The Unwavering Heart That Broke (Nathalie and Lance) novel Chapter 538

Nathalie bolted upright, her face pale with shock. “How did he find us...” Lance immediately stood, placing himself firmly between her and the threat. His dark gaze turned dangerously lethal as he locked eyes with the man crashing the wedding. Panic swept through the crowd. Some tried to run, but the sight of the gun paralyzed them in their tracks. An eerie, terrified silence fell over the ballroom. Bagot's face darkened with fury. He stepped firmly in front of Damaris, shielding her with his body, his breathing heavy. They had scoured the city for weeks with absolutely no trace of him, and he chose the exact moment of the vows to kick the doors in. How long had he been tracking them? Damaris stared at Lawrence in absolute horror, her hands trembling so violently that the bouquet slipped from her grasp and hit the floor. The memory of that night came rushing back. The dim lighting, the heavy musky scent, the brutal, unrelenting physical dominance. He hadn't been gentle. She thought it was just a catastrophic mistake, a one-night stand she could bury in the past. She never thought she would see him again. It had been nearly a month. Why was he still hunting her? Damaris felt sick to her stomach, a toxic mix of pure terror and absolute confusion washing over her. They had hooked up once. Why was he so obsessed? She was literally standing at the altar, and he still kicked the doors in? “Who the hell are you? You can't just barge in here!” Arthur Crawford barked, standing up from the front row and glaring at Lawrence. Eleanor Crawford clutched Octavia's arm, trembling violently. Octavia narrowed her eyes, recognizing the man instantly. “It's him. What is he doing here?” Lawrence ignored them all. He let out a dark laugh, his predatory blue eyes fixed entirely on Damaris as she cowered behind Bagot. He took slow, deliberate steps down the aisle. “My first-night girl, you've been incredibly difficult to track down.” His gaze snapped to Bagot, his expression turning murderous. “You lied to me. You tried to steal her from me. You're a dead man!” Without hesitation, Lawrence pulled the trigger. Bagot's instincts kicked in. He tackled Damaris to the stage floor, narrowly dodging the bullet. The crowd erupted into ear-piercing screams, guests scrambling under tables in blind panic. BANG! BANG! BANG! Lawrence fired three warning shots into the ceiling. “Nobody move! You run, you die!” He paced the aisle like a caged, violent lion, his eyes scanning the terrified crowd. When he spotted Lance and Nathalie, his sneer deepened. “So, you were all in on it. You all teamed up to play me. You all deserve to die.” Arthur Crawford stepped out of the aisle, his face tight with anger. “What exactly do you want here?” Lawrence didn't even blink. “I'm here to collect my first-night girl.” Arthur looked completely bewildered. “What first-night girl?” Lawrence threw his head back and laughed maniacally. He projected his voice so the entire room could hear. “A month ago, at a club, the beautiful bride standing up there spent the night in my bed. We went at it until dawn. But when I woke up, she was gone. She ran away from me, and now she's trying to marry someone else. Tell me, doesn't that seem a little unfair?” The ballroom went dead silent, sheer shock rippling through the crowd. Mrs. White shook her head frantically. “No! That's impossible! My daughter is not that kind of girl!” Hundreds of eyes shifted to Damaris. The fear in the room morphed into judgmental, disgusted glares, as if she had committed the ultimate sin. Damaris's face turned completely ashen. Never in her wildest nightmares did she think he would broadcast her deepest shame to an entire room of her family and friends. He was violently ripping her dignity to shreds.