I Saw My Tragic Future Through A Random Wedding Forum Poll Chapter 04

I Saw My Tragic Future Through A Random Wedding Forum Poll Chapter 04

“How can you sell this place without even asking me?”

Dad’s face hardened.

“Why are you keeping score with your own family?”

Mom jumped in too.

“Maribel lost her fiancé, and you’re still worried about your money?”

I turned to Bastian.

“You’re okay with this?”

He frowned and stepped in front of Maribel.

“The deed is in my name. I have the right to sell it.”

His voice sharpened.

“Carys, you already have me. Maribel has nothing. Why can’t you give her this one thing?”

My chest tightened.

The couple touring the condo exchanged an uncomfortable look, then headed for the door.

“Sorry. There’s clearly a dispute over the property. We’re not interested.”

The door slammed behind them.

Darcy stomped her foot.

“Seriously? It took me forever to find buyers, and you just scared them off!”

Mom’s eyes reddened.

“Can you really not stand seeing your sister have anything good?”

Bastian looked at me coldly.

“Go home and think about what you’re doing.”

“When you’ve figured it out, come talk to me.”

I didn’t answer.

I gathered my things and left.

No one followed me out.

I sat on the curb outside Glasswater Residences, the cold wind cutting across my face, and memories started coming back one after another.

When we first started looking at condos, I told Bastian I wanted a big balcony. The very next day, he changed our entire search and spent another month looking until he found this place.

I remembered him standing with me in the empty condo, pointing toward the second bedroom.

“We’ll turn this into a dance studio. Mirrors on the walls. You can practice whenever you want.”

And when it came time to sign the contract, he handed me the pen with a smile.

“Go ahead, Mrs. Crowe.”

When had everything changed?

After Keaton died.

Bastian started worrying about Maribel. Taking care of her. Giving in to her.

I thought it was because she was my sister.

I had even been touched by how kind he was.

But what kind of kindness meant tearing apart my life and handing it to someone else piece by piece?

Without even giving me the right to know?

My phone lit up.

Cillian.

Cillian: [Everything’s ready for the wedding.]

[Bride, don’t forget to show up.]

I stared at the screen for a long time before typing back.

Carys: [Count on it.]

The day before the wedding, I stopped by Harrowmere Ballet Theatre to sort out some work arrangements.

I had a major performance coming up the following month, and as a principal dancer, I still had responsibilities to handle before taking time off.

When I stepped outside afterward, I stood by the curb waiting for my ride, still thinking about what to do with the condo.

A black sedan suddenly accelerated straight toward me.

I didn’t even have time to move.

The impact slammed into my right side.

My body flew through the air before my back crashed against the pavement.

Pain exploded through my right leg and tore through the rest of me.

I heard the bone break.

Just before I lost consciousness, I saw the driver duck her head beneath the brim of a baseball cap.

On her wrist was a silver charm bracelet.

The birthday gift I had given Darcy last year.

—

When I woke up, my right leg was already in a cast.

The doctor’s expression was grim.

“Ms. Hartwell, the fracture in your right leg is severe. We can’t say yet how much function you’ll regain, but returning to professional ballet may be difficult.”

I stared at him.

“There’s one more thing. You were bleeding when you came in, so we ran some additional tests. You were about six weeks pregnant.”

“The trauma caused a miscarriage.”

I stared blankly at my leg.

I had danced ballet for twenty years.

Ballet wasn’t just my career. It was the center of my life.

And the baby…

I hadn’t even known that tiny life existed.

Now I had lost them both at once.

Then I heard Darcy’s voice outside the hospital room.

It was shaking.

“I… I only meant to put her in the hospital for a few days. I didn’t think she’d get hurt this badly. I swear I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Dad sighed.

“This isn’t all on you. She refused to let us sell the condo.”

His tone turned colder.

“Now that her leg’s broken, let’s see how she plans to keep fighting us over it.”

Mom lowered her voice.

“Maybe this is for the best. We won’t have to drug her tomorrow night.”

“When she wakes up, we’ll just tell her the wedding’s been postponed.”

Dad sounded troubled.

“We never wanted it to come to this. But Maribel lost the man she was supposed to marry, and in the end, that happened because of us—”

“Stop,” Mom cut him off. “There are cameras out here.”

The hallway went quiet.

Then Bastian spoke.

There was a trace of hesitation in his voice.

“But she’s a ballet dancer. Ballet is everything to her.”

He paused.

“What is she supposed to do if she can’t dance anymore?”

My heart seemed to stop.

Mom sounded completely unconcerned.

“It’s a job, Bastian. There are other jobs in the world. She can find something else.”

Silence followed.

When Bastian spoke again, the hesitation was gone.

“Whatever. I can take care of her.”

“All she’s ever wanted is to marry me. As long as I’m still willing to have her, she won’t care about any of this.”

My fingers tightened around the bedsheet.

Now I understood how, three years from now, they could sign me into a psychiatric hospital without hesitation.

To them, my life was something they could take apart and use to make Maribel feel better.

Even though none of her pain had ever been my fault.

The door opened.

Darcy rushed to my bedside with red-rimmed eyes.

“Carys, don’t worry. We’re going to make sure whoever hit you pays for this.”

Mom took my hand.

“You just focus on getting better. We’ll make sure you get justice.”

Bastian stood behind them, his brows drawn together as if he blamed himself.

“I should’ve picked you up.”

He looked at me.

“We’ll postpone the wedding. We can deal with it after you recover.”

I looked at their faces and smiled faintly.

“Okay.”

My eyes settled on Darcy.

“I definitely won’t let her…”

Then I looked at the rest of them.

“…or them get away with it.”

After they left, the room finally went quiet.

Three soft knocks sounded at the door.

Cillian stepped inside.

The second he saw my leg suspended in a cast, he stopped.

Then he crossed the room quickly and sat beside the bed.

His gaze stayed on my injured leg, growing colder by the second.

“Who did this?”

I didn’t answer.

After a moment, he looked at me.

“Are you still coming to the wedding tomorrow?”

I met his eyes.

“Even if I have to show up on crutches.”

The corner of his mouth moved slightly.

He nodded.

“Then I’ll have them make the aisle wider.”