She Wore My Wedding Dress Before I Ever Did Chapter 06

She Wore My Wedding Dress Before I Ever Did Chapter 06

By the time Miles reached Vanessa’s apartment building, he discovered that the supposed knocking had only been the movers for the apartment upstairs bumping into her door

The movers were still apologizing outside her apartment. They said they had already explained what

happened, but Ms. Reed had insisted on calling Mr. Caldwell anyway.

Vanessa stood in the doorway in her pajamas, her eyes red.

“I’m sorry. I was just so scared.”

In the past, those words would have softened Miles immediately.

This time, all he felt was a chill spreading through his chest.

The payment notification from Rachel was still on his screen.

[Wedding expenses settled in full.]

The family-and-friends group chat was exploding too.

His mother had sent more than a dozen voice messages.

“Miles, what’s going on? Why was the wedding canceled?”

“Is Rachel throwing a fit? Go calm her down.”

“You said there was nothing wrong with adding that/tribute to Vanessa to the timeline.”

Miles stared at the final message, his fingers stiffening around the phone.

Vanessa was still speaking softly.

“Is Rachel angry? This is all my fault. I’ll explain everything to her.

“No.”

Miles raised his eyes to her.

“Vanessa, from now on, call building management when something like this happens.”

Vanessa froze.

“What?”

“I’m not your emergency contact.’

Even Miles was startled when the words left his mouth.

For the past three years, he had apparently taken it for granted that he should always be available whenever

she called.

Whenever Vanessa was frightened, in pain, pressured by her family to settle down, or dealing with

something as minor as a broken light, she called him.

He had also taken it for granted that Rachel would understand.

She would step aside.

She would wait.

Miles turned and left.

When he returned home, one pair of women’s shoes was gone from the entryway

Half of the walk-in closet was empty.

The skincare products had disappeared from the vanity.

Every wedding-related document had been stacked neatly on the coffee table.

A checklist sat on top.

The final line read:

[Utilities and building fees have been prepaid through the end of the month.]

Miles gripped the paper until his knuckles turned white.

She had settled even the smallest household expense between them.

He opened their shared calendar.

It was empty.

The calendar had once been packed with the hair-and-makeup trial, the rehearsal, the meeting between

both sets of parents, and the wedding countdown, but now every entry was gone.

She had removed him from their shared photo album.

She had turned off location sharing.

Even the online invitation dashboard showed that the event had been deactivated.

Miles sat on the edge of the bed.

For the first time, the apartment felt terrifyingly empty.

He sent Rachel a text.

Miles: [Where are you? We need to talk.]

The text showed Delivered.

She had not blocked his number, but she did not reply.

That silence hurt more than being blocked ever could.

It was as though she could no longer be bothered to hate him.

He opened the footage from the bridal salon.

Vanessa was wearing Rachel’s wedding gown, lifting the skirt as she turned in a slow circle.

From outside the frame, Miles said, “It looks good.”

The familiarity of his own voice grated against him.

He suddenly remembered Rachel’s first fitting.

She had turned around and asked him, “Do I look good?”

His phone had rung at that exact moment.

Vanessa had said her back hurt.

While answering Vanessa’s message, he had replied distractedly, “You look good. You look good in anything.”

Rachel had not asked him again that day.

She had not been indifferent.

She had simply remembered.