He Promised To Be My Right Ear But Failed Chapter 02

He Promised To Be My Right Ear But Failed Chapter 02

Someone laughed again. Miles didn’t laugh this time.

But he didn’t stop it either.

I looked away from him and picked up the umbrella.

One of the ribs had bent.

When I opened it, the whole thing tilted to one side.

I looked at it, then held it up anyway and walked into the rain.

Behind me, Miles’s voice cut through the rain.

“Audrey, if you walk out now, don’t expect me to come after you.”

My steps faltered.

Then I kept walking.

The next morning, the wedding planner called. The names on the backdrop needed final approval.

When I got there, Blair was standing in the center of the banquet hall.

She was wearing a white satin dress.

It wasn’t technically a wedding dress, but you wouldn’t have known it.

Miles sat in the front row, looking over the schedule.

The wedding coordinator relaxed the second I walked in.

“Thank God you’re here. Miss Delaney wants to change the main backdrop to a version she designed, and we weren’t going to approve it without you.”

I turned to the stage.

The backdrop was supposed to say Miles & Audrey.

Blair had replaced it with a line of cursive script.

Underneath, in tiny lettering, my name had been shoved into the corner.

Blair flashed me a smile.

“Audrey, don’t get the wrong idea. I just think having both names up there like that is kind of tacky. It’s a wedding. It should look elevated.”

Before I could say a word, Miles looked up.

“I’ve seen it. It looks good.”

The coordinator shifted uncomfortably.

“But this is the main backdrop. The bride’s name is barely legible. It won’t show up in photos.”

Blair dropped her gaze.

“Never mind, then. I was only trying to help. I mean, with Audrey’s hearing, all the coordination must be exhausting for her.”

Miles closed the schedule.

“Just go with Blair’s design.”

I looked at him.

“Miles, this is my wedding.”

He didn’t flinch.

“It’s my wedding too.”

I couldn’t think of a single thing to say to that.

Blair walked over and looped her arm through mine.

“Audrey, lighten up. This is supposed to be a happy time. Keep moping around like this and even Miles is going to get tired of it.”

She leaned in close, and her perfume hit me like a wall.

I pulled my arm free.

“I don’t like this design.”

Blair’s eyes instantly welled up.

“Is it the design you don’t like, or is it me?”

Miles stood up.

“Audrey, don’t take it out on her.”

I looked at him.

“I only said I don’t like the design.”

“You know she was trying to help.”

He stepped closer and dropped his voice.

“The wedding’s in three days. Are you really going to do this in front of everyone?”

The staff in the hall kept their heads down, but I knew every one of them was listening.

I couldn’t make out every whisper, but I could feel their eyes.

They crawled over my skin.

Blair dabbed at her eyes.

“Forget it, Miles. Let’s just use Audrey’s version. She’s always been sensitive.”

Sensitive.

That word again.

Miles used to say I wasn’t sensitive. That other people were the problem, not me.

Now he was on their side.

His silence said it all.

I was the sensitive one after all.

I pulled the original design out of my bag and handed it to the coordinator.

“Go with this one.”

Miles’s face went cold.

“Audrey.”

I didn’t look at him.

“I signed the contract. I paid the deposit. The wedding goes the way I want it.”

It was the first time I’d ever stood up to him in front of other people.

Something flickered in Miles’s eyes—surprise, maybe.

“Is this really the hill you want to die on?”

Blair stood behind him.

“Miles, just drop it. I’ll step back if that’s what it takes.”

She turned to go, and Miles caught her wrist.

“Nobody asked you to leave.”

My eyes dropped to his hand on her wrist. He was holding on like she was the one being wronged.

The coordinator looked like she wanted to disappear.

“So… which version are we going with?”

Miles held my gaze.

“Audrey, don’t push this to a point we can’t come back from.”

My mind drifted to what he’d said earlier.

The invitations are out. What am I supposed to do, call it off?

Too late to stop.

All those years, and we had only been keeping up appearances.

I slid the original design back into my bag.

“You two decide.”

The tension left Miles’s face, like he’d won some petty argument. Blair smiled too.

“Don’t worry, Audrey. I’ll make sure your wedding is beautiful.”

On my way out, I looked back.

White light washed over the stage. The cursive script looked elegant, but it had no warmth.

My name was barely there.

I stood there and thought, maybe this was better.

If no one could see my name, it was like I didn’t even belong there.

My phone buzzed with a text from the coordinator, sent quietly.

[If you want to cancel the wedding, the contract allows a 60% deposit refund, but you’d need to confirm by 5 PM today.]

I stared at the message for a long time. My finger hovered over the screen, but I couldn’t press down.

Behind me, Miles called out.

“Audrey, send me Blair’s measurements for the bridesmaid dress.”