He Came With a Ring. I Had a Fiancé Chapter 07

He Came With a Ring. I Had a Fiancé Chapter 07

Dylan turned and left the bar without hesitation.

He had just opened his car door when Claire ran after him in tears and threw her arms around

him from behind.

“You went looking for Audrey, didn’t you?”

“Have you… really fallen in love with her?”

He turned and gently pried her arms away.

“I don’t know.”

He’d never really considered whether he loved Audrey.

He’d simply accepted everything she gave him.

Love had never been part of the question.

But maybe he did love her.

Otherwise, why would hearing her name now send a sharp, tingling pain through his chest?

Claire stared at him, her face flushed from drinking.

In the past, Dylan would have simply said:

“Weren’t you the one who insisted I date her? What’s love got to do with it? What a joke.”

Claire swayed and had to lean against the wall.

“I’m sorry, I was greedy.”

“I wanted you to keep giving me your attention and putting me first, but I also wanted Audrey to have her happy ending with you.”

“I hurt her.”

“Go find her.”

“Dylan, this time, don’t let her go.”

She slipped a piece of paper into his hand.

“That’s Audrey’s home address.”

“Ever since she was little, Audrey has always gone running home whenever something goes

wrong.”

“I’m jealous of her. She has somewhere safe to go.”

Unlike Claire.

She was an orphan with no parents to turn to, always hiding in the shadows and searching for proof she mattered in the scraps of affection others gave her.

Dylan closed his fist around the paper as if he were holding on to his future. He got into the car without looking back.

Brookhaven.

He vaguely remembered Audrey talking endlessly about the place.

A few times during Christmas break, she’d tentatively asked whether he wanted to come home and meet her parents.

He’d pretended not to hear and brushed her off.

The one time he couldn’t avoid it was when her parents had come to the city for a trip and said they wanted to stop by and see her.

He’d understood what she wanted. She hoped they’d get married soon, and she was using her parents to push things along.

He’d resented it and used Claire as an excuse to get out of the family dinner.

The meeting had never happened.

Dylan took a deep breath.

Before setting off, he stopped at a local gift shop and filled his trunk with regional gifts.

Five hundred miles wasn’t that far.

He drove without taking a real break and reached Brookhaven in just seven hours.

The moment he got out of the car, he gathered up all the bags and boxes and hurried to the

elevator.

The ride to the thirty-second floor seemed to take thirty-two hours.

His palms were damp with nerves when he pressed the doorbell. He held his breath.

“Can I help you?”

Audrey’s mother opened the door. She wore a festive smile and looked him up and down kindly.

Voices drifted from the living room.

Through the gap in the doorway, Dylan spotted Audrey seated in the middle of the couch.

She wore a pale lavender dress, her long hair swept up. Her every smile and movement was achingly familiar.

He opened his mouth.

“Mrs. Bennett, I’m Audrey’s boyfriend-”

Then he saw the man sitting beside her.

The man reached over and gently brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

From inside, the parents’ teasing voices drifted out.

“Just look at those two. They’re perfect together.”

“You should have come home ages ago, Audrey.”

“Exactly. It’s so nice having your parents nearby.”

“When are you taking your engagement photos? Have you set a date yet?”

Audrey smiled softly.

“We’ve already booked everything.”

Crash.

Every gift box slipped from Dylan’s hands and hit the floor.

His throat worked for a long time before he managed a word.

“Audrey Bennett… is getting married?”