I Cancelled The Wedding While He Paid For Her Dream Dress Chapter 03

I Cancelled The Wedding While He Paid For Her Dream Dress Chapter 03

Callum looked around the stripped living room, then turned to me. “Why does it look like you packed up the whole place?”

Brielle appeared behind his shoulder, the cat still in her arms. “Maren… should I not be here right now?”

Callum wheeled the suitcases past me like the decision had already been made. “A pipe burst at her place. She can’t exactly stay in a hotel by herself with her health, so she’s staying here for a few days.”

“Which room?”

He was already steering the suitcases toward the master bedroom. “Brielle doesn’t sleep well in unfamiliar places, so she’ll take the master. Move your stuff to the guest room.”

Brielle caught his arm. “Callum, stop. She’s going to be upset. I’ll take the couch, it’s fine.”

He turned to her, voice dropping. “Your health can’t handle that. Don’t be ridiculous.”

Then he looked at me, and the softness was gone. “You’re going to be living here anyway. Would it really hurt you to share for a few days?”

“This isn’t my house.”

Something in Callum’s expression softened, like he’d scored a point. “Good. So you get it. I paid for this place. Picking out a few throw pillows doesn’t make it yours.”

I unhooked the keys from the wall. The metal felt cold against my palm.

Brielle’s voice went small. “Maren, please don’t get the wrong idea. He’s just worried about me. That’s all. You’re still the woman he loves.”

I looked at her. “How was the movie last night? The one you posted about.”

Something flickered in Brielle’s eyes. Callum moved between us. “Are you done? What exactly has she done to you?”

“She doesn’t owe me anything. You do.”

Callum stared at me, a thin smile pulling at his mouth. “This again, Maren. Every time things don’t go your way, you threaten to leave. Doesn’t that get old?”

I pulled the black suitcase from behind the door. Already packed. The wheels rolled softly across the floor.

Callum’s smile dropped. “Where are you going?”

I slipped on my shoes by the door. “Don’t bother with the guest room. The place is all yours. You two have fun.” I looked at him. “We’re done, Callum.”

Brielle’s eyes welled up on command. “Maren, this is all because of me. I’ll leave. Right now. Please don’t cancel the wedding over this.”

Callum caught her arm, but his eyes stayed on me. Cold. “Let her go.”

He leaned against the doorframe, jaw tight. “You walk out now, I’m not coming after you. You’ve got three days to come back and apologize. After that, I can act like none of this happened.”

I pulled the door open.

“And Maren?” His voice followed me. “I’m not running interference for you with your parents. When they come asking, that’s your problem.”

My feet almost stopped.

For three years, Mom had told anyone who’d listen that her daughter was marrying well. Dad had shown off the bourbon and cigars the Harcourts had sent, beaming at every family gathering like he’d won the lottery.

Callum understood that about me. How much I hated letting them down. He’d always known exactly where to press.

Brielle’s voice drifted from inside. “Maren, your parents adore Callum. Are you really going to throw all of that away?”

I turned back. “Taking my name off the invitations. Taking her to meet your mother. Giving her our bed.” I held his gaze. “That’s all me being difficult?”

Callum’s jaw worked for a second before he got his composure back. “We’ll deal with that later. Stop making a scene in the hallway. Who is this performance for?”

I set the keys on the entryway console.

It took him a second to register what I’d done. Something in his expression shifted. “You’re leaving those too?”

“You said it yourself. You paid for this place.” I looked past him toward the hallway. “And someone else is in the bedroom now. I don’t see why I’d need a key.”

His face went hard. “Do you have to make everything so dramatic?”

I didn’t answer. I walked my suitcase to the elevator.

Just before the doors closed, his voice hit the gap. “Walk away now, Maren, and don’t bother crawling back!”

The elevator dropped. I tossed the spare fob into the trash.

A text from my old director at the rescue center. [Maren, Nat Geo is sending a crew tomorrow to film a conservation documentary. Any chance you could help out one last day? They’re also looking for a veterinary consultant in the Silverpine Highlands. I thought of you.]

[Okay.]

My phone hadn’t even dimmed before Brielle posted again.

Her, framed by the floor-to-ceiling windows of the master bedroom. [After all this time, I’m finally back where I belong.]