Chapter 2 - THE BRIDE WHO DIDN’T EXPECT A NO
Claire stared at me as if I had spoken another language.
“You’re not getting married?”
“No.”
Her eyes moved toward my mother.
Then back to me.
“You’re doing this because she fell?”
“I’m doing this because I finally saw what you did.”
Claire laughed.
It was a small, disbelieving sound.
“You are seriously canceling our wedding over an accident?”
My mother tried to speak.
“Ethan…”
I held up a hand.
“Mom, please.”
Claire crossed her arms.
“She wasn’t hurt.”
My mother looked down at her hip.
Claire noticed.
For one second, something almost like guilt appeared in her eyes.
Then it disappeared.
“We have three hundred guests outside,” she said.
“I know.”
“The flowers are paid for.”
“I know.”
“The photographer is here.”
“I know.”
“The venue is booked.”
“I know.”
Her voice became sharper.
“Do you have any idea how humiliating this is?”
I looked at her.
“Not as humiliating as watching you kick my mother’s cane and pretend you didn’t.”
Claire’s face hardened.
“You’re choosing her.”
The sentence stopped me.
Not because it was true.
Because of the way she said it.
As if my mother were an enemy.
As if loving my mother was some betrayal of Claire.
My mother had sacrificed everything for me after my father died.
She had sold her jewelry to keep the company alive.
She had worked two jobs while recovering from surgery.
She had never asked me for anything.
Not once.
And Claire knew all of it.
She had used that knowledge to make me feel guilty.
Every time I visited my mother, Claire accused me of abandoning her.
Every time I paid for Mom’s medical treatment, Claire called it “financial irresponsibility.”
Every time my mother attended a family event, Claire said she was trying to control my life.
I had defended Claire.
I had told my mother she was misunderstanding things.
I had apologized to Claire.
I had even asked my mother to “try harder.”
Now I wanted to go back in time and shake myself.
Claire stepped closer.
“Ethan, you are emotional.”
“No.”
“You’re angry.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re about to destroy our entire future because of one misunderstanding.”
I looked at the cane beneath the table.
“One misunderstanding?”
Claire’s lips pressed together.
Then she lowered her voice.
“Fine.”
She leaned close enough that only I could hear her.
“If you walk away from this wedding, you will regret it.”
There was no sadness in her voice.
No heartbreak.
Only calculation.
I felt a cold sensation move through my chest.
“Is that a threat?”
Her expression changed immediately.
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
She stepped away.
At that moment, my best friend Marcus appeared at the end of the corridor.
He had been my best man for almost twenty years.
He looked from Claire to my mother.
Then to me.
“What happened?”
Claire answered before I could.
“Ethan is having a breakdown.”
Marcus frowned.
My mother slowly pushed herself upright.
“I fell.”
Marcus immediately moved toward her.
“Are you hurt?”
Claire snapped.
“She’s fine.”
Marcus stopped.
He looked at Claire.
Then at me.
And I saw the question in his eyes.
What happened?
I took out my phone.
“I want to see the security footage.”
Claire went completely pale.
The venue had cameras in every hallway.
The footage would show exactly what happened.
She recovered quickly.
“There’s no need.”
“There is.”
“Ethan—”
“I said I want to see it.”
Marcus looked at me.
“I’ll get the venue manager.”
Claire grabbed my arm.
Her fingers dug into my sleeve.
“Don’t.”
I stared at her hand.
Then at her face.
“Why?”
She released me.
For the first time since I had known her…
Claire had no answer.
And that was when the venue manager arrived.
He was carrying a tablet.
“I already pulled the footage,” he said.
Claire stopped breathing.
The manager turned the screen toward me.
“Mr. Carter…”
He hesitated.
May you like
Then looked at Claire.
“I think you should watch this.”
