Evelyn: Get up right now, Ethan. Do not embarrass yourself for that woman.
Ethan: Mom, please! She just walked out on me!
Evelyn: Let her walk. She showed her true colors in front of everyone.
Ethan wiped his wet face with his sleeve, his knees aching against the cold floor.
Ethan: I love her, Mom. I thought she loved me for who I was.
Evelyn: She loved the idea of a rich husband, Ethan. You gave her everything she asked for.
Ethan: But she thought I had no money left. She thought the business failed.
Evelyn: Because you tested her! And she failed the test within two minutes!
The wedding guests began shuffling out of their golden chairs, murmuring loudly among themselves.
Guest 1: Did you hear that? She dumped him right at the altar!
Guest 2: Poor guy. He gave her a four-carat ring last month!
Guest 1: Well, if he's broke now, you can't blame her for running.
Ethan pulled himself up slowly, his tuxedo jacket wrinkled from the fall.
Ethan: I'm going after her.
Evelyn: You will do no such thing! Look at this hall! We paid fifty thousand dollars for this venue!
Ethan: I don't care about the venue, Mom! I need to explain the truth to her!
Evelyn: What truth? That you have forty million dollars sitting in a private trust fund?
Ethan stopped in his tracks, looking around frantically to see if anyone overheard his mother's sharp voice.
Ethan: Keep your voice down, Mom!
Evelyn: Why should I keep quiet? She left you because she thought your investment firm went under!
Ethan: I told her the firm was restructuring because I wanted to see if she would stand by me!
Evelyn: And she humiliated you! She called you poor in front of our entire family!
Ethan looked down at the white bouquet lying crushed on the marble floor near his shoes.
Ethan: I need to hear her say it to my face when she isn't screaming.
Evelyn: If you chase after that girl, Ethan, you are a fool.
Ethan: I have to know for sure, Mom. I can't live with the doubt.
He turned away from his mother, stepping over the ruined flowers and marching straight out the grand glass entrance doors into the hot afternoon sun.
Camila was standing near the valet station, frantically trying to order a ride on her phone while holding up her heavy lace train.
Ethan: Camila! Wait!
Camila: Don't come near me, Ethan! We are done!
Ethan: Just give me five minutes to explain!
Camila: Explain what? That you tricked me into planning a wedding with a man who lost his entire inheritance?
Ethan: I didn't lose anything! I was testing your loyalty!
Camila paused, her manicured fingers stopping over her phone screen as she looked up at him with narrow, skeptical eyes.
Camila: Testing me? What are you talking about?
Ethan: The company merger... the bank debt... I made all of it up last night.
Camila: You made up a corporate bankruptcy just to play mind games with me?
Ethan: I wanted to know if you were marrying me or my family's money!
Camila laughed bitterly, crossing her arms over her lace gown.
Camila: Nice try, Ethan. That is the oldest, cheapest excuse in the book.
Ethan: It's not an excuse! Look at my banking application right now!
He shoved his phone toward her face, displaying a dark gold executive portal screen.
Camila glanced down at the bright screen, her arrogant smirk slowly vanishing as her eyes caught the line of bold numbers listed at the top.