He Let Them Humiliate Me at Our Wedding,So I Flew In My Private Jet

Sean Dickerson and I went back to his hometown for the wedding.

The ceremony hadn't even started when his so-called gal pal Rebecca Pruitt came sauntering over with a plate of cake, grinning ear to ear, and smashed it straight into my face.

A glass of red wine followed, poured right over my head. My wedding dress was soaked through with something sticky and foul.

I shoved her away, barely keeping my anger in check. "There's a time and place for jokes, and this isn't it!"

Rebecca staggered back with exaggerated flair, dropping to the ground.

"Ellie, wedding pranks are tradition here! I just wanted to wish you a lively, happy marriage. Why'd you shove me so hard?"

Sean's face went dark on the spot.

He rushed over to help Rebecca up, then shot a look at his buddies.

Three or four of them closed in on me immediately, grabbing at the hem of my wedding dress and ripping downward. A whole panel of lining tore free.

The crowd roared with laughter. Phone cameras were everywhere.

I clutched the torn fabric and screamed at him. "Sean, if you don't make them stop right now, this wedding is off!"

"Off?"

Sean let out a cold laugh. "You're an out-of-towner with no car. This is my home turf. Where exactly do you think you're going?"

I said nothing. I pulled my phone from my clutch.

"Mr. Finch, file the flight plan. One hour, tops. I want my private jet touching down on that lawn."

Sean froze for two seconds, then burst out laughing.

"How much did you pay some actor to pick up that call?"

He looked at me sideways. "Next month you'll be back in that rental of yours eating instant noodles, won't you?"

His crew howled even louder, doubled over, faces red from holding in their laughter.

Rebecca draped herself over Sean's shoulder, tilting her head to study me.

"See, this is what I always say. I just get along better with guys. Girls like Ellie here are too calculating. She'd rather make up a lie like that than lose face."

Sean patted the back of her hand, then lifted his chin at me. "Hear that? That's what a real friend sounds like. Becca would never pull stunts like this on me. Some people just can't stop pretending."

"Becca put a lot of work into today's wedding. Whatever comes next, she's calling the shots."

"Let the party continue!"

Before I could steady myself, a whole plate of jam was slapped onto my hair. Thick red goo oozed down my neck.

Two bridesmaids pinned my arms from either side while someone else scrawled across my face with a marker.

Someone flipped up my skirt, exposing my safety shorts underneath, and the crowd went wild.

I tried to break free, but Sean grabbed the back of my neck and squeezed, leaning in close enough for me to feel his breath against my ear.

"Every relative and friend we have is watching. If you embarrass me today, I will never live it down in this town, and I will make sure you don't either."

My whole body was shaking. Not from fear. From the bone-deep cold of realizing what he was.

Rebecca waved a hand from the sidelines, her voice carrying. "Oh come on, Sean, don't be so hard on Ellie. She's probably just not great at fitting in. I'm sure she didn't mean to cause a scene."

"You guys should be the bigger person, you know? Cut the girl some slack."

That did it. The guests started whispering among themselves.

"This bride is so dramatic. Can't even handle a little fun."

"Right? Acting all high and mighty."

"Did you see when her dress got ripped? Not bad underneath, though."

"Tsk, tsk. Imagine being married to that temper."

Sean heard every word. The corner of his mouth curled upward, like their mockery was sunlight on his face.

I looked at that expression, and for the first time, the man standing in front of me felt like a complete stranger.

Five years ago, I started dating Sean.

He was a poor kid from the mountains who had to save for two weeks just to take me out for a decent meal.

To keep him from feeling the pressure, I hid the fact that I was the sole heiress of the Gilbert Group. I rented a tiny apartment, rode the bus, and sat with him at street-side food carts.

It wasn't until the talk of marriage began, until I entered his circle of friends and met Rebecca, that the feeling crept in slowly.

This relationship had been one-sided from the very start.

My plan had been simple: after the wedding, if he was willing to keep his distance from Rebecca, I'd come clean about everything. Then I'd ask my father to set him up with a position at the company, give him a real chance to grow.

Now I could see I'd been blind.

I wrenched free of the hands pinning my shoulders, spun around, grabbed Rebecca's collar with both fists, and ripped it apart.

The fabric tore instantly.

Two buttons popped off her blouse, exposing the camisole underneath.

I stared at the terror on Rebecca's face and curled my lips into a smile. "You wanted things lively, right? I hope every single day of your life is just as lively."

Rebecca shrieked and lunged for my face, nails first. I threw up an arm to block her, snatched the cake tray off the table, and swung it wildly. Nobody dared come closer.

"This wedding is OFF!"

I turned to leave.

A rush of air behind me, and Sean's palm cracked across my face.

The force knocked me sideways. My vision went black in waves.

Through the dizziness, images flickered past like broken film.

Three years ago, Sean had racked up gambling debts. The collectors showed up at our rental, pounding the door until the frame shook. He hid in the bathroom, too scared to make a sound.

I was the one who stood in the doorway. They slapped me across the face over a dozen times before I finally got them to leave.

When he came out, his eyes were red. He dropped to his knees and swore he'd spend the rest of his life making it up to me, swore he'd kill himself trying to treat me right.

And for a long time after that, he did.

He woke up early every morning to make me porridge. Even when he worked late, he'd rush home just so we could share a meal together.

But now, over wedding hazing, he'd struck me across the face.

A searing pain tore through my right ear. Something warm and wet trickled down the ear canal.

My eardrums had always been thin. The doctor had warned me that another hard impact could rupture them.

I reached up and touched my ear. My fingertips came away slick with blood.

Sean pointed a finger at my face.

"Didn't I warn you? Today you do everything Becca says. You had to go and humiliate me in front of all these people?"

Several pairs of hands seized my shoulders and shoved me toward the bench at the edge of the lawn.

Someone's hand slid along my waist. Another reached around from behind and squeezed the inside of my thigh.

I struggled to stand, but a kick caught the side of my knee and I crumpled to the ground.

One of the groomsmen crouched in front of me with a grin, holding his phone inches from my face, recording a close-up.

I turned my head to dodge it. A hand clamped the back of my skull and held me still.

Rebecca finally looked satisfied. She stood off to the side, arms crossed. "See? That's how it's done. It's not a party without a little chaos."

She glanced down at me, then added, "Honestly, Ellie, you brought this on yourself. A little roughhousing is one thing, but you actually hit someone? You ripped my shirt. This wasn't cheap, you know."

Sean walked over and draped his arm around her shoulders. His voice turned so gentle he sounded like a different person. "Come on. I'll take you out back to change."

Rebecca shook her head, the corner of her mouth curling upward. "No need to go through all that trouble. Doesn't Ellie have a backup wedding gown?"

"I'll just wear that. It's not like I think of wedding dresses as anything special. It's just a piece of clothing. What's the harm in me putting it on?"

"Absolutely not!"

I grabbed the edge of the bench and hauled myself to my feet. Blood was still seeping from my ear.

"Nobody touches that dress."

Everyone knew what a wedding gown meant to a bride. I'd spent over a month overseeing every stitch, working with a master seamstress, having it handcrafted to my exact specifications.

The lace pattern along the hem was a design I'd drawn myself.

Something shifted in Sean's expression. A flicker, like a memory surfacing. His gaze went slightly hollow.

Rebecca read the room perfectly. She patted Sean on the shoulder. "Come on, babe, don't be so formal. Ellie might not think of me as a sister, but I've always treated her like family."

"It's just a white dress. I'm not picky about that stuff. It's not like I'm going to ruin it."

She tilted her head and smiled at me. "You're not that petty, are you, Ellie?"

Whatever hesitation Sean had vanished in an instant. He let go of Rebecca's shoulder and jerked his chin at one of the bridesmaids. "Go get the dress."

I stared him down. "Sean, don't you dare."

He didn't look at me. His voice was low but absolute. "Rebecca put in more work for this wedding than anyone. Letting her try on a dress isn't going to kill you. She'll give it back."

The bridesmaid came running back with the gown. I lunged for it.

Before my fingers even grazed the fabric, two men shoved me aside. I stumbled and slammed into the corner of a table, pain shooting through my lower back until my legs went numb.

Rebecca took the gown and slipped it on right there in front of everyone. She smoothed the skirt, did a little spin, and smiled with her eyes curved into crescents.

The pose. The look in her eyes. Anyone walking in off the street would have thought she was the one marrying Sean today.

Someone in the crowd started whistling.

Sean didn't step away. He even let his gaze drift down over the dress on her body, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward.

I stood there watching the two of them side by side, and suddenly I wanted to laugh.

The dress was mine. The wedding was mine. The groom was mine.

But in that moment, I was the outsider.

I fixed my eyes on Sean. My voice had gone raw. "Do you even remember whose wedding this is?"

Rebecca's smile disappeared. She lowered her head and fiddled with the hem of the gown, her voice barely above a whisper. "Ellie, I'm just not great at getting along with other girls. Do you really hate me that much? If I did something wrong, just tell me, okay? Please don't be like this."

Her eyes turned red as she spoke.

Sean whipped around and glared at me, his voice loud enough to carry across the entire yard. "Are you done? Rebecca's been helping out of the goodness of her heart and you've been throwing a fit since the start! What do you want?"

I pointed at the gown on Rebecca's body. My finger was shaking. "She ruined my wedding!"

"Ruined your wedding?" Sean let out a cold laugh and stepped closer.

"Let me tell you something. This is how we do things here. The rougher the hazing, the better the marriage. You're a city girl. Is that it? Deep down you think you're better than us? Better than me?"

He was on a roll now. He turned to the guests, arms spread wide, voice climbing higher. "Everybody, take a good look! This is the city wife I found! Can't even handle a little wedding fun, and she says she loves me?"

People started jeering.

Rebecca tugged lightly on his sleeve and murmured something. Sean patted her hand, his voice so gentle it was unrecognizable. "It's okay. I'll handle it."

Then he turned back to me. His eyes went cold. A faint, unreadable smugness hung at the corner of his mouth.

"Since you won't show any respect, don't blame me for what comes next."

He cocked his head toward the men beside him.

I had barely taken half a step back when a deep, heavy roar rolled in from overhead.

Every head turned skyward at once.

A silver-white private jet was descending through the clouds, the emblem on its fuselage blazing under the sun.