The Wedding Is Off, and So Am I Chapter 03

The Wedding Is Off, and So Am I Chapter 03

It was better this way. I didn’t have to grovel anymore, waiting for him to marry me.

My mother was still rambling on, teaching me that the best way to win a man was to be soft and sweet. But the hurt in my chest suddenly had no desire to be spoken aloud.

“Mom, the wedding is off. I’m not going to marry him.”

I hung up, then called the wedding planning company to cancel tomorrow’s ceremony.

The officiant paused for a moment, then said,

“Mr. Sterling already called about this.

But he said to keep the decorations and posters in storage for three years.

That’s going to be hard. Those things are meant to be one-time use.”

I understood immediately. He hadn’t been too busy to notify our families and friends.

He just didn’t want to deal with their questions.

And he still thought I’d wait three years for him, just like those cheap decorations.

“Throw them away. Even if they weren’t disposable, they’d be ruined after three years.”

Just like his love for me. It would fade with time.

I hung up and scrolled to his mother’s number, dreading the call.

She absolutely despised Celeste Montgomery. If she found out her son had already gotten a marriage certificate with her, she might actually have a stroke.

I took a deep breath and transferred back the $880,000 she had given me as a wedding gift.

I silently counted to three. My phone rang.

“Vera, why did you send back the dowry?”

“Mom, Lucas and I are putting the wedding on hold for now. I’m going abroad for three years.”

Even though I was telling the truth, Margaret Sterling, who was always perceptive, immediately sensed something was wrong.

“Did Lucas do something to hurt you? I’m going to talk to him right now.

Tomorrow’s wedding is going ahead as planned.”

“Mrs. Sterling, the wedding really can’t happen.”

But she’d already hung up.

Let Lucas deal with his own mother.

It was time for me to pack and leave.

The wedding house was filled with festive decorations. Every detail represented my hopes for a happy married life.

But now, they all felt like knives stabbing into my heart.

I didn’t have much to take. I couldn’t even fill one suitcase.

But I had a lot to throw away.

When I finally finished throwing things out, I noticed Lucas had called me several times.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was going to blame me for not handling his mother.

I left the keys by the door and picked up the last item—our wedding portrait—to take it out.

But I ran right into Lucas.

The portrait fell and shattered on the ground.

A piece of glass cut my foot, drawing blood.

Lucas immediately pulled Celeste behind him, protecting her, and scolded me, “Vera, what are you doing? Can’t you see Celeste is here? What if you hurt her?”

He couldn’t see the blood welling up from my foot. But he carefully brushed off a tiny speck of glass, no bigger than a pea, from Celeste’s shoe.

I didn’t watch him fuss over another woman. I picked up my suitcase and walked forward.

His eyes caught the suitcase, and he jumped up, grabbing my arm. “Vera, where are you going?”

I was about to answer when his phone rang.

I could see it was his mother calling.

He answered impatiently, “Fine! I heard you! I won’t cancel! I’ll smooth things over with her. Don’t worry.”

He hung up and looked at me. “Vera, my mother says tomorrow’s wedding has to happen as planned.”

“I don’t want to make her angry, so let’s go ahead with it. But can you be the one to run away?”

“My mother likes you. If you’re the one who runs away, she won’t blame me. I can tell her I only married Celeste out of spite.”

My eyes widened. I couldn’t believe the man I’d loved for so many years could say something like that.

But then I remembered he was already Celeste’s husband.