Nine months too late: After divorce by Baby Charlene

Lana's world ccrashing down in a single, crushing moment. The word echoed in her head.

Chapter

78

"No." 0

Kage's refusal sliced through the silence like a knife, sending a wave of shock rippling through the congregation.

A stunned murmur broke out as heads whipped around, eyes darting between the groom and the bride, unsure

whether they had misheard. But the look on Kage's face made it clear: this wasn't a mistake. He meant it. Lana's

fingers trembled around the bouquet, and her lips parted in disbelief. She blinked, as if the motion alone would

change what had just happened. The priest, shifting uncomfortably, stared at Kage in bewilderment, his voice

low and

unsure.

Mr. Hawkins, you... I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" he asked, his words careful.

"I said no," Kage replied, his tone firmer, carrying an unmistakable finality. "I won't marry her."

A wave of gasps rippled through the crowd. Whispers erupted, spreading like wildfire as people exchanged

confused looks. The high-society guests, the reporters, even sof the family members-every single person in

the room was utterly dumbfounded. Lana a felt a hot flush rise to her cheeks, mingling with the cool sensation of

sweat prickling at her skin. The flowers in her hand slipped to the floor as her fingers went limp, her pulse

roaring in her ears. "Kage... no, you can't... this can't be happening..." she whispered, her voice a shaky echo of

itself.

|

But Kage didn't even glance at her. His gaze was distant, hard, and resolute. As if the decision had been made

long before he ever stood at this altar.

Lana's chest tightened, tears stinging at the back of her eyes. She reached out, her hand trembling as it hovered

in the air between them.

"Please, |

Kage," she pleaded, her voice barely audible. "This is our wedding day... we're supposed to be getting married!"

expression didn't soften. If anything, his resolve only seemed to harden.

"I'm sorry." He muttered.

The words were like a death sentence. Lana's knees wobbled, and she stumbled back a step, feeling the weight

of every eye in the room upon her. Tears pooled and spilled down her cheeks as the reality of what was

happening crashed over her. It was all falling apart. Her perfect day, her perfect future-shattering in front o of

everyone.

"Kage, please...!" she sobbed, reaching for him, but he took a step back, his jaw clenched.

Without another

word, Kage turned and walked away from the altar, not sparing a single glance backward.

People rose to their feet, craning to see as he pushed walked out the door.

Lana's sobs filled the air. The bridesmaids rushed to her side, their faces pale and wide-eyed, trying to steady

her as she collapsed onto her knees, her dress pooling around her in a crumpled mess of lace and silk.

"No... no, no, no. "she whimpered, shaking her head. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. All she could feel

was the suffocating weight of humiliation, the sharp sting of betrayal.

Why? Why would he do this to me?

But no one had an answer.

1/3

Chapter 78

sodA

Sylvie tucked the last of her folded clothes into the suitcase, zipping it shut with a firm tug.

She glanced around the hotel room, her heart aching with a strange mix of emotions. It had been a whirlwind of

emotions - moving out of Kage's house, keeping her distance from him, preparing to leave the country-all while

trying to convince herself that this was the right thing to do. Maybe once she was out of his reach, out of this

country, she could finally breathe again.

She was just reaching for her purse when her phone buzzed on the bedside table. Sylvie paused, frowning, and

picked it up. The screen was flooded with messages from her friends.

"What....?" She unlocked it, her eyes scanning the messages.

"Did you see what happened at Kage's wedding???"

"OMG, Kage just called off his wedding in front of everyone! You have to watch the news!"

"Did you know about this??"

There was a list of messages.

Sylvie's heart stuttered in her chest. Her fingers tightened around the phone as she opened the browser, fingers

flying as she typed in the news site.

a

&

And there it was. The headline was splashed across every page, every channel.

"KAGE HAWKINS REFUSES TO MARRY LANA HARPER AT THE ALTAR!"

Sylvie's breath caught in her throat. She blinked, staring at the screen, unable to process the words. It didn't

make sense. Kage had... he'd refused?

Phoebe clenched her phone tightly in her hand as she paced back and forth, her heels clicking sharply against

the floor.

"I still can't believe it," she muttered, her voice strained with disbelief. "What on earth was he thinking? To

humiliate us like this, to humiliate me...in front of the entire world!" 'Humiliate us?" Elizabeth repeated sharply.

"That boy has disgraced the entire Hawkins family! We'll be the laughingstock of the city, the country-no, the

entire world!" Her eyes blazed as she glared at Phoebe, her voice trembling with fury. "What kind of son did you

raise, Phoebe? "Elizabeth, this isn't helping," Griffin interjected. "We need to figure out how to do damage

control, not waste tplacing blame."

n 0 q

Diane scoffed. "Damage control? This

is beyond damage control Griffin! The

press will have a field day with this.

The stock prices WH pOmraE Sut

. NA ea

businessigart ers will start

questioning our stability! The

Hawkins nhas been dragged

" orem q

through the mud!" Griffin shook his

n

head. "So, what do you want us to do

about it? Call Kage and order him to

[1 :

marry her now?" The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

I" : :

If we could reach him, that might not

q 0 =]

be a bad idea!" Diane snapped, her

face flushed. She turned her gaze to

Sam who sat in ys

on UrChardcter tically silent.

n ) H i H

am, say something! You're his

father! You have more influence over

: "on

him than anyone else here." "And you

: 1! : [1

think haven't been trying?" Sam

glanced up. He lifted his phone,

0 i"

showing the dark screen. 'I've called

q q 3 3 "

him a dozen times-the line is dead!

1.30

1.38 Sat, Chapter 78

84%

"Of course it is! That boy has always been disrespectful and arrogant! | knew he'd be trouble from the start-this

reckless. rebellious streak of his-"

"Stop it, Elizabeth!" Phoebe cut her off, her eyes flashing with a warning. "This isn't the tto tear him apart."

"Isn't it?" Elizabeth shot back. "Because | think now is exactly the time! He just stood up at the altar and refused

to marry Lana Harper in front of over two hundred guests! The entire social circle will be talking about this for

years!"

"And Lana's family-oh God, how are we supposed to face them?" Diane moaned, burying her face in her hands.

"They're one of the oldest and most powerful families in the country. Do you have any idea what this will do to

our alliances?"

"We need to find him," Griffin said. "Before the press gets to him before he does something even more reckless.

We need to bring him in and get a handle on this-now."

"How do we do that? We have no knowledge on his whereabouts.

"Maybe he'll cback htoday. Afterall, he still needs to be home, right?"

I" : : rH

Are you joking?" Elizabeth let out a

harsh laugh. Kage has a dozen

properties in this Ci qlgnetto you

5 0a 2 7 3 :

Hes jase o stroll back

y H H nog

here, begging for forgiveness?" "I'll

alert my friends in the force to keep

q " ara q

an eye out on him." Griffin replied.

" "o£ : I" :

We'll find him." The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

M

x

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