From Broken Vow To True Love Chapter 01

From Broken Vow To True Love Chapter 01

At the pre-wedding cocktail hour, my maid of honor Chloe said she’d handle the slideshow.

I held Dorian’s hand, waiting to see the pictures from the past three years.

But the first picture on the big screen was Dorian kneeling down to tie Chloe’s shoelaces.

In the second, they were sitting side by side on the window seat in our apartment, watching the sunset.

She was wearing my bathrobe.

The third was from Coachella last spring.

They were holding glow sticks. Standing close. Smiling at each other.

All three hundred guests in the hall turned to look at me.

I dropped Dorian’s hand and faced him and Chloe, my voice trembling.

“Don’t you two owe me an explanation?”

Dorian just leaned back, his tone breezy.

“What’s the big deal? Friends take pictures.”

Chloe laughed, reaching over to pat my arm.

“Hannah, come on. We’ve known each other forever. You’re not going to get weird about this, right?”

She gave Dorian a little nod, like she had everything under control.

Looking at them, I knew. This wedding was over.

…

“Don’t mind her,” Dorian said to Chloe, loud enough for me to hear. “She’s just nervous, so she’s overthinking things.”

I stared at the two of them.

Their intimacy was a wall I couldn’t breach.

It was so thick, so effortless, that I was the one who felt like an intruder.

I looked at the screen.

“Overthinking?”

I raised my hand and pointed to the sunset photo.

“That’s Chloe, in *my* bathrobe, in the apartment *I* bought, watching the sunset with you.”

“And you’re calling that an ordinary photo?”

Chloe blinked.

“I was on my period and bled through my dress. I just borrowed your robe for a minute.”

“Dorian saw I was bored and just kept me company for a little while.”

She looked at me as if she genuinely couldn’t comprehend why I was angry.

“Hannah Moretti, you always make such a big deal out of everything.”

From the groomsmen’s table, Matt let out a low whistle.

“Hannah, it’s your wedding day. Don’t kill the vibe over nothing.”

Another groomsman, Kevin, chimed in.

“Everyone knows Dorian and Chloe are like brother and sister.”

“If you can’t handle this, you two are going to be fighting all the time.”

A few scattered laughs. Suddenly, *I* was the unreasonable one.

I looked at Dorian.

“And you? You think this is nothing, too?”

Dorian met my gaze, his face already a mask of impatience.

“Of course it is. You’re the one I’m marrying.”

“The wedding dress is on you. The ring is on your finger. What more do you want?”

He stood and straightened the lapels of his Tom Ford suit.

“Enough. The media is waiting outside.”

Chloe tossed her hair back.

The movement revealed a pair of diamond studs.

I recognized them instantly.

Last month, while Dorian was on business in Paris, I’d seen them on the brand’s website.

I’d assumed they were my wedding gift.

But he’d told me he couldn’t get them.

Now, those earrings were in Chloe’s ears.

“Why do you have those earrings?”

I stared at her, my voice flat.

Chloe’s hand flew to her earlobe before she forced a smile.

“Oh, these? Dorian said they were a little too young for your style.”

“He figured you wouldn’t wear them anyway, so he gave them to me.”

Those earrings were worth tens of thousands of dollars.

I took a breath, keeping my voice steady.

“Dorian, Venmo me for the earrings.”

Dorian’s face darkened.

“Hannah, are you done making a scene?”

“It’s my money. I’ll spend it on whoever I want.”

“Keep this up, and this day is going to end very differently than you think.”

He looked down at me, his expression smug.

He was certain I wouldn’t dare embarrass him at our own wedding.

He was certain that after three years of loving him, I would never actually leave him.