He Gave My Wedding Dress To Another Woman Chapter 07

He Gave My Wedding Dress To Another Woman Chapter 07

His voice shook. The fear of hearing no was all over his face.

“You did it once.” I held his gaze. “How do I know you won’t vanish again?”

Julian went quiet. Whatever was behind that old disappearance, he still couldn’t say it.

I let it drop. On the walk back, I ducked into a shop and came out with a little plush keychain. “For my tour guide,” I said, pressing it into his hand. “Thank you for today.”

Back at the residence hall, I checked my phone. Ethan again.

[sorry]

[experiment ran late, didn’t finish until just now. missed the interview.]

[what do you want for dinner? i’ll grab you something.]

Same as before — I didn’t answer. I tossed the phone on the bed and went to shower.

Across the ocean, Ethan stood on the sidewalk, staring at his screen full of unanswered messages. Something didn’t feel right.

Chloe was the kind of person who texted back within minutes. Always had been. She was always glued to her phone, which really just meant she never left him hanging.

She updated him on everything — what she ate, where she went, every mundane detail of her day.

Days of silence. Not a single reply today, not even a read receipt. The thought crept in slowly — had he pushed too hard? Said things he shouldn’t have? Maybe he’d been ignoring her more than he realized.

He ducked into the row of takeout places near campus — muscle memory — and grabbed her usual order. Loaded fries, chili dogs. He snapped a photo and sent it.

Nothing. The unease sharpened into dread, but he kept talking himself down.

It’s fine. She always comes around. She loves me too much not to. Just bring her food, say the right things, and she’ll get over it.

I’m overthinking this.

His legs didn’t get the message. His pace picked up with every block, and by the time he hit the stairwell, he was taking the steps two at a time.

He threw open the door. “Chloe.”

“Hey, what’s going on? Why aren’t you answering me? Look, the interview fell through, but it’s fine — we’ll reschedule.”

“We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

Any other night, Chloe would’ve come out by now — rolling her eyes, cutting him off, pulling him inside. The apartment stayed silent.

The kind of quiet that pressed against your ears.

His eyes swept the room. The photo of them on the wall — gone. He bolted for the bedroom.

Her side of the closet was empty. The suitcase she practically lived out of was gone. Every trace of her — gone, like she’d never been there at all.

Not even her scent. Panic slammed into him. He called her.

One call — nothing. Another — nothing. Then — straight to voicemail.

…

He lost count somewhere past dozens. She never picked up.

He threw a message into the class group chat. [has anyone heard from chloe?? where is she??]

One by one, people started tagging Haley.

[@haley — he’s looking for you. you were literally just here lol]

Haley popped up instantly. [i’m right here!]

She didn’t correct anyone. She knew exactly what she was doing.

But Ethan’s reply cut through like a blade. [what the hell are you talking about?? my girlfriend is CHLOE. not haley. CHLOE.]