Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

"I'm your dad. Who the hell said you could get hitched without asking me first?"

Leonard practically yelled, yanking Bella up from her chair and storming off.

Bella yanked her hand free, took a couple steps back, and shot Leonard a cold, detached smile.

"What? I date someone you don't like, and if I switch it up, you still got a problem?"

Leonard jabbed a finger at Zachary and laid into Bella, "I don't care if you find a boyfriend. But look at the losers you're picking! Bella, you're making me look bad." "What kind of losers?" Zachary chuckled, hands in his pockets, looking all chill at Leonard. "What kind of guy do you think I am, father-in-law?"

"I'm not your father-in-law," Leonard snapped. "Get this straight, I will never let you marry my daughter. Forget about it."

Zachary stepped forward, like he was gonna say something, but Bella stopped him with a raised hand.

"Go outside. The guests are gonna be here soon. Go greet them."

Zachary's sharp look at Leonard melted into a soft gaze when he looked at Bella.

"Okay." He listened to her and left right away.

I knew Bella was stubborn and worried they'd have a huge blowout. So I quickly walked over, grabbed Bella's hand, and squeezed her palm to calm her down. "Bella, talk properly." Then, I tried to calm Leonard down. "You..."

"No point in talking," Leonard cut me off, pointing at Bella's clothes. "Take that off right now and come with me."

Bella took a deep breath, gripping my hand tight like she was holding something back.

"Dad," her voice shook a bit.

Leonard looked a bit shocked.

Bella went on, "That day, you said you were cool with me being with Oliver. I thought you meant it and felt touched, thinking you still cared and were willing to compromise. I even realized I'd been too stubborn and disrespectful and decided to change. But what happened? You were just playing me. You hated him, called him a loser, and tried to break us up. So now, I'm really marrying a good-for-nothing. Happy now?"

Leonard's face showed a hint of guilt. After a long pause, he said, "I'm doing this for your own good."

I was totally floored.

But Bella just laughed. "Thanks, Dad, for thinking of me. I'm doing just fine now. You're my father, so of course, you can come to my wedding. But even if you don't, the show goes on. I won't lose any sleep over not getting your blessing." Leonard's chest was heaving. "Bella, are you seriously not gonna listen to me?"

Standing next to Bella, I could hear her breathing getting faster, and her hand was shaking in mine.

"Get out!" Bella screamed at the top of her lungs.

We were all stunned.

After a moment, Leonard finally snapped out of it, turned around, and left.

He looked hurt. Even if Bella had been disrespectful before, she probably never yelled at him to get out.

After Leonard left, Bella collapsed into the chair, gasping for air.

I squatted down and looked at her, noticing tears in her eyes.

Knowing the truth, I felt just as distressed. I pulled out a tissue to wipe her tears and tried to comfort her.

"Bella, don't cry. You'll mess up your makeup."

Bella lifted her head and tried hard to hold back her tears.

"Crying's your thing. I won't cry."

Even though she said that, I knew she was hurting inside.

After a bit, the makeup artist came in to touch up Bella's makeup. I stood by the window and saw Leonard coming out of the hotel, heading straight to a car parked by the curb. Just then, the passenger window rolled down. I was shocked to see Andrea in the passenger seat.

Leonard got into the driver's seat and quickly drove off.

Wasn't Andrea kicked out of the house? And she had slept with Oliver. How could Leonard still want her?

Thinking back to what Bella had said earlier and connecting all the dots, it was truly terrifying.

Later, I changed into the bridesmaid dress Bella had picked out for me, and the makeup artist did my makeup too.

When most of the guests had arrived, Zachary came to get her, and I went downstairs with them.

Bella, who had been a mess earlier, was now calm. She even smiled gently at Zachary when he came to get her.

The guests took their seats. There weren't many, mostly Zachary's friends.

The wedding kicked off, and the ceremony started.

Bella walked down the red carpet with Zachary, arm in arm, heading towards the stage.

Zachary's buddies were all about making a scene, so the whole wedding was a riot of applause and cheers, super lively.

During the ring exchange, Oliver suddenly popped up out of nowhere and charged the stage. But before he could get there, Zachary's friends blocked him.

Oliver quickly started throwing punches, but he was outnumbered and kept getting knocked around.

"Let him go," Bella suddenly shouted.

The guys stopped and looked at Zachary. He gave a nod, and they stepped back.

With blood trickling from his mouth, Oliver rushed onto the stage and grabbed Bella's hand.

"It's been days, are you still mad at me? Even if you are, why make such a rash decision? You promised to marry me. I'm begging you, don't marry him, okay?" Oliver's voice was almost pleading.

Bella let him hold her hand and said calmly, "I'm not mad anymore."

Oliver's eyes lit up with hope.

"Then come with me. From now on, I'll do whatever you say. If you say jump, I'll ask how high. Whatever you want, okay?"

"Let go," Zachary's voice was calm but full of threat.

Of course, Oliver didn't let go. But if this kept up, things would get out of hand.

I walked over, trying to calm Oliver down.

"Oliver, chill. Whatever you need to say, say it later."

"If I wait any longer, she'll be someone else's wife," Oliver suddenly shouted.

"I'll go with you," Bella suddenly said.

But the next second, Zachary grabbed her other hand.

Bella said to Zachary, "Wait here for me. I'll talk to him. Don't worry. I'll come back and finish this wedding with you."

She spoke earnestly. Zachary hesitated for a few seconds but eventually let go.

Oliver pulled Bella and walked out quickly, with Bella lifting her wedding dress and jogging behind him.

I was a bit worried and followed them.

In a nearby snow-covered park, they stopped, and I stood at a distance.

"Oliver, stop doing these childish things. It's impossible for us. I also want to be with you, and it breaks my heart. I know it's not your fault. But things have already happened. I want to pretend nothing happened, but I can't get over it." Bella's words started calmly but gradually turned into sobs.

Oliver leaned against a tree, fumbling to light a cigarette. After several failed attempts, he angrily threw it away.

He suddenly took off his coat and draped it over Bella, who was only wearing a thin wedding dress. Then he couldn't bear to let go, wrapping her tightly in the coat and holding her close.

"I love you, Bella. I really love you. Why do I love you so much?"

My eyes welled up with tears.

I walked further away to give them some privacy.

After a long time, Bella finally came over.

She was holding up her wedding dress, walking weakly, her makeup smudged, and her expression blank.

I walked over to comfort her, and she held my hand, whispering, "Let's go back. Zachary is still waiting for me."

The wedding eventually went through all the motions.

Zachary could tell Bella had been crying, but he pretended not to notice. After the wedding, he sent Bella back to her room to rest.

After the wedding, Bella got into Zachary's car and went home with him.

I finally accepted the fact that Bella had married Zachary.

Ethan told me over the phone that he was at the Blue Ocean Bar with Oliver, so I took a cab there.

When I found him, he was sitting on the couch, and Oliver was lying beside him in a disheveled state, with many empty beer cans on the floor.

Frank was also sitting silently on the side, seemingly at a loss for what to do with him.

Oliver opened his eyes slightly, burped, and reached for the beer on the coffee table, but Ethan stopped him.

Oliver shook his head, drunkenly saying, "One last time, this is my last time... getting drunk for her. Let me drink my fill. After this, I'll be a heartless man. Bro, let me be."

His words made me, an outsider, feel deeply saddened. Ethan finally let go.

He picked up a can of beer and chugged it down in one go, then threw the empty can far away.

Ethan, out of patience, reached to pull him up, but as soon as he did, Oliver turned his head and vomited all over him.

I wanted to help but was completely at a loss.

Ethan, disgusted, threw Oliver to the side and took off his suit jacket.

"I'll wash it for you in the restroom," I said.

Ethan nodded, handed me the jacket, and then dragged Oliver towards the restroom like a child.

I took the jacket to the restroom to rinse it off. Emptying the pockets to avoid getting anything important wet, I found a USB drive in the inner pocket. It was the one Ethan had won at the underground casino. I'd always been curious about what made Ethan bet everything on it.