He Set Me Up at the Wedding, I Took Him Down Chapter 02

He Set Me Up at the Wedding, I Took Him Down Chapter 02

Dazed, I thought back to the past.

I was twelve when I was taken from my small southern town to live with the Carter family—awkward, insecure, and timid.

Kian Voss had once just stood up for me against bullies, and I’d fallen hopelessly in love.

I chased him so openly everyone knew.

But he’d despised me for it.

Eventually, I got tired. I gave up on him.

That’s when I noticed Jaxon Reed, who’d been quietly by my side all along.

One rainy night, he held an umbrella over me the whole time.

He said. “Chloe, I don’t need you to see me. I just want you to be free.”

How ridiculous.

I’d swept my heart clean to make space for Jaxon.

I’d fallen deeper and deeper for his gentleness.

I’d let myself dream of a sweet future with him.

I never knew I was handing him a knife to carve into my heart.

Over and over.

Bleeding.

A sour ache climbed up my throat, tears stinging my eyes I couldn’t hold back.

I wiped one away quickly.

Inside, the voices kept going, all egging him on.

“The best way to get back at a woman is to drop her off the deepest cliff when she’s happiest. Way more fun.”

“Exactly. Go back home. Help her pick out her wedding dress. Send out invitations with her. Act perfect. Then leave her standing alone at the wedding. I bet Chloe will lose it.”

Nauseating laughter filled the room.

I fought the urge to throw up, waiting for Jaxon’s answer.

I begged to hear him say. Stop joking. I love Chloe.

Or. That’s too cruel for a girl.

But after a long silence, I heard his steady, cold voice agreeing.

“Yeah. Sounds good. Let’s do it.”

Blinding rage crushed my chest.

I forced a bitter smile, but tears streamed down my face anyway.

You want to play games, Jaxon?

Fine. I’ll play along. I can’t wait to see your face on our wedding day when you realize I’m the one who ran.

I erased all trace of my trip to New York and went back to the apartment I shared with Jaxon.

I pulled out every gift he’d ever given me and cut them to pieces one by one.

It was strange.

I wasn’t even thinking about anything, but the tears wouldn’t stop.

Falling in love is like having a rheumatism disease.

It’s sunny during the day and nothing happens.But at night, the cold seeps into your bones, and the pain is unbearable.

Maybe this was just my withdrawal.

I stood up and laid my custom-made wedding dress on the floor.

Without expression, I sliced a long, ragged tear down the fabric.

I needed to remind myself.

Love is the same.

Once it’s broken, no amount of fixing can put it back to how it was.

I cleaned up the mess and locked everything in the study—a room Jaxon rarely entered.

I lay in bed, unable to sleep.

Scrolling through short videos, I saw a suggested account that looked familiar.

The username: [Loving Jaxon Forever.]

Curiosity got the better of me. I clicked.

It was a girl’s diary about secretly loving a boy.

The latest post was tagged in New York.

Caption:[The man I’ve loved for ten years is getting married next month. I’m finally going to confess. Wish me luck!]

In her photo, I saw a familiar hand.

On the ring finger: a wedding band.

It was Jaxon.