Smack—!
The slap broke Charli Burnett out of her trance. She raised a hand, covering her stinging cheek as she stared, confused, at the man in front of her.
He was dressed in a suit, with a boutonniere pinned to his left chest. His face would've been handsome, if it weren't twisted and distorted by anger.
"Charli you absolute shameless b*tch! How f*cking dare you do this on our wedding day! You're nothing but a slut!"
A woman dressed in white stood beside him. She grabbed his arm at that moment, saying in a soft tone, "Jaycob, please calm down. I'm sure Charli didn't expect that! Otherwise she could make out with him the other day, right, Charli? I'm sure you have an explanation for why you were in here with this man! And... why your clothes are..."
She seemed to have wanted to say something, but trailed off at the last second.
Charli glanced down at herself, only now noticing she was wearing a wedding gown.
It seemed to glow under the light, but it practically hung off her. The back zipper was undone, causing the shoulder straps to slide off. The only reason why the dress hadn't fallen off her body was because she was holding it up.
It only confused her more.
What was happening?
Why was she dressed like this?
Where was she?
Who were these people?
Her bewilderment was like oil, thrown onto the blazing inferno that was his rage. He shoved her backwards, standing over her as she fell onto the ground.
"You filthy b*tch, you don't deserve to step into the Klein family! Just looking at you disgusts me! I'm not marrying garbage like you!"
As if his words weren't enough to convey his anger, he kicked Charli directly in her ribs.
A shot of pain immobilized her as splotches of black flashed through her vision. She coughed and sucked in a shaky breath, subconsciously curling into herself.
"You dare f*cking hide?! I'm beating you to death today, you shameless b*tch!", he yelled, thinking she was trying to protect herself.
The woman that had been standing by silently as he kicked her now rushed forward, pulling him back by hugging his arm.
"Jaycob, please! Stop hitting her! It wasn't her fault! I bet that man started it!"
She turned towards Charli, but her gaze was on something just behind her. "Speak, now! Did you force yourself onto my little sister?!"
Because of how chaotic Charli's mind had been, she didn't notice there was another person in the room until the woman shouted at him. The man trembled. "Hey, don't drag me into this. She was the one that said it was fine and kept insisting we do it here. I mean, I'm a guy, right? How can a guy resist when someone flirts so openly like she did? I... I swear she was the one that made the first move!"
"Nonsense!" the woman snapped, but the man in the suit seemed to have heard enough.
He turned to face Charli again, then kicked her once more, this time harder than the last. "What do you have to say for yourself now?! You filthy wench! Shameless b*tch!"
Charli stayed curled up in an attempt to protect herself, but there was a voice in her mind, shouting desperately, "No! It's not what you think! Let me explain!"
Try as she might, however, she couldn't get that voice out. She just knew that she had no idea what was happening.
The man stopped kicking after a while, giving her one last resentful kick before stepping away.
"Don't ever show yourself in front of me again! Disgusting!"
"Jaycob!" the woman called out, then ran after him.
Charli laid on the ground, blood flowing steadily out from her wounds. The pain didn't help the jumbled mess that was her mind. As she stared at the man's receding back, a sudden memory flashed through her head, followed by an inexplicable heartache.
Her arm twitched, wanting to run up to him, to explain what actually happened, but her strength had long since faded. Memories that didn't belong to her flowed into her mind, and, unable to bear the burden, her vision faded to black.