Made to Bark, I Married Another; They Regretted It

At the door to fetch the bride, my fiance's ex-boyfriend blocked the way, his whole face a dare.

Want to take the bride away? First get on the ground and bark like a dog ninety-nine times. It'll show that after the wedding you'll obey her like a dog, absolutely.

The absurdity of it hit me. Who ever heard of an ex barricading the door at a wedding?

Then the man spread his legs apart.

"Then crawl through between my legs, like a dog. Otherwise your heart isn't sincere."

The crowd erupted at once, everyone urging me to hurry up and drop down and crawl through.

I clenched my fists and gave my fiance one last chance.

"Amelia Fox, either you come out yourself, or I find another bride."

Her impatient voice came from behind the door.

"Cecil once promised he'd do all this when he married me. You can't even measure up to him, which just proves you don't love me at all."

I laughed, furious. A love this twisted, I wouldn't dare want.

I turned on my heel and walked off, and sent my ex a message.

"Grand Hyatt, five o'clock. Missing a bride. You in?"

An ex, after all. I had one of those too.

The moment I reached the door of the wedding suite, a strange man suddenly stepped across and blocked the way.

I was still puzzled.

When Mavis Sullivan, Amelia's best friend, tipped her nose up and made the introduction.

"This is Amelia's ex, Cecil Gilbert. Just back from studying at Harvard."

"He heard you two were getting married, so he came all this way to vet things for her."

A ball of rage flared up in me at once.

Letting the ex attend the wedding was one thing. Now they'd sent him to block the door too, plainly to embarrass me, to grind my face into the ground.

I was about to lose it.

When Cecil looked at me, provoking.

"What, is Mr. Henson unhappy?"

"A real man, so small-minded he can't even stand his girl's ex? No vision at all."

I clenched my fists hard, wanting to turn on him right there.

But then I thought of my mother, still waiting to attend my wedding, and I forced the anger down.

"However much you want for a red envelope, I'll pay."

Fetching the bride was just about tossing out a little cash for fun.

As long as I could take Amelia away without a hitch and get the wedding done, I could swallow this much for now.

Cecil let out a sneer, as if he'd heard some tremendous joke.

He glanced at me with contempt, then put on a look of deep, tender feeling.

"A wedding is about a sincere heart, not about money."

"If you want to marry Amelia, you have to prove you love her enough."

A flicker of curiosity rose in me.

"Prove it how?"

"Back when Amelia and I were together, I promised that after we married, I'd be loyal to her like a dog, absolutely."

"If you can do that, then this door, I'll let you through today."

Physical nausea shot straight up my throat, and I couldn't hold back the jab.

"You could be a decent man, but you'd rather kneel and be a dog. And you're proud of it?"

Cecil's face darkened all at once, his eyes brimming with venom.

"Who are you playing noble for? Amelia's young and beautiful, and she runs a company."

"The men who'd want to be her dog, you could line them up all the way to France!"

His voice climbed several notches.

"Bark ninety-nine times right now, and it proves that after the wedding you'll be obedient like a dog, that you'll obey Amelia absolutely!"

The scene broke into uproar in an instant, Mavis egging me on from the side without stopping.

"Lawrence Henson, hurry up. Aren't you always saying how much you love Amelia? How is it you won't even do this little thing?"

Every one of my brothers had rage on his face, fists clenched, plainly ready to throw down.

My teeth ground until they clicked, yet I still threw out an arm and held them all back.

But it wasn't over. Cecil suddenly spread his legs again, his eyes full of mockery.

"Right. Barking like a dog isn't enough. Crawl through between my legs, that's what counts as sincere."

"Otherwise, forget about taking Amelia anywhere today."

The laughter burst open in a wave, a dense wall of jeering pressing in on me until I couldn't breathe.

I fixed my eyes on the door of the wedding suite.

I knew this. Without Amelia's tacit consent, no ex would ever dare trample me like this at my own wedding.

But my mother went in for heart surgery tomorrow, and her greatest wish was to see me married.

That was why I'd rushed to hold the wedding today, to lift her spirits and raise the odds the surgery would succeed.

One last chance for Amelia. I shouted toward the suite.

"Amelia Fox, either you come out now and leave with me, or I go find another bride, plain and simple."

The whole place went quiet in a heartbeat, and a flash of secret glee shot across Cecil's eyes.

Amelia's impatient accusation came through the door.

"Lawrence Henson, what's that supposed to mean? You dare threaten me?"

"Cecil was willing to do all this for me back then. You can't even measure up to him, which means you don't love me at all."

"If you don't do it today, the wedding's off, just like that!"

I laughed from sheer fury, and the last thread of feeling in my heart vanished for good.

A love this twisted, this groveling, was beyond my reach, and I never wanted it.

"Fine. You won't be my bride, then I'll find someone else."

Without a second's hesitation I turned and walked, pulling out my phone and sending my ex a message.

"Grand Hyatt, five o'clock. The wedding's missing a bride. You in?"

The reply came fast.

"Okay. I'll be there at five, on the dot."

I let out a long breath. At least someone was willing to play along with me.

Otherwise I was genuinely afraid the shock would send my mother into a heart attack right there.

The door to the bridal suite flew open, and Amelia's voice cut through the air.

"Lawrence Henson, you stop right there!"

I didn't slow down. She was furious enough to throw out the threat on the spot.

"If you take one step out of here, don't ever expect me to speak to you again. We're finished, for good!"

My steps paused. I turned my head and let out a cold laugh.

"Now you come out to stop me. Too late."

"Playing games at the door, I get it. It's supposed to be fun, festive."

"But barking like a dog, crawling between someone's legs, that kind of thing that grinds your dignity into the floor? I'll never accept it."

There wasn't a trace of guilt on Amelia's face. Only mockery.

"Lawrence, drop the noble act."

"If this wedding falls apart today and your mother has a heart attack, you'll carry every bit of it yourself!"

My pupils shrank. I stared at her, unable to believe it.

And finally I saw exactly what she was thinking.

So this had been her plan all along, to use my mother's illness while she was gravely ill, to trample me, to keep me under her thumb.

A strange relief rose in me. Thank God I'd seen her true face in time and pulled myself out before it was too late.

Looking at that vicious, selfish expression, I gave a faint smile.

"Don't worry. My mother's health is none of your concern."

Then I turned and walked out.

In the car, my ex sent another message.

"I've already contacted the top cardiac specialist in the country. He's heading to your mother's side right now, and he'll stay with her the whole time."

It caught me off guard. It was only a favor, an act, and yet she'd thought it through.

I sent back a single line.

"Okay. Thank you."

When I reached the Grand Hyatt and stepped out of the car, I saw my mother standing at the hotel entrance, watching for me, her face full of hope and worry.

When she saw me get out alone, the smile froze on her face. She hurried forward and grabbed my hand.

"Lawrence, where's Amelia? Why did you come back by yourself?"

The guys behind me all looked like they'd swallowed something they couldn't get down.

Looking at my mother's pale, frail face, I didn't know how to say it either.

I could hardly tell her that Amelia had teamed up with her ex to humiliate me in front of everyone, forcing me to bark like a dog and crawl between his legs, could I?

All I could do was fudge my way past it.

"Mom, something came up at Amelia's company that she had to handle. She got held up for a bit. I came ahead to greet the guests, and she'll be here later."

My mother gave my arm a little pinch, scolding me gently.

"You. You should know to help her more. Making a young woman run around handling everything herself."

I grinned sheepishly and nodded, not daring to argue.

The guests around us kept coming up to offer congratulations.

"You're a lucky woman, ma'am. A daughter-in-law who's president of a big company. Nothing but easy days ahead for you!"

"That's right, a talented man and a beautiful woman. A perfect match!"

My mother listened with her whole face softening, even a little color coming back to her cheeks.

I stood off to the side and didn't dare say a word.

All I could do was pray silently that my ex would arrive on time.

Then a commotion broke out at the hotel entrance.

"The bride's here!"

I froze. It was only four. Had my ex arrived early?

I turned to look, and it was Amelia.

My mother's face broke into an instant smile, and she hurried over.

"You're here, Amelia. Lawrence told me something came up at your company. I thought you'd be late. I didn't expect you so soon."

Mavis climbed out right behind Amelia and stepped forward, planting herself between my mother and Amelia, that smile of hers cold and empty.

"Don't let Lawrence fool you, ma'am."

"It wasn't Amelia who got held up. It was Lawrence throwing a tantrum, refusing to play the bride-fetching games."

"He left Amelia at home all alone and just ran off here by himself!"

The whole scene went silent in an instant, every guest's eyes swinging to me, curious and probing.

The smile stiffened on my mother's face. She reached up and grabbed my ear, furious and frantic.

"What is wrong with you? The wedding games are just for luck and fun."

"Everyone else can go along with it. Why can't you play along too? Do you have to make such an ugly scene?"

The pain had me pleading for mercy, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her what their little game actually was.

If I said it, she would only be angrier, and more hurt.

The Fox parents came off the car with dark faces, and their first words were nothing but accusation.

"Lawrence, we really misjudged you."

"We only asked you to bark a few times. It's nothing. Do you have to blow it up like this and humiliate Amelia in front of everyone?"

I let out a bitter laugh. To them, grinding a person's dignity into the ground was a trifle not even worth mentioning?

My mother let go of my ear at once, staring at Amelia in disbelief.

"Amelia, you actually made Lawrence bark like a dog?"

Amelia's face turned awkward, and Cecil gave a cold snort.

"Amelia's the president. Lawrence is just a hired hand on three thousand a month, a kept man."

"A few barks and he gets to marry Amelia, climb a whole class up. A deal that sweet, why wouldn't he take it?"

I stared at Amelia in disbelief.

"Amelia, this is the story you've been telling about me?"

Back when the Fox family was on the edge of bankruptcy, I put in the core technology I'd spent years developing, for a forty-nine percent stake.

I ran the business with Amelia day and night, drank myself sick at every dinner meeting, and pulled the Fox family back from the cliff's edge.

Without me, there would be no thriving Fox Group today, and no glorious president's chair for Amelia.

As for the three thousand a month, that was Amelia's idea. She said the company needed capital to expand.

So all my dividends went straight back into keeping the company running, and I kept only a small base salary for everyday expenses.

For our future, I gave everything I had, held nothing back.

But it never once crossed my mind that everything I'd given would end up as material she used to belittle me to the world.

Amelia's eyes flickered away, then she lifted her head and threw it all back on me without a shred of shame.

"Lawrence, don't think that just because you stood by me when the company was struggling, you can put on airs and talk back to me at every turn."

"At work you fight me on everything, you never fall in line with my decisions."

"So today I'm using the wedding to smooth out that temper of yours, to teach you to behave and listen. What's wrong with that?"

It all came clear to me. No wonder she was so set on humiliating me at the wedding.

She'd been sitting on this resentment for a long time, because I held my ground at the company and refused to blindly follow her calls.

When we'd talked about the wedding, she'd told me to sign over every share I held to her.

At the time I thought she just wanted to feel secure.

Only now did I understand. She meant to use the wedding to strip away every last chip I had.

To leave me with nothing, to reduce me to something dependent on her, hers to control.

But buried in that share transfer contract was one crucial clause.

The transfer would only take effect once the wedding was successfully held.

This wedding, I wasn't going to have it.

Everything she'd so carefully schemed for would come to nothing.

Cecil spoke like he was granting a favor.

"The wedding's about to start. There's no time for ninety-nine barks."

"Just bark three times now, the wedding goes ahead as planned, and you can bark out the rest slowly on the wedding night."

A roar of laughter went up all around.

"Ha, barking on the wedding night. Now that's something."

"He's living off a woman anyway, what face has he got left to worry about? Just bark already."

I was so furious my eyes nearly split. I was about to tell them to dream on.

But my mother's face went suddenly bloodless, and her body crumpled softly to the ground.

I gathered my mother up and rushed for the car.

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Even Amelia looked shaken, frozen where she stood, not knowing what to do with her hands.

"I really didn't think it would come to this. I didn't mean for it"

But Cecil only sneered and stepped in front of me, blocking my way.

"Enough, Lawrence. Drop the act."

"I looked into it a long time ago. Your mother doesn't have a heart condition at all."

"First you used your mom's fake heart condition to guilt Amelia into marrying you, and now, just to get out of barking, you're using your own mother as a prop."

"Faking an old woman's illness for sympathy. You even call yourself a man?"

Mavis jumped in right behind him.

"Kept men are the schemers, aren't they. For that pathetic scrap of pride, he'll even use his own mother. Truly an eye-opener!"

I was shaking with rage.

My eyes were bloodshot, fixed on Amelia.

"Amelia, get your lapdog out of my way, now!"

"My mother wore herself down working through the nights to support us when she was young, and it left her with a heart condition. It's all there in her medical records, clear as day."

"If you don't believe me, call the hospital right now and ask!"

But there was nothing in Amelia's eyes except contempt.

"Ask them what. Cecil would never lie to me."

"Lawrence, I'll give you one more chance. Bark once, and this ends right here. I'll marry you."

Using my mother's life to force me to throw away my dignity?

It was driving me out of my mind.

"Marry my ass. Amelia, if anything happens to my mother, I will never let you off!"

It was the first time I'd ever been that vicious.

Amelia flinched back half a step, then her eyes went red with fury.

"Fine. Lawrence, you're really something. After everything, you still have the nerve to snarl at me."

She flung out a hand, and the Fox parents charged forward with their bodyguards, faces black as thunder.

"You've got some nerve! A kept man, and you dare raise your voice at Amelia?"

"Hold him down for me. Let's see if he still refuses to bow today!"

Several bodyguards in black moved in at once, trying to pin me.

My chest felt like it would burst.

Back when I helped the Fox family claw their way back up, these two called me their good son-in-law with every other breath, drowning in gratitude.

Now that they'd made it, they turned on me like I was a stranger.

And to humiliate me, they would even stop me from saving my own mother.

I fought them with everything I had, and just as I was about to signal my brothers and let it all break loose, a steady voice cut in.

"Move. I'm a cardiologist. Let me see the patient."

The crowd shifted aside, and a calm, sure-handed doctor came through quickly and crouched to check on my mother.

I knew who he was. The specialist my ex had arranged.

He finished his exam fast, and his face changed in an instant. He drew out an acupuncture needle, worked it into her without hesitation, then stood and said in a low, firm voice.

"The patient is critical. I've stabilized her heart rhythm for now, but she needs to get to a hospital for surgery immediately."

Half the weight lodged in my throat finally dropped. I turned to the Fox family still blocking the car and spoke coldly.

"Get out of my way."

Cecil scoffed.

"Lawrence, if you're going to put on a show, at least commit."

"A heart condition that serious, controlled by a few needles? Impossible."

"Your mother's illness is fake."

I wanted nothing more than to put a fist through this idiot.

"This man is the top cardiac specialist in the country. Since when are you qualified to question his skill?"

The whole place went quiet, then exploded into a roar of laughter.

"A kept man on three grand a month knows a famous doctor? More like some extra he hired off the internet!"

Cecil was laughing so hard he could barely stand up straight.

"Oh my god, if you're going to act, act well. You might as well tell me you're Napoleon."

Amelia watched me coldly.

"Lawrence, you really never learn, do you. Lie after lie, act after act."

"I'll give you one last chance. Bark ninety-nine times, nice and obedient, then crawl through Cecil's legs."

"Do that, and today gets wiped clean. Otherwise, I'll make sure you can't set foot anywhere in Harborview again!"

The whole place fell silent again, everyone watching me, jeering.

All of them waiting to see me kneel and take the shame, to become the joke for every last one of them.

Then a cool, clear woman's voice rang out.

"I'd like to see who dares make my husband bark."