He Took the Wrong Turn on Our Wedding Day Chapter 04

He Took the Wrong Turn on Our Wedding Day Chapter 04

I stood in front of my mom, trying to use my own shadow to shield her from the blazing sun, frantically

scrolling through rideshare apps.

The guilt was eating me alive.

My parents had come all this way for my wedding.

One of them ended up in surgery. The other was standing in the blazing sun with me, waiting for a ride that

wasn’t coming.

The color had drained from my mom’s face.

She still tried to make me feel better.

“Let it go, sweetheart. He’s not worth your tears. We’ll get there.”

My eyes stung.

All I could do was keep pushing her forward.

By the time we reached the intersection, sweat was dripping down my mom’s face and her lips had turned

cracked and white.

She didn’t say a word. She didn’t have to.

I knew she was in absolute agony.

I’d barely gotten her into the back of an Uber when Bianca texted me. A screenshot.

It was her conversation with Grant.

[That work crisis earlier was just a stupid truth–or–dare game with my coworkers! Sorry I made you panic and rush over. Did I mess up your plans?]

Grant’s reply was sickeningly fond, almost resigned, like he’d expected it.

[You think I don’t know you better than that? But I wasn’t going to risk you actually being upset.]

Then she sent me a second message. Just for me.

[Serena, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way. I swear I wasn’t trying to steal him from you today.]

I stared at the screen until my chest ached.

I knew exactly what she was doing.

She was proving a point: whenever she called, Grant would drop everything for her. Every single time.

I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat.

We finally made it to the clinic on the business card. I found the doctor’s name on the directory.

He didn’t specialize in orthopedic rehab.

His specialty was diabetic foot care.

My mom and I stood outside the department, not knowing what to do.

The brass plaque on the door read: Diabetic Foot Care & Chronic Ulcer Management.

We sat on a hallway bench for a long time.

Patients came and went. The hope we’d carried in with us quietly died.

My mom reached for my hand.

“Let’s go.” I kept my head down. The whole thing had been a cruel joke.

He hadn’t even checked the doctor’s credentials. He’d just grabbed a business card from God knows where.

I’d actually been grateful. That was the worst part.

My phone buzzed. Grant, checking in.

[Did you guys see the doctor yet? How’d it go? Bianca was actually the one who found him for you online. She felt super guilty about the accident. Think of it as her way of making amends.]

I didn’t type a single word back. I just snapped a photo of the diabetic foot care sign and hit send.

I wheeled my mom out of the clinic.

Whatever hope we’d walked in with was gone.

Better to have no hope at all than hope that was just another way to hurt us.

I was still standing outside the building when my screen lit up again. It was Elliot Rhodes. A name I hadn’t

seen in a long time.

[Where are you? I’m coming to get you. I tracked down a top–tier orthopedic specialist out of state; it’s a bit of a drive, but he’s exactly what your mother needs.]

Days passed.

It took Grant that long to realize the condo was completely silent.

He hadn’t seen Serena in days.

He had no idea how the clinic visit went, or if her mother was even healing.

The accident had completely derailed their lives: the wedding, the plans, all of it.

Frowning, he unlocked his phone and finally tapped on the photo she’d sent him.