519 Invitations Had Her Name, I Cancelled The Wedding Chapter 08

A month later, I returned to Calder Bay briefly to finalize the divorce.

My attorney picked me up at the station:-

As the car drove into the city, he handed me a new settlement agreement.

Nathan had put the lakeside house, his savings, and ten percent of his company equity in my name.

There was also a storefront.

The address was next door to my father’s old printing studio.

The attorney hesitated.

“Mr. Caldwell said the storefront would make it easier for you to reopen the shop.”

I turned one page and closed it.

“I don’t want it.”

“Ms. Harper, that’s not a small amount.”

“I know.”

What I had wanted back then was simply my name written correctly on 520 invitations.

I had wanted him to stand on my side once when Madison,crossed the line.

Now money and houses were being placed in front of me, but they felt late and weightless.

The appointment at the county clerk’s office was in the afternoon.

I went back to the lakeside house first to get my things.

The door code had been changed to my birthday.

Nathan stood at the door waiting. When he saw me, he immediately opened it.

The house was quiet, like a model home.

Madison’s game controller, motorcycle helmet, and carelessly tossed jackets were all gone.

On the coffee table lay a stack of new invitations.

This time, the bride’s line held only my name.

Nathan said quietly, “I had the printer make all 520 again.”

“The paper, the typeface, the wax seal. Everything you originally chose.”

I didn’t reach for them

This was the respect that should have been given before the wedding. He was only offering it after I had abandoned the wedding.

Passing the study, I paused.

My father’s old letters had been placed in acid-free archival sleeves and laid flat in a conservation box.

The places where the ink had bled were much fainter now.

On the desk sat the carved stone keepsake.

The crack had been repaired, the missing corner filled with gold.

Nathan picked up the keepsake, his voice hoarse.

“The specialist said this is as far as the repair can go.”

“I’ll keep it safe from now on. I won’t break it again.”

I took the keepsake and put it in my bag.

“I’m taking this.”

A flicker of light appeared in his eyes.

“Okay.”

“The old letters and the keepsake are yours too.”

“When your project ends and you come back, we can reopen the shop together.”

I looked at him.

“Nathan, I’m taking them because they were always mine.”

“Not because I’m coming back.”

The light in his eyes dimmed little by little.

I walked to the bedroom and took out my father’s old photo album.

Nathan followed me.

“I’ve cut Madison off.”

“I deleted everyone who egged her on at the wedding too.”

“No one will interfere with us again.”

I closed my suitcase.

“Do you think I left so you could clean things up?”

He froze.

“I just finally understand something.”

“A man who only learns boundaries after I threaten divorce is not husband material.”

At two in the afternoon, we arrived at the county clerk’s office.

Nathan was still holding the settlement agreement.

“Take the house and the equity.”

“Consider it my compensation.”

I shook my head.

“I only want the divorce decree.”

His voice tightened.

“Evelyn, I know I was wrong.”

“We can redo the wedding.”

“The invitations have already been reprinted.”

“Your father’s audio, I’ll play it first at the ceremony.”

“Madison will never appear in front of us again.”

I looked at him calmly.

“Nathan, I can’t stay married to a man who smashed my father’s last keepsake.”

The last bit of color drained from his face.