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Beth went over and cracked open the door. ‘Megan’s not dressed,’ she said, trying to obscure his view. ‘It’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride on her wedding day.’
‘I don’t care,’ he said, pushing against the door and forcing Beth to take a step back. ‘I need to see her.’ He barged into the room, stopping with a jolt when he saw his fiancée. ‘You’re already married?’
Oh, hell.
If that wasn’t shocking enough, Matt – wearing a smart tuxedo suit – was standing in the doorway behind Zac. The impact was nearly enough to distract Beth from the ensuing row. Aware that her jaw had dropped open, she closed her mouth and dragged her shocked gaze away from his tall figure, wide chest and neatly trimmed beard. ‘Come in, so I can close the door,’ she said, ushering him inside. The fewer people who witnessed this debacle, the better.
Megan ran towards Zac, seemingly unperturbed at being caught in her bridal underwear. ‘I can explain,’ she said, attempting to take his hands.
He was already backing away. ‘So it’s true?’
Megan’s face crumpled at the rejection. ‘I’m so sorry, Zac. How did you find out?’
He looked incredulous. ‘How did I find out? I’ll tell you how I found out. My granddad just announced it to the whole family. Apparently, my dad instructed him to run a background check on you.’
Megan’s hands came up to her exposed neck. ‘Why would he do that?’
‘I don’t know, Megan. Maybe he suspected something wasn’t right about you. Turns out he was right.’ He paced across to the window, as if unable to contain his agitation. ‘My family have been against this marriage from the start. They told me I was a fool for getting married so young and I was rushing into things, but I refused to listen.’
Megan sagged against one of the chunky wooden bedposts. ‘Your family don’t approve of me? I never knew that, why didn’t you tell me?’
‘Because I was protecting you,’ he said, turning to her. ‘I didn’t want you to know or be hurt. I defended every argument, I told them I trusted you and that I knew what I was doing. I told them they were wrong to have doubts about you.’ He ran his hands into his hair, messing up his carefully styled quiff. ‘More fool me, eh?’
Megan stumbled over to him. ‘You’re not a fool, Zac. And you can trust me—’
‘You’re already married!’ he shouted.
‘I can explain—’
‘What’s there to explain?’ He held her at arm’s length. ‘You’ve admitted you’re already married, which means you lied to me. Worse, you let me plan this fucking wedding and invite all our friends and family, only to humiliate me?’
Tears streamed down Megan’s perfectly rouged cheeks. ‘I didn’t mean to.’
‘Then what did you mean to do?’ His anger was slightly derailed by deep heaving sobs. ‘Because I’m struggling to understand how you could let this happen and not mention the minor detail of you already being married.’ He turned away and sobbed harder.
Megan collapsed onto the bed, sobbing too.
Which left Beth and Matt standing by the door, looking awkwardly at each other, and wondering what the hell they should do.
Beth went over to Megan and climbed onto the four-poster bed to comfort her.
Matt walked around her and placed a hand on Zac’s shoulder. ‘Take a breath, mate. Try and stay calm.’
Zac shrugged him off. ‘Why should I? I’ve just found out the woman I was supposed to marry is already married!’ More sobs escaped.
Megan cried harder on the bed.
Matt and Beth exchanged another look.
Matt cleared his throat. ‘I know it sucks, mate, but you need to let her explain. It’s not what you think.’
A beat passed before Zac turned to face his uncle. ‘You knew?’
Matt hesitated, before nodding. ‘I found out yesterday.’
‘And you didn’t tell me? You’re supposed to be on my side.’
‘You’re right, and I’m sorry, but once Beth explained the circumstances, I decided it would be better to let the wedding go ahead. Megan promised to tell you herself at a later date, and I felt that was better than ruining your special day.’
