Chloe: Mark, are you out of your mind?! You can't cancel our wedding over a little discipline!
Mark: Locking a frightened child inside a dark closet is not discipline, Chloe. It's cruel.
Chloe: She was throwing a temper tantrum! She was going to spill juice on her dress before the photos!
Mark: She is seven years old! She was scared because her mother passed away two years ago and today was overwhelming for her!
Lily: Daddy, please don't leave me alone again...
Mark: I'm never leaving you, sweetie. I've got you. You're completely safe now.
Mark held Lily tighter against his chest, feeling her small body shake with heavy sobs. Chloe stepped forward, her face twisting in anger as she tried to grab Mark's arm.
Chloe: Think about what you are doing! My family paid two hundred thousand dollars for this venue!
Mark: I don't care if your family spent a million dollars. Touch my daughter again and see what happens.
Chloe: She is spoiled, Mark! You let her run your whole life, and I was going to fix that once we were married!
Mark: Fix her? She doesn't need fixing. She needed a loving mother, and I almost gave her a monster instead.
Chloe's mother, Eleanor, came marching down the hallway in her dark green silk dress, her diamond necklace sparkling under the lights.
Eleanor: What is going on out here?! The pastor is waiting at the altar, and the guests are getting restless!
Chloe: Mom, Mark is calling off the wedding because of this little girl!
Eleanor: What?! Mark, pull yourself together! You are marrying into one of the most prominent families in the state today!
Mark: Your daughter locked my daughter in a utility closet like trash, Eleanor.
Eleanor: Well, the girl was being disruptive! A proper wedding requires order! She should be grateful we allowed her in the bridal party at all!
Mark stared at both women, feeling a cold realization wash over him. He had been blind to their arrogance for months, blinded by his desire to give Lily a complete family again.
Mark: You two deserve each other. Neither of you has a heart.
Chloe: Mark, if you walk out that door right now, my father's firm will drop your engineering company's contract!
Mark: Cancel the contract. I'd rather lose every dollar in my bank account than let you touch my child again.
Lily: Daddy, can we go home now?
Mark: Yes, baby. We are going home right now.
Mark turned his back on Chloe and her mother, walking down the white hallway with quick, steady steps while Lily hid her face against his shoulder.