"I am not your husband, Amie Trevor."
The whole room fell silent for a few seconds, and then everywhere erupted.
Everyone was speaking at the same time as though they couldn’t believe what was happening before them.
Someone dared to deny Serena’s daughter.
Slowly, June let go of Rauf’s hand and folded her arms beneath her chest.
The gazes of the crowd flickered to her and then to her stomach.
June knew what must be going through their minds. They might think she was some homewrecker who had come between Amie and Rauf.
She sighed.
Amie looked at June as though she were insignificant in everything happening, her mind calculating.
There was no way he would choose June over her. He had always been head over heels in love with her.
How could Rauf humiliate her publicly?
He always did whatever she wanted.
He had always cared for her.
When did that change?
She tried to hold his hand. "Are you angry that I left Kansas without informing you?" she asked. "Please, don’t be angry. I did it for us." ℴ
But before she could touch his hand, Rauf moved his hand backwards.
"I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was never married to you. I have my own wife, and it’s not you."
He didn’t look at June as he said those words. He didn’t want to drag June into this. Mentioning June’s name would only make people more interested in her, and it would defeat the whole reason Serena had planned the party.
"What wife?" Amie’s tone rose slightly. Her gaze moved to June. "You can’t mean her," she said, pointing at June.
Rauf pinched the bridge of his nose, pulling June right behind him.
"Don’t you dare drag her into this."
But Amie’s eyes were fixed on June. She tried to move sideways to stand in front of her.
"What lie did you tell him, June? Did you say you were the one by his side ever since he was blind? Or that the baby in your stomach is his?" she continued.
June watched her spill the truth while trying to disguise it as lies.
"Don’t mind her, Rauf. Everything she says is a lie. She was never by your side. Not once. And that bastard in her stomach is not yours."
June could tolerate every insult sent her way, but not one directed at her innocent child.
She stepped out from behind Rauf and slapped Amie.
Amie clutched her cheek, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Before she could say another word, Samir was beside her.
He glared at June. "How could you?"
June chuckled.
She should have known.
If anything happened to her father’s precious daughter, he would come running.
"How could I? Does she have the right to insult me while I do nothing? Do I have to stand here and watch her call my child a bastard?"
The more she spoke, the more the veins in her neck stood out.
It had been months since she last saw her father, and now that she was seeing him again, he didn’t care about her.
He had never bothered asking how she had survived after they kicked her out of the mansion.
And here he was, acting as though he still had a say in her life.
Gone were the days when Amie was allowed to insult her without consequences. If she did anything now, June wouldn’t hesitate to fight back.
Her father looked as though he couldn’t come up with a reasonable excuse for supporting Amie, so he turned towards Rauf.
"What are you doing, denying your wife in public?"
Rauf turned his full glare on him, and instinctively, Samir moved backwards before forcing himself to stand still.
"My wife?" Rauf repeated. "Do you want me to speak about the deceit you played? How you promised me one wife and gave me another?"
Before he could continue, Samir found his courage.
"What are you talking about? I never did such a thing. I followed through with our agreement. It was the wife you asked for that I gave to you. Your mother can testify."
The crowd looked from one person to another.
When they had been invited to the introduction party of Serena’s daughter, they had thought it would be fun. But no one knew they were going to witness something like this.
"My mother?" Rauf frowned at Samir.
He knew Samir was using the opportunity because his mother was on his side. If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t dare stand in front of him, much less ask him those questions.
Samir nodded. "She’s here. We can ask her."
Rauf’s brows narrowed.
He needed to find out what was going on between them.
Was his mother being blackmailed into this?
The crowd parted for her as his mother stepped beside Samir and Amie, her eyes tender as she looked at Rauf.
"What are you talking about, son? You don’t have any other wife. There’s just one wife your family knows, and it’s Amie. You two have been married for five years and have been actively trying to have a child."
"Mother!" Rauf shouted, losing control for a moment.
If there was someone he trusted so much after his assistant, it was his mother.
They were so close, and he never thought his mother would ever betray him like this.
She stepped towards him.
"Rauf, I have no idea what she told you." She pointed at June. "But you have always had a wife, and that’s Amie. Your marriage certificate is with me, with both of your names on it."
June swallowed.
She remembered Mrs. Salvador Sr. asking to keep the certificate after their marriage. She claimed that since Rauf was blind, she would keep it safe until he could see again.
Samir stepped closer too, standing beside Mrs. Salvador.
"Is there any reason your mother would lie about your marriage?" he asked in a high-pitched voice, intending for every guest to hear him.
He had a triumphant look on his face.
"There’s no point denying what’s right, Rauf. You begged me to give Amie to you, and I did. You don’t have to deny her now."
Amie wore a satisfied smirk on her lips.
"Rauf Salvador, I’m your legally married wife."