Before the Wedding, the Dutiful Bride Flew to Iceland Alone Chapter 05

Before the Wedding, the Dutiful Bride Flew to Iceland Alone Chapter 05

Miles gripped his phone, his face darkening.

“She went to Snowcrest?”

“When did this happen?”

The planner hesitated.

“Miss Bennett mentioned she was relocating for a work opportunity.”

“She also stated she’ll handle all cancellation fees, and that you don’t need to worry about any of

it.”

Miles looked like he’d just heard the impossible.

“I don’t need to worry about it?”

“She called off our wedding!”

The planner’s voice was careful.

“Mr. Sterling, Miss Bennett made this very clear last night.”

“She said the wedding wasn’t what she wanted anymore.”

That hit like a shard of ice in his chest.

Without thinking, he turned toward the computer screen.

Serena was still there.

She had her knees pulled to her chest, her eyes rimmed red.

“Miles, is Chloe upset because of me?”

“Maybe I should talk to her and explain everything.”

Any other time, those words would’ve made Miles reassure her on the spot.

But right now,

all he could see was my face from that night, the tears I couldn’t hold back.

The way my eyes had looked. Past the sadness, there had been something final in them.

For the first time, something like panic set in.

He hung up on the planner and called me.

The first call went unanswered.

The second, the same.

The third time, an automated voice answered.

“The number you have dialed is unavailable. Please try again later.”

Miles stood there, and the unease that had been building in his chest finally cracked into real fear.

He ran to the bedroom and found it half-empty.

Half my clothes were missing from the closet.

The passport holder was gone from the vanity.

On the entryway table sat the moonstone necklace.

Beside it lay the engagement ring I’d worn for seven years.

Miles’s hands were shaking.

He’d bought that ring right out of college, six months’ salary saved up for it.

He’d slipped it on my finger with his ears burning red.

“Chloe, this is all I can afford right now.”

“I’ll get you a better one someday. I promise.”

I’d smiled and nodded.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“I love this one.”

But now I’d left that ring on the table by the door.

As if I’d left it there to tell him something.

That I was done.

Miles grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

Serena’s voice called out from the screen.

“Miles!”

“You’re going after her? Now?”

His footsteps faltered.

Serena’s voice shook.

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“I was just helping you with the vows.”

“If Chloe is willing to throw seven years away over something like this, maybe she just didn’t love

you enough to begin with?”

Before, Miles would’ve taken the bait and said exactly what she wanted to hear.

Chloe wouldn’t leave.

Chloe was too sensible for that.

She’d never actually go.

But this time, the words wouldn’t come.

Because he kept seeing my face in the private lounge, white as paper, when I stood up to leave.

He remembered all the times I’d asked him.

“Miles, is there anything else you want to change about the wedding?”

He always said the same thing.

“Whatever you want is fine with me.”

But he never realized that every time I asked, I was asking him to be part of our future.

I never wanted Serena to be the one making those choices.

By the time Miles reached the airport, the sky was already going pale.

He found a ticketing agent, his voice wound tight.

“I need to check on a flight to Snowcrest.”

“The early morning flight. Passenger named Chloe.”

The agent’s voice softened.

“Sir, that flight departed hours ago.”

Miles went still.

Outside the terminal windows, the early morning sky stretched out, empty.

Nothing left to see.

He remembered the first time I ever got on a plane, seven years ago.

I’d been so scared I wouldn’t let go of his hand.

He’d held it tight and grinned.

“Chloe, don’t be scared.”

“Wherever you fly, I’ll be right there with you.”

But now I had flown, and he was on the ground.

And he hadn’t even made it in time to say goodbye.

His phone buzzed.

It was Serena.

[Miles, my stomach is killing me.]

[Can you come home?]

Miles stared at the message. He didn’t move.

Any other day, he would’ve already been in the car.

Because Serena’s smallest discomfort had always mattered more than my silence.

But now, all he felt was the hollow in his chest.

For the first time, he didn’t text Serena back.

Instead, he opened our thread.

The last message was from me, sent a long time ago.

[Miles, I tried on the wedding dress today.]

[When you get a chance, can you come with me to see it?]

He never wrote back.

Instead, Serena had posted an Instagram story about a new dessert shop.

He’d spent the whole afternoon with Serena, eating cupcakes.

Miles stared at the message he’d forgotten.

It hit him then. I hadn’t reached out to him in a long time.

It wasn’t that I’d gotten more sensible.

I’d just stopped expecting anything at all.

He stood in the middle of the terminal, and for the first time, his eyes burned.