My Wedding Night Revenge

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The reception had barely ended when the groomsmen crowded up to the bedroom door, cradling a basket of eggs and snickering.

"Here's a little welcome gift from all of us, sweetheart," one of them said.

"Wish you a house full of sons and daughters, and all the good fortune your grandkids can bring."

Bartholomew Lyons grinned, threw the lock on the door, and turned to plant himself in front of it.

"They're just my boys having fun, no harm meant. It's all for good luck. Don't take it to heart."

I looked at the groomsmen, their eyes red, mouths practically watering, disgusting, and turned to Bartholomew.

"And if I refuse?"

Vincent Estes's face darkened at once.

"Refuse? Then I doubt these bridesmaids of yours make it out of the village in one piece."

I glanced back at the bridesmaids behind me, the ones who hadn't said a word this whole time, and I smiled.

"In that case, let me give you all a gift on their behalf too."

The groomsmen's eyes lit up, and one by one they broke into ugly grins.

"Oh? A gift, huh? Come on, let big brother have a look."

I swept my eyes over them and pulled a whip out of my bag, the one I used for training.

"This was a wedding gift from my master. Looks like it'll come in handy tonight."

"To beat the evil out. Only then can a home stay peaceful and everyone stay safe and sound."

...

Instead of getting angry, Vincent stroked his chin and stepped in closer.

"City girls really do play wild. I like this idea!"

He said it while putting on the shameless act.

"Sweetheart, you're going this hard before you've even crossed the threshold? Tonight's going to be a night no one sleeps through!"

The other groomsmen jeered right along with him, whistling.

My face went hard, and I pointed at the door and shouted.

"Get out. One more step forward and I call the police right now."

The smile vanished from Bartholomew's face. He stepped forward and clamped down on my wrist.

"Jennifer Henson, have you lost your mind? You just have to make me lose face today, is that it?"

"My childhood friends came out of goodwill to bring you luck, and you can't tell good from bad."

I couldn't twist free of his grip, and I stared at this man I'd been with for three years, unable to believe it.

The Bartholomew who was always so gentle and refined now wore a face so vicious it looked like a stranger's.

He forced my shoulders around, trying to make me bow and apologize to Vincent.

"Apologize to Vince, now!"

"The boys put a lot of thought into this part of the night, and you bridesmaids are going to play along, all of you!"

I watched him coldly, and none of the usual panic a bride might feel rose in me.

I'd grown up in the martial arts academy, and my father had taught me that the first thing in a crisis is to steady your breath.

I held down my anger, and then something occurred to me, like a bucket of cold water poured over my heart.

"Bartholomew, did you have this planned with them all along?"

"You just wanted to use this wedding-night hazing as cover to defile my friends?"

His eyes darted away, then landed on the groomsmen, and he squared his chest again like he had every right.

"What kind of thing is that to say?"

"The bridesmaids are all single. On a joyful day like this, what's wrong with finding them a good man?"

"Two families joined, joy piled on joy, isn't that even better!"

Several groomsmen whistled and closed in at once, their eyes crawling openly up and down Hester Summers.

They had no idea Hester was the treasure my senior brothers guarded like the light of their lives.

The last punk who whistled at her outside the academy hadn't shown his face on that street in ten whole years.

Vincent raised an eyebrow and looked at me again.

"Bridesmaids are shy, too embarrassed. We get that."

"Heard you work at a foreign firm, sweetheart, the most open-minded of anyone. Why don't you set the example first?"

He picked an egg out of the basket and bounced it in his palm.

"That pretty little mouth of yours, I bet it looks pretty sucking too."

The watching groomsmen burst into laughter.

Bartholomew's brow twitched at that, like he didn't much care for it.

But for the sake of his childhood friends, he swallowed the words back down and said nothing.

Hester couldn't stand it. She rushed forward, shoved Bartholomew aside, and put herself in front of me.

"Bartholomew, are you even a man?"

"Your own wife gets insulted to her face and you don't dare make a sound?"

Vincent seized the chance, grabbed Hester's wrist, and yanked her hard against his chest.

"Oh, I like that fire. Since you're so eager, you go first."

Hester fought with everything she had, driving her heel down onto Vincent's foot.

Vincent didn't get angry. He only held her tighter, and the groomsmen around him roared with laughter.

I was shaking with rage. I snatched the can of hairspray off the vanity and blasted it straight into their eyes.

"Back off."

While they clutched their eyes and screamed, I moved.

I grabbed Hester, along with the other two bridesmaids frozen with fear, and pulled them fast toward the bathroom inside the bedroom.

The instant the four of us squeezed in, I slammed the door behind me and locked it tight.

Bartholomew cursed and pounded on the door.

"Jennifer, get out here. Everyone's wedding gets a little rowdy like this. Why not yours?"

"You humiliate me like this, how am I supposed to hold my head up in this village?"

I leaned against the door, gasping for breath, thinking I could finally breathe easy. And as I reached for my phone to call for help,

it went quiet outside. Then came the click of metal scraping in the lock.