On My Wedding Day, I Married Someone Else Chapter 14

On My Wedding Day, I Married Someone Else Chapter 14

Derek’s lips trembled. He wanted to say something else.

But Tiffany, waiting in the car, had finally reached her limit of being ignored.

She climbed out of the passenger side. Thin slip dress. Shivering.

“Derek… I’m so cold… When are we leaving?”

Going inside, Derek kept looking back. Bloodshot eyes on me.

But Ethan and I were already arm in arm. Walking through the door. The heavy oak door swung shut. Separating him into another world.

Derek stared at that closed door. And it seemed to hit him. All the things he’d deliberately forgotten.

He’d always craved adrenaline. Dirt bikes. Rock climbing. Underground fight clubs. Anything dangerous. Chasing the high.

Every time I warned him, he blew me off. Called me a coward.

So I just followed behind in silence. Packed the first-aid kit. Mapped the routes. Contacted local rescue teams. His last safety line.

A year ago. Derek and his crew planned to hit an underground fight at an abandoned warehouse.

I blocked him. Grabbed his arm.

“That place is dangerous, Derek. It’s illegal. Anyone can walk in. Please. Don’t go.”

He shoved me off. Hard enough I hit the doorframe.

“Scared of what? I’m just going to watch. Have some fun. What could happen? You love killing a good time.”

Mid-fight. Their group clashed with the other side. The other guys lost money. Someone got angry. Pulled a switchblade.

Chaos. Derek grappling with him.

A blade driving toward his back.

I still don’t know where the strength came from. I screamed and threw him aside. The blade, inches long, went through my back.

Blood loss. By the time I hit the ER, my blood pressure was nearly gone. They almost lost me.

“If that knife had gone one inch deeper, you’d be facing permanent spinal damage. Possibly paralysis.”

Dr. Miller’s words. Derek knelt beside my blood-stained hospital bed. Wept like a child. Made promises.

“I’ll take care of you for the rest of my life. When you’re better, we’re getting married. No more waiting.”

“I’m going to give you a home right here. The home you’ve always dreamed of.”

Derek pulled out a Nashville city map from a real estate agent. Took a red marker. Drew a solemn circle around the Oak Street neighborhood.

One look. I memorized the place.

Quiet. Beautiful. Oaks lining both sides of the street. The image of home in my heart.