Marcus: Get your hands off my daughter!
Marcus didn't care about his polished leather shoes or his expensive suit. He sprinted across the sunroom, shoving Evelyn’s arm aside so hard she stumbled back against the grand piano.
Marcus: Lily! Baby, I’m here!
Lily: Daddy! Daddy, it hurts!
Marcus swept his crying daughter up into his arms, pulling her tightly against his chest in a protective embrace. He didn't care that the wet pink frosting immediately smeared across his crisp blue shirt and jacket. He wrapped his arms around her shivering shoulders, kissing the side of her messy head while she sobbed uncontrollably into his neck.
Marcus: Shh, it’s okay, Lily. Daddy’s got you. I’m right here, sweetheart. Nobody is going to touch you again.
Clara: Here, Mr. Marcus, take this napkin!
Marcus: Thank you, Clara. Gently, baby, let me wipe your eyes.
Marcus pulled a cloth from the table, carefully wiping the thick pink frosting away from Lily’s face while she whimpered, her hands clutching his collar as if her life depended on it.
Evelyn: Oh, Marcus, please stop making a scene in front of the board members!
Marcus slowly turned his head. His eyes, usually calm and composed, burned with a fierce, terrifying expression of pure fury as he glared directly at the woman in the white dress.
Marcus: You hurt my daughter.
Evelyn: It was only a joke! My goodness, you take everything so seriously! It’s just a little tradition to smash cake on birthdays!
Marcus: A joke?! You jammed a paper plate onto her head and forced her face into the table!
Evelyn: She was being stubborn and disrespectful to me! She needs to learn her place before we get married and move into this estate full-time!
Marcus: Learn her place?! She is five years old! This is her father’s house, not yours!
Evelyn: I am going to be her stepmother in two months, Marcus! I have every right to discipline her when she acts like a spoiled brat in front of our guests!
Marcus: You will never be her stepmother!
Evelyn raised an eyebrow, adjusting the sleeve of her white dress as if Marcus’s anger was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
Evelyn: Don't be hysterical, Marcus. Your father’s will clearly states that to retain control of Sterling Enterprises, you must be married before your thirty-fifth birthday next month. You need me just as much as I need this estate.
Marcus: You think I care about a corporate board meeting after what you just did to my child?!
Evelyn: You care about money and legacy. Now hand Lily to Clara so we can clean up and make our engagement speech like civilized adults.
Marcus completely lost his temper. He handed Lily carefully over to Clara, stepping forward with explosive speed and violently shoving Evelyn backward away from the child.
Evelyn: AHH! Marcus!
Marcus: Don't you ever come near her again!
Before Evelyn could regain her balance, Marcus stepped in and aggressively shoved her hard against the main party table. The massive three-tiered birthday cake, punch bowls, and crystal champagne glasses crashed onto the floor in a shower of pink frosting and shattering glass.
Evelyn: My dress! You ruined my white dress!
Marcus: I don't give a damn about your dress!
Marcus reached down toward the side table, grabbing the official printed prenuptial agreement and party presentation document. With his hands shaking from deep anger, he tore the heavy paper apart right in front of Evelyn's pale, shocked face.
Evelyn: What... what are you doing?! That’s the contract for the merger!
Marcus: The wedding is cancelled!
The entire sunroom fell dead silent. The torn pieces of the contract fluttered down, landing on top of the ruined birthday cake covered in pink frosting and smashed floral details. Evelyn stared at the floor, her mouth agape in utter disbelief as Marcus turned his back on her completely.