I Agreed To Another Man After He Chose Her In The Collapse Chapter 03

I Agreed To Another Man After He Chose Her In The Collapse Chapter 03

By the time I got home, I was drenched.

Nolan didn’t call back.

I stepped out of the bathroom and found Tessa sitting in the living room with one of Nolan’s guys.

“Celia, finally! Come on, let’s go!”

I had no idea what was going on. My eyes went to the man next to her.

That’s when I recognized him. He was the one who’d made the joke about Nolan’s “little side piece.”

I didn’t move. Reid Dalton got up, smirking.

“Your man sent us to get you. What are you waiting for?”

“Hurry up! You don’t want to keep him waiting!”

Tessa was genuinely excited. She had no idea Nolan’s heart had never been mine to begin with.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door. I kept asking where we were going. Neither of them would say.

A short drive later, we pulled up.

The gate swung open, and the scent of lilies hit me immediately.

A crowd was waiting inside. The second I walked in, they started cheering.

Nolan came toward me through the parting crowd, smiling like nothing in the world was wrong.

“This morning was my fault. I shouldn’t have gone off on you like that. Forgive me?”

Before I could say anything, his friends were already heckling.

“Look at that. Commander Ashford’s whipped!”

“Scary as hell on the field, but one look from her and he’s a puppy.”

“Who even is this guy? Celia, forgive him already before he starts crying!”

…

I looked down at the lilies in his hand. My throat tightened.

I was allergic to pollen. He knew that.

At the back of the crowd, a woman in a white dress caught my eye. I’d never seen her before.

The jacket draped over her shoulders was Nolan’s. The same one from this morning.

Vivian stood there biting her lip, her eyes glassy.

I swallowed down the nausea and took the bouquet.

“I’m not mad.”

I passed the lilies to Tessa without letting my smile slip.

Something flickered across Nolan’s face. Surprise, maybe unease. But he shook it off.

He probably figured I was just worn out from the rain.

In front of everyone, Nolan scooped me up into his arms.

“Don’t want you ruining those shoes in the mud,” he said.

But he was a terrible actor.

Even while he said it, his eyes drifted to Vivian.

It was Vivian’s first time with the group, but somehow everyone already seemed to be looking out for her.

Someone had saved the seat next to Nolan for her.

“Nolan… can I sit here? I don’t want to make Ms. Hartwell uncomfortable…”

She fidgeted with the hem of her dress, standing across from us like she didn’t know where to put herself.

Nolan ignored her. He turned back to me and started carefully cutting my steak for me.

He didn’t look up until Vivian’s eyes were brimming with tears.

“You’re a guest. Sit wherever you want.”

“Eat up. This is your favorite.”

I barely touched my fork before something cracked behind me, a wooden canopy frame snapping loose from its supports.

I reached for Nolan on instinct. He shoved me aside.

“Vivian, watch out!”

They called her name at the same time. Nolan and half the crowd.

The frame crashed down on me. Food from the table went everywhere. All over my clothes. My face.

Nolan could have pulled me out of the way. He grabbed Vivian instead. Vivian, who was already clear of it.

I looked up. She was pressed against his chest, fingers laced through his.

Her white dress didn’t have a single mark on it.