My Fiance Married His Childhood Sweetheart Before Our Engagement Party Chapter 04

My Fiance Married His Childhood Sweetheart Before Our Engagement Party Chapter 04

Adrian finally called at nine that night.

“Evelyn, don’t take what my mother said to heart. She’s bad with words.”

“What about the group chat screenshot?”

Silence.

Three seconds.

“Who showed you that? My friends were joking.”

“The laughing meme too?”

He sighed.

His impatience was obvious.

“Eve, can you stop clinging to tiny things? I said I’ll explain when I get back.”

“When have you not said that?”

“Then what do you want from me?”

I tightened my grip on the phone and said nothing.

After a few seconds, his voice softened.

“Don’t be upset. It’s not what you think.”

“I’ll come home. We’ll talk face-to-face.”

“Have you packed?”

—

Adrian came three days later.

Sophia followed him in.

She changed into the pink slippers, curled onto the couch, and settled in as naturally as if she had always lived there.

I stood at the guest room door and watched them.

Adrian glanced at the suitcase in the room.

“Looks like you’ve thought it through. I found you a studio apartment. Furnished. I’ll cover the deposit and first three months.”

“I paid eight thousand dollars toward the down payment on this place.”

“I’ll pay you back later.”

“What about the eight thousand in our joint savings account?”

“That…” He frowned slightly. “Sophia booked the hotel. I borrowed it for now.”

“The twenty thousand I advanced to the company?”

“The company can’t handle that right now. Wait a little longer.”

I looked at him.

He didn’t even avoid my eyes when he said those things.

As if everything was natural.

As if it had always been natural.

My gaze fell on Sophia’s neck.

A silver necklace rested against her collarbone.

The pendant was a tiny star.

That was the birthday gift I had bought for Adrian after saving two months of pay.

He said the style was too feminine and refused to wear it.

Now it hung from Sophia’s neck.

“I bought that necklace.”

Sophia touched the pendant instinctively and looked at Adrian.

“Adrian, didn’t you say you picked this out?”

He frowned.

“It’s just a necklace. Don’t drag this out. Evelyn, sit down. Let’s talk seriously.”

I did not sit.

He sighed.

Then his tone became formal, almost businesslike.

“You gave a lot during these three years. You stayed with me through the startup stage, and I remember that.”

“But feelings can’t be forced. After Sophia came back, I realized I couldn’t let her go.”

“So you married her three days before our engagement party.”

“Sophia suddenly said yes. The timing overlapped. I couldn’t push it back.”

“You couldn’t push back a marriage license, but you couldn’t make a phone call to cancel a party with two hundred guests?”

He looked away.

For once, he told the truth.

“I handled that badly.”

Sophia tugged lightly at his sleeve.

“Adrian…”

He patted her hand.

I knew that gesture too well.

Three years ago, he had patted my hand the same way and told me, “Don’t be scared. You have me.”

The exact same gesture.

A different person.

I looked down and laughed softly.

“Fine. I’ll pack my own things. I don’t want anything else.”

He actually froze.

“You don’t want an explanation?”

“You just gave me one.”

I turned back into the guest room and shut the door.

Through the door, I heard him speaking quietly to Sophia in the living room.

She laughed softly.

“See, Adrian? I told you Evelyn wouldn’t make things hard for us.”

His voice came after.

“That’s who she is. She doesn’t make scenes. Don’t worry.”

That’s who she is.

She doesn’t make scenes.

Don’t worry.

I turned off my phone and pulled my suitcase from under the bed.

That suitcase had been with me for three years.

From Silicon Valley to New York.

One corner was chipped, and the zipper was half broken.

I folded my clothes one by one.

The faded floral dress went on top.

I had never owned much there.

Half an hour was enough to pack.

I took my keys off the ring and placed them on the entryway cabinet.

Then I removed the necklace and placed it beside them.

Sophia had taken my mother’s silver bracelet.

I did not chase after it.

Maybe that bracelet had been the last proof I had ever existed in that apartment.

When I closed the door, I did not look back.

Downstairs, I called a rideshare.

Before turning my phone off, I sent Adrian one last message.

[The keys are on the cabinet. Don’t look for me.]

Then I canceled my phone plan and activated a new number.