He Married Her on Our Wedding Day Chapter 09

He Married Her on Our Wedding Day Chapter 09

Adrian opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue.

But in the end, all he said was,

“I’m sorry.”

I walked past him without looking back.

After several meetings, this round of partnership discussions was coming to an end.

I was heading back to Westbridge.

Before I left, Adrian came to the airport to see me off.

Another hurricane was moving through the area that day.

My flight was delayed by an hour.

I waved to the others traveling with me, signaling for them to board first.

Only after they had walked away did I turn to Adrian.

“Are you still going to say the same things you said before?”

Adrian shook his head.

After a long silence, he suddenly dropped to one knee in front of me.

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

“Tessa, will you marry me?”

He looked up at me, his eyes red.

I could tell Adrian truly regretted what he had done.

“I know I made a lot of mistakes before.”

“But I promise that from now on, I’ll take care of you, respect you, and truly love you.”

“I made this ring myself.”

“Ever since the day you left, I’ve been waiting for you to come back.”

“Can we start over?”

I looked down at him.

The man who had once been so proud was now kneeling in front of me.

Three years ago, I probably would have thrown myself into his arms in tears and told him over and over,

“Yes.”

But now-

I calmly looked away and closed the ring box.

“It’s too late.”

“If this were three years ago, during that hurricane, I might really have stayed for you.”

“But I’m not the Tessa I was three years ago anymore.”

Adrian didn’t get up.

He stayed on one knee.

People passing by started looking over.

Some pulled out their phones to take pictures.

Others whispered among themselves.

I understood what Adrian was trying to do.

This was his way of apologizing to me.

If those photos ended up online, the rumors from three years ago about who had made the first move in that office romance would finally be clear.

But I didn’t need that anymore.

Three years ago, I had desperately wanted an explanation.

I had wanted him to openly acknowledge what we had been.

Now he was finally giving me both.

But it no longer meant anything.

I walked away without looking back.

The project continued smoothly.

Adrian stopped pursuing me the way he had before.

Every now and then, he would send me a simple text.

[It’s getting colder in Westbridge. Take care of yourself.]

[Is the partnership wrapping up smoothly?]

[How have you been lately?]

Out of courtesy, I would reply briefly.

And just like that, almost a year passed.

Then, a year later, news of my engagement spread.

Adrian flew back from overseas that very night.

He arrived at the reception visibly angry, wanting to see what the man I had chosen had that he didn’t.

But the situation turned out to be a little awkward.

My period had started unexpectedly that day.

It happened so suddenly that I hadn’t had time to prepare.

There weren’t any spare pads in the ballroom either.

So my fiancé, Nolan, had no choice but to go from one female guest to another and ask if anyone had one.

Adrian watched the gentle man ask again and again,

“Excuse me, do you happen to have a pad?”

“Could I borrow one for my fiancée?”

Adrian had expected Nolan to look embarrassed by the whole situation.

But Nolan went from one woman to the next, asking each of them. His voice remained gentle and polite the entire time.

Some women shook their heads.

Others waved him off.

Nolan thanked each of them sincerely, then moved on to the next person.

Eventually, he found someone who had a pad.

He hurried back to me, took off his suit jacket, and tied it around my waist.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked softly.

I shook my head and smiled at him.

The same thing had happened to me three years earlier.

Back then, my period had started unexpectedly.

The cramps were so bad I could barely stand straight, and my formal dress had been stained.

I hadn’t known what to do, so I stood outside the restroom and messaged Adrian for help.

He replied quickly.

But his words made my heart sink.

[No. I’m a man. It’d be too embarrassing for me to ask someone for a pad. If your dress is stained, then

don’t stay at the reception.]

[Just go home. You can take the dress to the dry cleaner tomorrow.】

After sending those messages, he went back to talking with the business partners at the reception.

He never checked on me again.

Adrian had never thought about how I got home that night.

Or how much pain I was in.

All he knew was that he had spent the evening having a good time talking with everyone else.

It wasn’t until the reception ended that he remembered to call me.

By then, my phone was already off.

Thinking about it now, Adrian felt his chest tighten painfully, making it hard to breathe.

At last, he understood why he had lost to Nolan.

Adrian didn’t come over to disturb us.

But as Nolan put an arm around me and we started to leave, Adrian suddenly called out from the doorway

“Tessa!”

Nolan and I stopped at the same time.

Adrian walked toward us and gave me a small smile.

“I heard you got engaged.”

“I hope you’ll be happy.”

I paused, surprised that those were the words he chose to say.

But seeing that Adrian had finally accepted that we were over, I finally felt myself relax.

I gave him a small wave.

“Thank you.”

“The hurricane is about to make landfall.”

“For your own safety, Mr. Vale, you should head home soon.”

We nodded to each other and exchanged one last look.

Then Nolan opened the car door for me.

He waited until I was settled before walking around to the driver’s side.

The car pulled into the night.

Only then did he speak quietly.

“That was him?”

I watched the streetlights slide past the window and nodded.

“Yeah.”

“It’s all over?”

“It’s all over.”

I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes.