Reborn Rich: The Marvelous William Hudson.

Chapter 6

At that moment William reached the altar and stopped. Behind him, Simon stood frozen like a statue. His mouth was still hanging open from shock.

Simon had no idea what had gotten into William. This wasn't the same man who always said yes to everything. Who always opened his wallet whenever anyone asked.

But William remembered something else about Simon. When the accident happened and William ended up in that wheelchair, Simon had wanted to speak up. Had wanted to ask questions about what really happened that night.

But Lydia gave Simon a thick envelope full of cash. More money than he'd ever seen at one time. And just like that, Simon's mouth stayed shut forever.

Money was all Simon ever wanted. Nothing more, nothing less.

At the altar, the pastor looked at William and gave him a small nod. William nodded back, but his face stayed cold and serious.

Then William turned to face the entrance of the hall. He could see Simon and Vivian still standing where he left them. Both of them looked confused and angry.

Then the wedding music started playing. Soft and beautiful, just like William remembered.

Simon and Vivian quickly rushed to their seats when they heard the music. But they kept staring at William with dead, cold eyes. Like they wanted to hurt him.

Then Lydia appeared at the entrance.

She wore a long white dress that sparkled under the lights. Her father held her arm as they walked slowly down the aisle together.

Immediately everyone in the hall stood up. They watched Lydia move toward the altar like she was floating on air.

When Lydia got close to where Vivian was sitting, Vivian couldn't help herself. She stood up and leaned over to whisper something in Lydia's ear.

Simon saw what Vivian did. He wanted to do the same thing - wanted to tell Lydia about how strange William was acting. But something stopped him. He stayed quiet in his seat instead.

Vivian sat back down and looked at William with a smile. But it wasn't a nice smile.

Lydia reached the altar and stood across from William. The white veil covered part of her face, but William could see her eyes clearly.

The first words out of her mouth weren't "I love you" or "You look handsome."

“Vivian told me about her situation. Handle it quickly before we start.”

Lydia's voice was cold and demanding. Like she was talking to a servant, not the man she was about to marry.

She stood there waiting for William to pull out his phone and send the money. That's what he always did. That's what she expected.

But William didn't move. Didn't even blink.

Upon seeing that William wasn't doing what she asked him to do, Lydia's eyebrows came together. Her voice got sharper.

“Did you hear what I said? I—”

“Who are you to tell me what to do?” William's voice cut through her words like a knife. “Who to give my money to? How is Vivian clearly putting herself in debt my concern?”

Immediately Lydia's mouth fell open. She took a step back like William had slapped her.

This wasn't the William she knew. The William who always did what she said. Who always fixed everyone's problems with his wallet.

Before Lydia could say anything, William kept going.

“As if that's not enough, your brother had the courage to ask me to pay for gambling your hundred thousand dollars away. Who am I to your family? A money printing machine?”

Immediately Lydia's face went white. Then red. Then white again.

Simon had gambled away her money? Her hundred thousand dollars? She turned and looked at Simon with eyes full of murder. Her hands turned into fists at her sides.

Immediately Simon saw that look and stepped backward. His face went pale. He could tell that William had thrown him under the bus.

However Vivian was still holding her phone, waiting for a money transfer that would never come. But when she saw the deadly look Lydia was giving Simon, she knew something bad was happening.

William watched Lydia carefully. He wanted to see how she would react now that things were different from twenty years ago.

This wasn't how it happened before. Back then, he had just paid for everything without asking questions. Now he was changing the whole story.

At that moment Lydia turned to face William completely. Her white dress rustled as she moved. She was still shocked by how different William was acting.

“William, you should know that Simon is like this. And Vivian just wanted to impress her friends for your sake.” Her voice got softer, more sweet. The voice she used when she wanted something.

“Just give them the money quickly so we can get married, this is what you ever wanted, and you're this close in getting it.”

Then she forced a smile.

“I'm sure you won't allow this little situation to delay anything, please get it done.”

William's forehead wrinkled up. His eyes got narrow.

“What if I don't give them the money?”

The question hung in the air like smoke. Everyone at the altar went quiet.

Lydia's eyes went wide. She couldn't believe what she just heard.

William was refusing to obey her. Again. Twice in one day.

This had never happened before. Ever.

The pastor cleared his throat and opened his book. He wanted to start the ceremony.

“We are gathered here today—”

“Stop.” Lydia held up her hand toward the pastor. Her voice was sharp.

She stepped closer to William. Close enough that only he could hear her whisper.

“It seems you're not in the right state of mind today.” Her voice was cold now. All the sweetness was gone.

“How about we move the wedding to another day?”