His Disabled Sweetheart Stole My Wedding, I Wed His Rival Chapter 08

His Disabled Sweetheart Stole My Wedding, I Wed His Rival Chapter 08

Chapter 8 We Need to Move Forward

I didn’t hear anything about Kane again until a little over a month after Jaylen and I got married.

I couldn’t help feeling a little complicated about it.

Our families used to be close, after all. So I brought a fruit basket and stopped by the hospital to visit Mrs. Jones.

Two months without seeing him, and Kane looked like a completely different person.

Unshaven, hair a mess, dark circles, stubble everywhere… like he had aged ten years.

Not surprising. His company was falling apart, his family situation was a disaster… there was no way he’d be doing well.

We used to know each other, after all. So I gave him a nod, handed him the fruit basket, asked a few polite questions, and then turned to leave.

Kane actually followed me outside.

His voice was rough.

“Anastasia, do you have a minute? Can we talk?”

I paused. Seeing that pleading look on his face, I didn’t turn him down right away.

“What do you want to talk about?”

We sat down on a bench off to the side. I looked over at him.

He tried to smile, but it came out bitter.

“About what happened back then. I owe you an apology.”

Back then? If he hadn’t brought it up, I probably would have forgotten.

The past two months had been too good. Good enough that even his betrayal felt far behind

I answered calmly, “It’s fine. Honestly, I should be thanking you. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve missed out on someone as great as Jaylen.”

I did not say anything else. I was not trying to hurt him.

It was just the truth.

After we got married, I realized how well Jaylen and I matched in every way.

Being with him felt easy. Even the little disagreements sometimes just brought us closer.

“He really is a good man. Being with him made me realize something, Kane. Feelings can’t be forced.”

My tone turned serious as I looked at him.

He froze for a second, looking defeated.

“Back then… you married him because you were mad at me,

didn’t you?”

“Yes.” I didn’t hide it. Then I added, “But I never regretted it. If everything hadn’t unfolded the way it did, I never would’ve known I could meet someone who matched me this well. And honestly, he and I are even more compatible than we ever were in those five years. Anyway, that’s all in the past now.”

As for what I’d had with Kane, thinking about it now didn’t stir much of anything up anymore.

Mostly, I just felt at peace with it.

“But I regret it, Anastasia.”

His eyes were wet as he looked straight at me.

“I regret letting you go. I never planned to be with Kaleigh. What I felt for her was just… gratitude. And then I realized that even that was something she manipulated.

“Her legs were never injured. She was never pregnant. And that car accident I went through? She had someone stage it ahead of time.

“I was an idiot. Why did I throw away someone like you for someone like her?”

Kane started spiraling, covering his face, his voice breaking with helplessness.

But I couldn’t feel what he wanted me to feel. Not anymore. Because my life was good now.

And I wasn’t about to carry the weight of his mess for him.

So I simply told him, “It’s over, Kane. We both need to move forward.”

“No, Anastasia, I can’t do that.”

He suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Anastasia, can we just start over? I swear I will treat you right this time.

“I won’t be stupid enough to throw you away for anyone else ever again. Please, just believe me.”

He tried to pull me into his arms. I pulled back, but he only tightened his grip.

I frowned.

“Kane, I am married.”

“That does not count.”

He dug in stubbornly.

“I know you only married Jaylen to get back at me. You are still waiting for me, right? Otherwise why would you come all the way here when you heard what happened to me? You still care about me, Anastasia. I know you do.

“I get it. You are waiting for me to give you a way out. Fine. I am giving in. I love you. I cannot walk away from you.

“Leave Jaylen, Anastasia. Come back to me.”

At that point, I honestly thought he had lost his mind.

I could not shake his hand off. Until Jaylen suddenly showed up.

He clamped a hand around Kane’s wrist.

“Mr. Jones, I would appreciate it if you kept your hands off my

wife.”

Kane was forced to let go.

Jaylen pulled me behind him. Kane lurched forward and grabbed Jaylen by the collar.

“This is all your fault. You stole her from me. If it were not for you, she never would have left

me.”

He swung his fist, but Jaylen caught it in midair.

With one hard shove, Kane stumbled back and went down on the floor.

All the chaos had worn him down. He was too thin and too weak to stand a chance against someone like Jaylen, who actually worked out.

Jaylen stood in front of me, looking down at him.

“Mr. Jones, whatever you had with my wife is in the past. Right now, she is my legal spouse. you keep harassing her, I will call the police.”

With that, Jaylen wrapped an arm around me and walked me away.

Halfway down the hall, something made me glance back. Kane was still sitting on the floor exactly where we had left him, shoulders slumped, looking completely defeated.

“What is it? Feeling sorry for him now?”

Jaylen’s voice slipped past my ear, sharp and just a little jealous.

I looked up at him and could not help laughing.

“Please. You are jealous.”

“I am not.”

He turned his face away, copying my tone like a stubborn kid.

Yeah. Definitely jealous.

If

I stepped in front of him, cupped his face in both hands, rose on my toes, and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“Better?”

“No.”

So I kissed him again.

I was just about to pull back when he slid his hand to the back of my head and deepened the

kiss.

We did not break apart for a long time.

When we finally did, my face was burning.

I looked at him and muttered, “There. Happy now?”

“It will do.”

He said it lightly.

A little while later, news came out that Kaleigh’s case had gone to court.

She did not take it well. In the courtroom, she got into a screaming match with Kane.

When she completely lost it, she pulled a knife from her waistband and went for him.

She missed, just barely.

The intentional assault only made things worse for her. They added another charge.

Kane still ended up with a minor injury and landed back in the hospital.

By the time I heard about it, Jaylen and I were busy planning our honeymoon.