Chapter 416
“I have no idea.”
“Of course you don’t—just like you, clueless as ever.”
Simms had already left, and Yulia was sobbing uncontrollably. Turning away, she couldn’t bring herself to step back inside.
Violet stood frozen for a split second before raising her voice, “Security! Get these two country bumpkins out of here. They must have the wrong person. How could you let anyone just wander in?”
As she finished, Violet shot a panicked look at McNeil and rushed to explain.
“McNeil, listen to me, I’m not ”
“Oh, Violet,” her mother interrupted, her tone sharp and wounded, “have some conscience. We worked ourselves to the bone to raise you, brought you all the way to Starfall City. On such an important day, we came all this way, and now you’re ashamed of your parents just because we’re from the countryside?”
Violet’s mother suddenly collapsed onto the floor, wailing and beating her fists on the ground.
“Everyone, look at this! Judge for yourselves-this is the ungrateful daughter we cherished and raised. Now she’s marrying into money, she won’t even acknowledge us!”
Security guards hurried over as Violet’s father started shouting, accusing her of being heartless. As the staff tried to usher the couple away, they only clung tighter to the chaos, turning the wedding into a full-blown scene. Guests whispered and exchanged glances, some staring, others quietly gossiping. The reporters, sensing a scandal, snapped photos of Violet and her “parents” nonstop.
“What are you all standing around for? Get them out of here!” Violet screamed, her composure unraveling as tears spilled down her cheeks.
McNeil’s gaze grew colder by the second; he watched Violet in silence before turning to the couple. “They’re guests. Take them to the family seating area.”
But the couple didn’t appreciate the gesture. Violet’s father grabbed her arm and spat, “Who cares if you’re marrying into money? I’m her real father, and I don’t approve of this marriage. You’re coming home with me and your mother right now.”
“That’s right!” her mother cried, clinging to Violet’s other arm. “Just because you’re marrying city folk doesn’t mean you can forget where you came from. You’re our daughter—this wedding’s off. Come with your mother.”
Violet finally snapped. She tore herself free, her face dark with anger, and glared at them.
“You’re not my real parents. My marriage has nothing to do with you. I’ve already paid you everything I owe for all these years. Leave now, or I’m calling the police.”
Her desperation was plain. Glancing at the family seats, Violet saw that Simms and Yulia were gone they must’ve left, furious. The sight of the couple in front of her only made her angrier.
“How dare you say that, you ungrateful child!” the woman shrieked. “Maybe we’re not your birth parents, but we raised you! Even if you’re telling the truth, we still took care of you. Your real parents must be here among the guests—let them come over and pay us some respect, that’s not too much to ask, is it?
After all, we fed and clothed you, I nursed you as a baby-and now that you’ve made it big, you’re just going to deny us? Tell me, everyone: are we really in the wrong here?”
But the guests just watched in awkward silence, treating Violet’s family drama as little more than a spectacle.
“Well, would you look at the Langford family—what a circus,” someone muttered under their breath. “A secret wife, a messy divorce, a child left behind, and now at the second wedding, nobody even knows where the bride came from. What a show.”
“Who can say?” another replied. “Scandals like this happen all the time. Looks like the Langfords have finally met their match.”
Violet clutched McNeil’s hand, her voice trembling. “McNeil, please, make them leave. I swear I don’t know who brought them here. You have to believe me- they’re not my real parents. You know my birth parents; it’s Simms and Yulia.”