He Took Her To The Island We Planned To Marry Chapter 08

He Took Her To The Island We Planned To Marry Chapter 08

Rowan called Gideon’s assistant and spent nearly half an hour digging for their return itinerary.

On the day of their arrival, he woke up two hours earlier than usual for the first time in years.

He showered.

Shaved carefully.

Picked out a dark blue shirt.

Seraphine used to say that color looked best on him.

The silver cufflinks on his sleeves had been her birthday gift last year, engraved with tiny wildflowers.

On the way out, Rowan stopped at a florist and bought a bouquet of pink roses.

He also prepared an expensive wedding gift for Gideon and Odessa.

But the moment he opened his apartment door, he froze.

Brielle was standing outside.

“Chief!”

Rowan frowned slightly.

“What are you doing here?”

“I brought you breakfast.” She lifted the paper bag in her hand brightly.

“Thanks for helping me pass my evaluation. I just… didn’t know how else to thank you.”

Then she blinked at him innocently.

“You’re going to pick Seraphine up, right? Let me come too. I haven’t seen her in forever.”

“You don’t need to-”

“Come on, it’ll look nicer if more people are there to pick her up.”

Before Rowan could refuse again, Brielle shoved the breakfast into his hands and walked toward the elevator herself.

“Hurry up, Chief. We’ll be late.”

At the airport arrival gate, time crawled by minute after minute.

The closer it got, the faster Rowan’s heartbeat became.

Finally, the doors opened.

Passengers flooded out laughing and talking.

And Rowan saw her immediately.

Seraphine.

She wore a white dress, her cheeks lightly flushed, looking more radiant than he had seen her in

years.

But she wasn’t alone.

A man walked beside her.

Evander Hale.

One arm rested naturally around Seraphine’s waist while the other pulled their luggage behind

him.

The intimacy between them looked effortless.

Instantly, all the blood in Rowan’s body rushed straight to his head. His eyes locked onto the hand

around Seraphine’s waist.

The world around him seemed to tilt violently.

Suddenly, Gideon spotted him. The smile vanished from his face at once.

He walked over quickly, voice strained.

“Rowan… what are you doing here?”

Rowan didn’t answer.

His gaze remained fixed on Evander’s hand.

On the ring sitting on Evander’s finger.

The exact same ring shining on Seraphine’s hand.

Without another word, Rowan shoved the flowers and gift box into Gideon’s arms and strode

forward.

He wanted to rip that man’s hand away from her.

Wanted to pull Seraphine back into his arms.

Wanted to ask her why.

Why she would do this to him.

Evander seemed to sense the danger immediately.

His eyes swept coldly toward Rowan.

Then calmly, he drew Seraphine slightly behind him and stepped forward himself.

The movement was polite.

But firm enough to leave no room for argument.

“Why…” Rowan’s lips trembled violently. He looked past Evander toward Seraphine almost blankly. “Why?”

Seraphine met his eyes calmly.

This was the first time she had ever seen Rowan this shattered.

Nearby, Odessa stared at him with complete disgust. None of her old warmth remained.

“Rowan, do you seriously have no shame?”

Her voice rang loudly through the terminal, instantly attracting attention from nearby travelers.

“At a time like this, you still bring her with you? Who exactly are you trying to humiliate?”

Rowan opened his mouth instinctively, wanting to explain.

But before he could say anything, Odessa shoved him hard.

Then she pointed straight at him, every word cutting deeper than the last.

“Seraphine waited for you for eight years!”

“Do you even have a heart?”

“You know her father has severe heart disease, right? It’s been getting worse every year.”

“His biggest wish was to see his daughter married.”

“And what did you do?”

“You abandoned het alone on that island while running around with another woman!”

“What right do you have to come here to pick her up?”

“You deserve this.”

“You deserve to lose her.”

For one horrifying second, Rowan felt something inside his chest being carved out alive.

The pain hit so hard he almost went numb.

Nearby, Gideon watched him silently with a complicated expression. But in the end, even as Rowan’s best friend, all he could do was let out a long sigh.

He patted Rowan once on the shoulder, then pulled Odessa away.

Rowan still tried to move toward Seraphine.

But Seraphine stepped back first and wrapped her arm around Evander’s.

At once, Evander extended a hand forward in quiet warning.

“Rowan,” he said evenly, “I understand how you feel.”

“But Seraphine is my wife now.”

Rowan’s eyes turned bloodshot.

“Why… why would you…”

Seraphine looked at him quietly.

Then her gaze shifted briefly toward Brielle standing behind him.

Finally, she smiled politely.

“It’s over now, Rowan.”

“I really do wish you happiness.”

After a small pause, she added softly:

‘And I hope… someday you can wish the same for me.”