You Weren’t Invited to My Wedding, Ex! - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

JACOB'S POV
The beer was cold, and the sun was brutal—just the way I liked it. I was half-submerged in the pool, scrolling through my phone with one hand while the other balanced a Corona on my chest. The world was quiet for once. No Pearl, no drama, no screaming. Just the sound of water, the occasional buzz of a notification, and my own damn thoughts.
Luther strolled in like he owned the entire goddamn planet, wearing those tacky-ass designer shades he thought made him look cool. He cracked open a beer, leaned back on the deck chair, and grinned like a hyena.
“Think Pearl’s curled up crying in some hotel right now?” he said, raising his bottle. “Probably whispering ‘sorry Jacob, sorry Luther’ between sobs.”
I chuckled lazily. “Bet she’s still staring at the wall... Waiting for me to forgive her.”
Then I opened Instagram.
And I froze.
Her profile loaded, and there it was—the photo. Pearl. In a gown. Wrapped up in some guy’s arms like he was hers. Like he’d earned that right. Her smile was soft. Real.
The caption?
"The future looks good from here."
What. The. Hell.
I zoomed in on the guy’s face. Sharp suit. Clean cut. Dangerous eyes. Like he knew exactly what he had and exactly what he’d stolen.
And then I saw the tag.
@sebastian.montgomery
“Yo,” I muttered. “Luther. Get over here!”
He leaned in over my shoulder and his dumb smirk fell right off his face.
“Wait… That’s Montgomery?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to.
The Sebastian Montgomery. Private as hell. Billionaire ghost. The type of guy who didn’t breathe unless it made someone else’s stock drop. His face was practically a myth. Now here he was. With my girl.
The door slammed open behind us.
Lavenia came running in barefoot, holding her phone like it was the Holy Bible. Blonde hair wild, eyes wide and glowing like she loved the chaos.
“Jacob,” she gasped, breathless and dramatic as hell. “It’s trending everywhere. Look!”
She shoved the screen in my face.
‘Heiress Pearl Moreau Engaged to Billionaire Tycoon Sebastian Montgomery’
‘London’s Hottest Power Couple Just Broke the Internet’
Her voice hit that fake innocent pitch she used when she wanted to pour gasoline on fire and act like it was rain.
“She’s really engaged, Jacob. To Sebastian Montgomery. Of all people.”
My hand snapped. The phone flew across the patio and shattered against the stone wall. Pieces scattered. The silence afterward was louder than anything.
“She’s doing this for attention,” I growled. “She doesn’t even know who the hell he is.”
Luther scoffed, shaking his head. “The hell happened to her, man? Thought she was head over heels for you. For both of us.”
I stood up, water dripping down my chest, and stormed toward the house. My blood was boiling. My hands were fists.
I yanked my closet open, tore the drawer out until I found my passport.
“Book the jet,” I snapped. “We’re going to London.”
***
London was grey and cold, just like my mood.
The moment we stepped off the jet, I felt it—rage, bitterness, and something uglier I didn’t wanna name. After pulling some strings, we've finally located the wedding venue. We pulled up to the venue in silence, black SUVs rolling through the private gates like we were about to crash a funeral. In a way, we were.
Pearl’s funeral.
Or at least the funeral of the version I had in my head—mine.
The staff outside the estate looked confused when I stepped out, adjusting my coat, jaw tight, sunglasses on. Luther followed behind me, tossing his cigarette to the ground and crushing it beneath his boot.
“She really did it,” he muttered, kicking at the gravel. “Actually fuckin’ married the guy.”
I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to. I could feel it in my gut. The entire place reeked of fake flowers, champagne, and betrayal.
Security at the gate stuttered when they saw me. “Sir, I’m sorry—the wedding ceremony is finished. The couple has already left for—”
I didn’t let him finish. I spun on my heel and punched the wall behind me hard enough to crack something. Maybe the plaster. Maybe my knuckles.
“They’re gone?” I snapped. “Gone where?”
The guard backed up. “We’re not authorized to share honeymoon details, sir.”
Honeymoon?
I laughed. It wasn’t a funny laugh. It was the kind of laugh people have before they lose their minds.
Lavenia touched my arm softly. I didn’t even hear her walk up. “Jacob,” she murmured. “Come on. Don’t let this ruin you. She made her choice.”
I yanked away. “Shut up, Lavenia.”
She blinked like I slapped her, then tilted her head sweetly. “I’m just trying to help you forget her. You don’t need her anymore. Not when I’m here.”
I ignored her and turned to Luther.
He crossed his arms, lips curled. “Didn’t wanna believe it. Didn’t think Pearl would actually do it. Marry him. Not that bastard.”
My voice dropped. “If I’d known it was him that day on the yacht, I would’ve drowned him with my own hands. That Montgomery.”
The smug golden boy with the secret empire.
The man my father hated.
The man who outbid us last year.
The one whose company tanked one of our biggest deals.
And now? He’s got Pearl. My Pearl.
I paced like a goddamn animal. “How dare she. How fucking dare she.”
Lavenia sat down on the stone ledge nearby, crossing her legs slowly like she was on a magazine cover. “You know what I think?” she said, “I think Pearl’s been playing you both since the beginning. Poor little orphan heiress, crying on your shoulder, whispering promises in Luther’s bed and yours. I bet she planned it. She wanted Montgomery from the start.”
Luther’s eyes narrowed. “She said she loved you. Treasure us. Told me we were her safe place.”
I sneered. “She told me she’d never leave. That she’d die with my name on her tongue.”
Lavenia smiled faintly. “Looks like she’s dying with someone else’s ring on her finger.”
Luther grabbed a bottle from one of the caterers cleaning up. He popped the cork, took a long swig, then spat it on the ground.
“I swear,” he hissed, “next time I see her, I’m dragging her by the damn hair. No one plays me like that.”
I slammed my fist into the trunk of the car. “No one humiliates me. Not her. Not Montgomery.”
Lavenia slid beside me, wrapping her arms around my waist, pressing her cheek to my chest. Her touch was light, careful, like she knew I was on the edge of burning the world down.
“Let her go, Jacob,” she whispered. “Let us be the ones who win. She made her choice. She’s not yours anymore.”
But she was. She was.
And I’ll make sure she remembers that.
Even if I have to destroy that pretty little marriage myself.
Then I grabbed my phone and called my father's PI. “Tracked my fucking whore named Pearl. I'll send you her picture.”