The Soulmate System Chose Her Not Me Chapter 10

The Soulmate System Chose Her Not Me Chapter 10

On the second Saturday of the following month, the Pierce family had booked the entire ballroom at the InterContinental Bayshore.

I stood at the entrance with my arm linked through Preston’s.

Instead of a classic white reception dress, I wore a sleek black velvet evening gown.

Guests arrived one after another.

Ten minutes before the ceremony was about to begin, the elevator chimed open.

Gavin walked out.

He was wearing the suit I had cut apart, now haphazardly stitched back together with crude, uneven stitches.

The collar sat crooked, and loose threads stuck out everywhere. He looked ridiculous.

But he did not care. He walked straight toward me.

Security tried to stop him, but Preston lifted a hand and signaled for them to step back.

Gavin stopped three steps away from us.

“Jenna,” Gavin said, his voice hoarse beyond recognition.

“I know everything now. Lila wasn’t sick. She lied to me.”

He pulled a ring box from his pocket and opened it.

Inside was a three-carat diamond ring.

“You threw away those two silver bands, so I bought you a new one, the most expensive one I could find.”

He held the ring box up in front of me.

“I sold the company. All the proceeds have been transferred into your account. I don’t want anything anymore.”

Gavin looked at me, his eyes red.

“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have hidden you. I shouldn’t have let go of your hand in that private room.”

His knees bent, and he dropped to one knee on the carpet.

The guests around us sucked in sharp breaths.

Kyle and the others were standing in the crowd too, watching the scene unfold. None of them dared step forward.

“Jenna, give me one more chance. Come home with me, okay?”

Gavin tilted his head up and looked at me with pleading eyes.

I looked down at him.

He had humbled himself completely. He had thrown away every shred of dignity, but my heart did not stir at all.

“Gavin,” I said, calling him by name.

“You sold your company, bought an expensive ring, and knelt here to beg me. Do you think that makes you devoted?”

Gavin froze.

“Lila deceived you, and now that you’ve realized you made a fool of yourself, you’re desperate to drag me back as your security blanket so you can prove you haven’t lost completely.”

“No! I really love you.” Gavin shook his head desperately.

“Love?” I said. “The love you talk about is something you can divide up and hand out whenever you feel like it. The love I want is exclusive. It means I am the unquestioned first choice.”

I lifted my left hand. On my ring finger was a plain band with no diamond at all.

“This is what Preston gave me.”

I turned to look at Preston.

Preston reached out and wrapped an arm around my waist. Then he looked down at Gavin on the floor.

“Gavin, the show is over. You can get the hell out now.”

The ring box slipped from Gavin’s hand and fell to the floor. The diamond ring rolled out, glinting coldly against the carpet.

He did not pick it up. He only stared at me in a daze.

“You really… don’t have any feelings for me anymore?”

“Not at all,” I said.

I turned, took Preston’s arm, and walked toward the ballroom doors.

Music began to play, and the doors slowly opened before us.

Light spilled out from inside and fell over us.

We walked in, and the doors closed behind us with a heavy thud.

Gavin and that patched-up suit of his were left outside for good.

…

One year later.

I sat on the patio of our new house, holding a watering can as I watered several pots of pothos.

The sunlight was warm. A breeze passed through, making the leaves rustle softly.

Preston came out of the house, carrying a plate of sliced fruit.

“Eat something.” He set the fruit plate on the wicker table and casually took the watering can from my hand.

“You’re always stealing my chores,” I complained, picking up a fork and spearing a piece of apple.

Preston smiled and sat down beside me.

“Kyle posted something on Instagram just now,” Preston said suddenly.

My hand paused.

“What did he post?”

“Gavin left Bayshore.”

Preston looked at me.

“After his company went bankrupt, he ended up buried in debt. Lila cut ties with him six months ago. He sold his family’s old house to pay what he owed, and today he took a bus back to his hometown.”

“Oh.”

I swallowed the bite of apple.

“That’s it? Just ‘oh’?” Preston raised an eyebrow.

“What else should I do? Set off fireworks to celebrate?” I looked at him.

Preston leaned over and kissed me on the lips.

“No fireworks needed. There’s a charity gala tonight. I’ll bid on a necklace for you instead.”

I laughed.

Those seven years spent hidden in the dark were long over.

The past had washed away, and the man I once loved no longer mattered.

Now, I only looked ahead.