They all do.
I step forward, rolling my cuffs up—one slow, deliberate fold at a time.
“If this happens again, I will not waste my time chasing after her. I will start with all of you.”
Natasha is the first to pale.
Timur exhales slowly through his nose, his posture unflinching but taut. The others? They don’t even blink. Smart. Fear has its place.
I let my words settle. Let them think. Let them imagine. Let them understand.
“All of you were here. Watching. Waiting. While my bride sat in the street like a stray.”
The air is thick, heavy, pressing. I don’t need to raise my voice. I don’t need to repeat myself.
“If I have to retrieve her again, I will make sure none of you have hands left to sign your resignation letters.”
No one breathes.
Natasha looks down. Timur’s fingers twitch at his side.
And then Bella moves.
She steps forward, swallowing hard.
“This wasn’t their fault. I—”
I turn my head, slow. My gaze snaps to her, and it’s like I’ve cracked a whip through the space between us. She freezes.
“Quiet.”
Not raised. Not rushed. Just final. A command that leaves no room for argument.
Bella’s lips part, her throat bobs, but she doesn’t speak. Natasha doesn’t even look in her direction. Timur exhales, like he’s waiting for the bullet.
She tries again. “I was the one—”
I close the space between us in a single step. She sucks in a breath, and her spine straightens, but it’s too late.
“You speak for no one. Least of all them.”
I watch the words hit. Watch the impact in the way her fingers curl into the fabric of her dress, the way her breath catches.
I want to press my thumb to the corner of her mouth, wipe away the memory of the taco grease and the taste of her defiance. But there’s no time.
Less than an hour.
I let my gaze drift over the team once more. They don’t move until I do.
“Get her ready.”
And then I walk away.
3
Bella
There areexactlyseventeen rhinestones missing from my wedding dress.
