Four Years Of Hair For A Wedding And He Cut It For A Scene Chapter 03

Four Years Of Hair For A Wedding And He Cut It For A Scene Chapter 03

The sisters at the convent cleaned me up. My bleeding scalp. My scraped knees.

Father Silas checked the wounds himself. Once he was sure nothing was deep, he let me go.

Julian had waited the whole time.

“Elena, what kind of wedding do you want?”

The question caught me off guard, and heat rushed to my face.

“Anything works.”

Julian smiled.

“Then we’ll do it the North Crest way.”

“I have to head into the city. There’s still a lot to get ready.”

“Do you want anything? I’ll bring something back for you.”

My eyes stung, and my voice came out barely above a whisper.

“Anything works.”

Julian laughed softly.

“Then get some rest. I’ll take care of everything.”

I watched him walk away until he disappeared down the path.

One of the sisters came running in.

“Elena! Garrett’s back. He’s looking for you!”

She bit her lip. “You’re not going to change your mind, are you?”

I shook my head.

But I still needed to see him. One last time.

He still had something that belonged to me—my sacred reliquary.

My mother was in agonizing labor for three days and nights. She prayed at the altar of Saint Jude, begging God to save my life instead of hers.

After she died, the sisters took a small sliver of her collarbone, sealed it inside a silver reliquary, and placed it around my neck.

It was supposed to keep me safe for the rest of my life.

When Garrett started filming in the wilderness, with blizzards, grizzlies, all of it, I was terrified for him.

So I gave him the reliquary.

Now that we were done, I needed it back.

When I got to the cabin, I stopped in the doorway.

Garrett. Audrey.

Audrey was wearing my wedding dress.

The seed pearls, the turquoise, the coral sewn into it—those had belonged to my grandmother and my mother before me.

I’d started sewing it when I was sixteen. Four years, stitch by stitch.

And now the hem was soaked through with mud, the edges dragging through filth.

Something inside me snapped. I lunged at her.

“Take it off!”

Audrey flinched and ducked behind Garrett.

Garrett stepped between us.

“Elena! What is wrong with you now?”

“Can you drop the drama for one second?”

“Look, I get it. You didn’t grow up with a proper education.”

“But if you’re going to come back to the city with me, you can’t keep acting like this. You can’t just lose it every time something doesn’t go your way.”

I stared at him through the blur of tears.

“That’s my wedding dress! Who gave her the right to put it on?”

Garrett shifted, his tone defensive.

“Audrey walked back here in the rain because she didn’t want you getting the wrong idea.”

“She was soaked when she got here. She stepped right into a mud puddle.”

“She was freezing, so I grabbed something for her to change into.”

“She’s got sensitive skin. She can’t wear coarse wool. This was the only thing soft enough that wouldn’t irritate her skin.”

“I’ll wash it for you later.”

My hands balled into fists.

“Take it off.”

“Elena, she’s a guest!”

“I said take it off!”

Garrett’s jaw tightened. He turned to Audrey.

“Audrey, just take it off.”

Audrey bit her lip and slipped out of the wedding dress.

Garrett pulled off his own jacket, wrapped it around her shoulders, and drew her against him.

Only then did he look at me.

“Are you satisfied now?”

I looked at them, his arms around her, her head against him, and the ache in my chest wouldn’t stop.

But I didn’t want to fight anymore.

“Give me back my reliquary.”

Garrett didn’t answer. His face fell.

My stomach dropped.

“Garrett. Where is it?”

Audrey spoke up.

“You mean that little bone pendant?”

“Garrett gave it to me the day I got altitude sickness. He thought it might help.”

“Then I found out it was made from actual bone, and… I don’t know, it freaked me out. So I tossed it.”

All the blood rushed from my head, leaving a ringing in my ears.

“What did you say?”

Audrey shrank back.

“I didn’t know it was important…”

I grabbed for her, half-blind.

“Give it back!”

Garrett shoved me back.

“Elena! That’s enough!”

“She didn’t know, okay? What was she supposed to do?”

“It’s just some animal bone. Is it really worth all this?”

I could barely get the words out.

“That reliquary was blessed at the altar! It was the only thing protecting my life!”

“That bone… it’s from my mother’s collarbone.”

“My mother is dead! That was the only thing I had left of her, and you threw it away!”

Garrett’s face went pale. He took a step toward me.

“Elena…”

But then Audrey burst into tears.

She tore the gold necklace off her throat and shoved it into my hand.

“Fine. I’ll pay you back! My father gave me this. It’s worth a million dollars. Is that enough?”

“If it’s not, I’ll go look for it right now!”

She turned and ran out into the rain.

“Audrey!”

Garrett went after her.

But at the door, he stopped.

“Elena.”

“Even if it was your mother’s, so what?”

“Why do you have to push everyone to the breaking point over something like this?”

“You grew up in a convent. Where’s all that Christian charity you’re supposed to have?”

I stared at him until my vision blurred.

“Get out.”

Garrett froze.

“What did you say?”

I pointed at the door, screaming.

“I told you to get out!”

“Garrett, we’re done! Do you hear me? We are done!”