Not His Bride Anymore Chapter 03

Not His Bride Anymore Chapter 03

Callan’s breath caught. He stared at me. He started to say something.

Celeste stepped forward.

“Eden, don’t threaten him with breaking up all the time. You want the ring back? Here.”

“Don’t.”

Callan pressed her hand down. The panic in his eyes vanished in a blink.

What replaced it was worse.

That smug certainty at the corner of his mouth.

“Eden, when did you get this childish? Breaking up as a threat?”

“And what about your mother? You don’t want her at the wedding anymore?”

It was like punching air. Even the anger felt useless.

My mom raised me alone. Her health was bad. She worked three jobs to keep us alive.

Callan found out. He knelt by her hospital bed and made a promise.

“Ma’am, I swear to you. I will give Eden the most perfect wedding.”

The promise was yesterday.

The man who made it was not.

I remembered what my mom told me in private.

“Eden, you don’t have to endure anyone who makes you unhappy just to make me happy. I raised you to live. Not to be destroyed by someone else.”

I’d thought she was just being protective. I’d let it slide.

Now I understood. She’d seen this relationship clearer than I ever did.

Callan watched me stay silent. The certainty in his eyes deepened.

He stepped closer. He stroked my hair.

“Be a good girl. Stop this.”

“The venue’s been sorted out. It’s not like you can’t buy a ticket.”

“We’ve got the bachelor party tonight. We’re heading out.”

He took Celeste’s hand and walked out.

The door slammed.

The vanilla latte on the entryway shelf tipped over. Splashed everywhere.

Exactly like what was left of us. Shattered. Spilled.

I closed my eyes. I grabbed my suitcase. I walked out too.

In the Uber, my phone lit up.

A video from Celeste.

A dark private room. People circled around. Passing fruit mouth-to-mouth.

Celeste’s turn. The strawberry was down to a fingernail-sized piece.

She held it between her lips. Leaned toward Callan.

Her face was redder than the fruit.

He smiled. Didn’t dodge. He opened his mouth.

The strawberry vanished between them. The room exploded with shrieks.

“Celeste for the win! Look at Callan’s face—that’s pure adoration. When has the other one ever gotten that?”

Callan’s childhood friend. At dinner last week, he’d been all warmth. “Callan’s done for. You’ve got him completely.”

“Screw that! My brother should be with Celeste. They’ve always been perfect together!”

Callan’s cousin. When her boyfriend cheated, I dropped everything. Took her straight to his office. Made him humiliate himself in public.

She’d clung to me, sobbing. Said I was the only sister-in-law she’d ever accept.

“For real, Callan. Eden’s background… she’s beneath you. You’re actually marrying her?”

The room went quiet. Everyone looked at Callan.

I looked at him too.

He toyed with his vape. He opened his mouth.

“Marriage? It’s all the same whoever you’re with.”

The video cut.

His words didn’t.

I met Callan at a hackathon. I beat him. First place.

He pursued me like a man possessed.

I didn’t believe it at first. Him. Born with a silver spoon. Me. Ordinary. Poor.

Then a group of thugs cornered me off campus.

Callan took two broken ribs saving me.

I looked at him. Complicated.

“Was it worth it? Dating is dating. Isn’t it all the same whoever you’re with?”

He’d smiled.

“It’s not the same. I only like you. I only want a life with you. No one else. No one.”

A heavy promise. I’d carried it for ten years.

Ten years later, he said marriage was all the same.

I saved the video. Calmly.

Celeste’s message popped up.

“Eden, that last message was a mistake. You didn’t watch it, right?”

My fingers were cold. I typed.

“What did you send?”

The typing indicator pulsed. It kept pulsing until I got out of the car.

“Nothing. Callan’s drunk. I won’t send him home tonight. Don’t want to disturb your rest.”

I stared at it for a long time. I replied.

“Whatever.”

Then I opened the confirmation letter from my company. Transfer to Ireland.

I clicked accept.

The offer came six months ago. Three years abroad. Come back as Tech Director.

Callan wouldn’t let me go.

He’d wrapped his arms around my waist. Pouted. Said he couldn’t bear me being so far. Said he’d take care of me for life.

I should’ve seen it then.

He didn’t stop me because he’d miss me. He stopped me because once I had my own career, my own leverage, he couldn’t control me anymore.

The Ireland wedding was supposed to be my chance to visit the branch office there. Close a regret.

Now I didn’t have to.

It was time to pick up the life I’d put on hold.