519 Invitations Had Her Name, I Cancelled The Wedding Chapter 03

That night, I didn’t go back to the old house.

I sat in the guest room of the lakeside house until dawn, leaving every wedding group text one by one.

At eight in the morning, I went to the old printing studio my father had left behind.

It had been closed for a long time. Rust had crept along the edges of the sign.

I opened the metal shutter, and dust billowed up in my face.

Before he died, my father had carved a handmade wedding keepsake. On it, in his own hand, were the words: [To my daughter on her wedding day.]

I had wanted to place the first proof from that keepsake in front of his photo before the wedding.

But I no longer had a first invitation.

I could only carry the keepsake out and wipe it down with a soft cloth, bit by bit.

Footsteps sounded at the door soon after.

Nathan and Madison walked in one after the other.

He saw me and frowned.

“What are you doing here?”

“There’s so much to do before the wedding, and you’re not answering your phone.”

Madison held an iced latte and peered inside.

“So this is the shop your dad used to run?”

She walked to the worktable and picked up a keepsake.

“It’s got vintage vibes. Great for photos.”

I pressed my hand down on Madison’s.

“Don’t touch it.”

Madison froze.

“I was just looking.”

“I said don’t touch it.”

Madison pouted and put the keepsake back.

But a second later, she noticed the wedding keepsake.

“This looks fun.”

She picked up an ink roller, dipped it in ink, and rolled it across the keepsake.

“Evelyn, let me make you a new version.”

I reached for it.

“Madison, put it down!”

The ink flew from her hand and splashed across the old letters my father had left behind.

The paper quickly bled. The lean, careful handwriting blurred into a mess.

My mind went blank. A sharp ringing filled my ears.

Madison panicked for a second, then got defensive.

“It’s just a few old papers. I’ll replace it.”

I raised my hand and knocked the roller out of Madison’s grip.

“You can’t replace it.”

Madison’s eyes reddened instantly.

“Nathan, look at her!”

Nathan hurried over, but the person he reached for first was Madison.

He looked down at the mark on the back of her hand.

“Does it hurt?”

I stood in front of the ruined letters on the table and suddenly felt how absurd it all was.

“She ruined my father’s things.”

Nathan looked at me, his voice cold.

“Madison didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Did you really have to put your hands on her?”

I pointed at the letters.

“Those were left to me by my father.”

Madison said softly, “I really didn’t know they were that important.”

“And you yelled at me. My hand shook, that’s why it got on them.”

Nathan frowned.

“Just clean it up. Stop doing this.”

Clean it up?

The ink had soaked into the paper. How was I supposed to clean it up?

I bent down to grab tissues, my fingers trembling badly.

But Madison suddenly grabbed the edge of the keepsake.

“I’ll rinse it off for you. That should fix it, right?”

She yanked hard, and the keepsake slid off the table.

I lunged to catch it, stepped on scattered ink, and crashed heavily to the floor.

The keepsake hit the back of my hand.

A sharp corner tore my skin open. Blood welled up fast.

Nathan’s expression changed. He started forward.

But Madison burst into tears first.

“I didn’t mean to!”

“She lunged at me. I thought she was going to hit me.”

Nathan stopped mid-step.

He looked at my bleeding hand, his voice pressed low.

“Apologize to Madison first.”

I braced myself on the worktable and stood.

“What did you say?”

“She’s already terrified.”

“Evelyn, don’t turn everyone against you.”

I looked at him and suddenly had nothing left to say.