Chapter 186
Chapter 186:
A phalanx of six bodyguards in dark sunglasses marched in, clearing a path. Behind them, silhouetted against the bright daylight, stood a woman.
She wasn’t wearing black.
She was a flame in a room of ashes. The red dress clung to her curves like a second skin, the silk rippling as she moved. She wore towering red heels that clicked against the stone floor with the rhythm of a ticking clock. Dark sunglasses hid her eyes, but the set of her jaw was unmistakable.
A collective gasp sucked the air out of the room. A camera shutter clicked, then another, until the sound became a swarm of locusts.
Liam stopped breathing. He blinked, certain the drugs were causing hallucinations.
“Skye?” he whispered.
Seraphina’s hand fell from his arm. Her face went the color of curdled milk. “No… that’s impossible p>
Skye didn’t stop. She walked down the center aisle, head held high. She didn’t look at the guests. She walked straight toward the altar, toward the empty box that was supposed to hold her body.
Security guards hired by Beatrice stepped forward to intercept her.
“Move,” Skye’s lead bodyguard said. He didn’t raise his voice, but he placed a hand on his holster. The church security backed down.
Skye ascended the steps to the pulpit. She reached out and took the microphone from the stunned priest’s hand. It let out a sharp screech of feedback that made everyone wince.
She removed her sunglasses and looked out at the sea of shocked faces. Her gaze landed on Beatrice, then Seraphina, and finally Liam.
“I apologize for the inconvenience,” Skye said, her voice amplified, clear and cold as ice water. “But Hell didn’t want me. And Heaven is afraid I’ll take over p>
Beatrice stood, her hand clutching her chest. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. She gripped her cane, knuckles white, refusing to faint this time, though her face was a mask of terror.
Liam stumbled forward, breaking free of his stupor. Tears streamed down his face. He looked like a man witnessing a miracle.
𝘉𝘳o𝗐ѕe bу 𝖼𝘢𝗍𝖾g𝗼𝘳𝗒 o𝘯 b𝘦𝗹𝗇о𝘷е𝘭ѕ.𝖼𝗈𝗺
“Skye!” he cried, his voice cracking. He reached for her, desperate to touch her, to prove she was real. “You’re alive! Oh God, you’re alive p>
He lunged for her, arms open.
Skye didn’t flinch. She simply took a step back, her expression one of utter revulsion.
“Don’t touch me,” she said.
It wasn’t a scream. It was a command.
Liam froze, hands hovering inches from her arms. The rejection hit him harder than the explosion had.
“Skye… baby… I thought you were dead,” he sobbed. “I searched for you. I almost died p>
Skye reached into a matching red clutch. She pulled out a blue folder.
“Save your tears for the judge, Liam,” she said.
She wound up and threw the folder at him. It hit him square in the chest, papers scattering across the altar steps.