The bride let out a shrill scream and turned to James, shouting, “James, you better have a damn good explanation for this!”
James obediently ran over to comfort the bride, and the way he handled it, you could tell he’d been doing this for a while. He knew exactly what he was doing.
Prepared for this moment, he returned holding a red marriage certificate. “I never married her,” he said, pointing at me. “She’s just making it up.”