Heiress' Househusband is a Secret Billionaire - Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Her Broken Dreams For a Beautiful Wedding
The aftermath of Matthias’ shocking revelation left the wedding in a mess. The guests blankly stared at one another, unsure of what to do until a voice resounded from the speaker.

Declan stood near the altar, holding a microphone.

“As the Elsher family’s representative, I apologize for showing such a scene to all of you.”

Declan paused, letting the confused guests register his words. Feeling a lump in his throat, he forced himself to resume, holding up his cracked composure.

“The ceremony won’t be happening but, please make your way to the reception hall. The meals will still be served as scheduled.”

Declan regrettably made the announcement, stepping up for Jonathan because his father was too upset to face the guests.

Stephanie had run off, most likely heading to the dressing room. Samantha, Fridah and the others followed suit.

The bouquet lay cold and forgotten on the altar, the place where Stephanie and Matthias should exchange their vows earlier.

“Once again, I apologize on behalf of my family.”

Putting the microphone away, Declan dragged himself away from the altar. Rafael and Celina approached him, both wearing conflicted looks on their faces.

“What the hell happened?” Rafael cursed under his breath. Raising one hand, he raked his fingers through his hair, “This… how could this happen? Phanie… she really cheated on Matthias?”

“We should investigate further,” was what Declan said before exhaling a long sigh. Looking from Rafael to Celina, he said, “We should go to where Phanie is. Eric… how is he?”

Alaric stormed off after Declan and Rafael stopped him from beating Leon to a pulp. No one knew where he went but, Leon still stayed in the hall despite the scrutiny.

The Silveras, especially Mrs. Silvera, were extremely and rightfully enraged. They demanded answers and accountability from the Elshers before rushing out to leave.

Matthias had already long gone after announcing the wedding would go on only if Leon filled his place.

“Don’t bother with him,” Rafael shook his head, feeling a headache threatening, “Let’s go to Phanie.”

Celina simply nodded, agreeing with Rafael. The most important thing to handle now was Stephanie and Leon’s affair, not Alaric’s outburst.

“Fine… Let’s go.”

Declan, Celina and Rafael spun on their heels, heading to the side door connecting to the hallway to the bride’s dressing room. They could only think of that place because it was the nearest to this hall.

The guests slowly left the hall, still engrossed in the shocking and humiliating scene they just watched. They exchanged hushed whispers, fueling the speculations about the affair further.

“That’s…”

Declan paused, leading Celina and Rafael to do the same. Ahead of them, they saw Lariette and Ruediger escorting Chairman Delaney down the hallway.

“They’re heading there too, I guess,” Rafael muttered, verbalizing what was also in Declan and Celina’s minds.

Lariette and Ruediger immediately checked on Chairman Delaney after Stephanie ran out of the hall, followed by Samantha, Jonathan and the others. The elderly man’s devastated look broke their hearts.

After telling Madeline that she should return to the villa first, Lariette and Ruediger escorted Chairman Delaney. The elderly man wanted to look for Stephanie.

An urgent meeting immediately took place.

By the time Lariette, Ruediger and Chairman Delaney reached the dressing room, most of the Elsher family and relatives were inside. They also noticed Declan, Celina and Rafael behind.

The spacious room was adorned elaborately with flowers and all, also bright with the exquisite lighting yet, the ambiance was darkened by the thick tension.

The people stood in clusters, their faces expressing their fury and disbelief. The air buzzed with a cacophony of angry voices and sharp accusations.

“How could she do this? Disgracing our family name!”

One Elsher family elder exclaimed, his gruff voice trembling with indignation. Many heads nodded quickly, singing to the same tune.

“I think the news already reached the city,” another person, a middle-aged lady, complained, “It won’t be long before everyone knows about this.”

“What should we do? We can’t let this go on. It’s too…”

Thud!

The tapping of the cane silenced everyone. All eyes warily looked in the direction of the door, seeing the elderly Chairman Delaney being accompanied by Lariette and Ruediger. They also saw Declan, Celina and Rafael.

“…Chairman Delaney.”

Chairman Delaney was only linked to the Elsher family because of Samantha but, everyone both respected and feared him. Despite his advanced age, his aura was still as imposing as ever.

“Where’s Phanie?” asked Chairman Delaney, his voice tingeing with exhaustion. His eyes slowly swept across the room.

“In there,” answered one of the relatives, pointing in a direction, “Samantha’s there. Jonathan’s outside. He said… he needs to make some calls.”

Chairman Delaney, Lariette and Ruediger looked at where the person gestured at. Their eyes landed on the inner room across the dressing chamber.

Stephanie’s muffled cries and frantic sobs escaped through the tiny gap. Samantha was outside, begging her to open the door.

Fridah, Amber and the rest of the bridesmaids stayed close by. None of them said anything as the chaos was still muddled in their heads.

“There’s nothing else we can do aside from marrying them!” one of the aunts declared loudly, her eyes blazing with fury, “Stephanie must marry Leon!”

A chorus of agreement came from the others. All of them could only think of the solution.

“NO! Over my dead body!”

Samantha screamed, her whole face streaked with tears. She angrily looked at the relatives being busybodies in the dressing room.

“You’re still trying to defend her? Samantha! That fake daughter of yours has disgraced our family name! She has to pay for her wrongdoings!”

“True! True!”

“Who told her to cheat on Matthias? Now our family name is at stake!”

More and more people showed their approval. None of them remembered they were previously silenced by Chairman Delaney.

Frowning, Lariette glanced at her grandfather, sensing his disappointment only growing deeper. Gently squeezing his arm, she asked quietly, “Do you still wanna be here, Grandpa?”

Lariette didn’t bother herself with the situation. She was simply worried about Chairman Delaney who undoubtedly was affected by the humiliating incident caused by Stephanie’s infidelity.

“I should,” Chairman Delaney exhaled a sigh. Placing his other hand on Lariette’s arm, he reassured her, “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry much, Lari.”

Lariette nodded. She led Chairman Delaney to sit at one of the vacant plush chairs. Ruediger quietly followed from behind. A few of the relatives stole glances at the man.

“Stephanie must marry Leon! That’s the only way we can salvage this!”

“You dare! My daughter did nothing wrong! He tricked her!”

“Are you saying a grown-up woman like her was tricked into the affair? It’s clear she’s a willing party!”

The relatives were still arguing with Samantha while Declan and Rafael tried to dissuade the verbal fight before things went out of control.

“ARGHHH! Stop it!”

The sudden scream caught everyone off guard. All eyes immediately looked in the direction of the voice, finding Stephanie showing herself at the door of the inner room.

Her face was smeared by the make-up due to her crying. Stephanie’s expression was a mix of defiance and desperation, still in denial of her broken dreams for a beautiful wedding.

“P-Phanie! Don’t listen to them!”

Samantha rushed to Stephanie, bringing the lady into her embrace. The jilted bride stared darkly at everyone in the room, her eyes locking on the figure in the navy blue dress.

“LARIETTE! This is all your fault!”

Stunned, Lariette stared blankly at Stephanie who was pointing a finger at her.

The heck? She was the one at fault?

Had this lass gone crazy?