He Abandoned Our Wedding, I Destroyed His Life Chapter 01

He Abandoned Our Wedding, I Destroyed His Life Chapter 01

Today was supposed to be my third wedding to Matteo Ferraro.

This time, I hadn’t invited any friends. Only our closest family members were there.

My head was splitting, but I was still trying to go over the final details with the wedding planner. Matteo wasn’t even looking at me.

He was in the groom’s suite, tending to Chloe. She’d claimed she twisted her ankle the moment she arrived, so Matteo had her sit down, propped up her leg, and went to fetch an ice pack.

My parents saw it all and just shook their heads.

“After all this, he still doesn’t put you first.”

Everyone knew how desperate I was for this wedding to finally happen.

But just before the ceremony was about to begin, Matteo disappeared.

I rushed out to find him, but he stopped me at the entrance.

“Chloe’s ankle looks bad. I need to take her to urgent care.”

“Let’s just reschedule, okay? I promise, next time I won’t do this.”

Then he shook my hand from his arm and helped Chloe into the passenger seat of his BMW.

We had been together for five years. This was the third time he had ruined an important day for us because of Chloe.

In the past, I would have broken down right there, demanding to know why he always chose moments like this to leave me.

But not this time.

I just stood there and smiled.

“It’s fine. Her ankle is more important.”

Matteo froze, the surprise clear on his face.

“I’m glad you understand. I’ll bring you some cheesecake from Junior’s tonight.”

I nodded, watching as he rolled up the window and hit the gas. The moment the car pulled away, my smile vanished.

He’d forgotten I was lactose intolerant. I couldn’t eat cheesecake. The one who liked it was never me.

He’d bought it for me once before to “cheer me up.” I got sick after one bite. When I told him I couldn’t have dairy, he pulled out his phone, typed it into his notes, and promised he wouldn’t forget again.

Then he forgot anyway.

The sun beat down, hot enough to burn my skin, but all I felt was a deep, spreading cold.

I turned, walked back to the ceremony, and announced the wedding was canceled. Then, in front of everyone, I picked up a pair of scissors and destroyed the wedding dress I had now worn three times for nothing.

And with it, this relationship.

In the end, only my parents remained.

“Come back to Boston with us.”

They’d said it so many times before.

I sank onto a chair and looked at them.

Founding partners at a top Boston law firm, they were the reason I’d gone to law school in the first place.

They’d hoped I’d come home to Boston right after graduation and join the family firm. But then I met Matteo and followed him to New York instead.

He grew up on Staten Island, from a perfectly ordinary family, and he was deeply insecure about the difference in our backgrounds.

So for five years, I’d hidden the truth about my family. In his eyes, I was just a girl from a regular, middle-class home.

In those five years, I’d worked my way up from junior associate to litigation attorney, making a name for myself at our firm. We’d earned the highest bonuses three years running. Our colleagues called us a power couple.

Our life was good, so much better than before. I thought he’d stopped caring about those differences. I just never found the right moment to tell him.

Now, there was no point.

“Okay. I’ll go back with you.”

My parents’ faces lit up, and they both took my hands.

“Good. We’ll book the tickets right away. You don’t have to stay here alone anymore.”

After I got my parents settled, I went back to the apartment I shared with Matteo.

The place was silent.

I made myself some pasta, then opened Instagram and saw a new post from Chloe.

In the photo, she was in a tight athletic top, posing with Matteo. They were both sweaty, their bodies pressed close.

The caption read, “Dragged my lawyer out of wedding prep to play squash with me. He was a little annoyed at first, but once I said we could have dinner at my place, he got over it right away.”

I felt nothing but disgust.

I knew he wasn’t coming home tonight. It wouldn’t be the first time.

At least we hadn’t made it to the courthouse to sign the papers. From this moment on, I didn’t have to pretend anymore.