My Wedding Day, Their Marriage Certificate Chapter 09

My Wedding Day, Their Marriage Certificate Chapter 09

Back when he proposed, he had looked at ring after ring and 

complained that every design in the stores was too ordinary, 

so he dragged me to a jeweler and had us design our own. 

The date engraved on them was the day we first got together. 

Even the pattern had been inspired by our star signs. 

Now, these long–overdue wedding rings were finally in front 

of me. 

But I no longer needed them. 

“Claire, do you want to try it on?” 

I looked at the hope in Ethan’s eyes. 

After a brief pause, I reached out, picked up the ring meant for 

me, and under his suddenly delighted gaze, tossed it straight 

into the trash can. 

“No need. Trash belongs where it came from.” 

In his panic, he knocked over the coffee beside him, and the liquid spilled down the front of his shirt. 

But he did not bother wiping it off. 

He immediately crouched down and dug through the trash, 

ignoring the strange looks from everyone around him. 

After finding the ring, he let out a slow breath and carefully 

wiped it clean before placing it back into the box. 

He stepped closer to me, his eyes filled with pain. 

“Claire, we were each other’s first love. We were together for 

eight whole years. Can you really be this cruel?” 

I took two steps back, putting distance between us again, and shattered his fantasy with a cold expression. 

“Ethan Bennett, I’ll say this one last time. We ended a long time ago.” 

“The Claire Ashford you loved was killed by your own hands on your wedding day. She only exists in our memories now.” 

“If we meet again, you don’t need to say hello. You also don’t 

have to worry that I’ll disturb your new life. After today, we’re 

strangers.” 

He watched me leave without hesitation, panic and 

desperation burning in his eyes. 

“Claire, I can’t accept this. Is there really no way?” 

I was stunned by how shameless he was. 

I turned back to look at him and answered with an unreadable 

smile. 

“There is.” 

Before he could feel relieved, I continued. 

“Die, then. Pay for my mother’s life with yours.” 

“Maybe then, in the next life, we’ll get another chance.” 

After that, I got into a car and left. 

Through the rearview mirror, I could still see him standing there, staring after me from a distance. 

I was so disgusted that I packed my bags that same night and 

flew to Key West. 

With half the country between us, I did not believe I could run 

into him again. 

I took my mother to fifty–three cities and twelve countries. 

When Mr. Cooper tentatively asked if I was done traveling, I packed my bags at once and hurried back to work. 

But I did not expect to hear gossip about Ethan and Laurel on my first day back. 

[Apparently, Ethan has been harassed nonstop by Laurel’s 

family lately. He keeps paying them off just to make them 

leave.] 

That was when I learned that Laurel, in order to hide from her 

family, had given them Ethan’s information directly. 

The Hayes family showed up at Ethan’s door every day 

demanding money. If he refused, they camped out on his 

doorstep and caused a scene. 

I smiled and did not care. 

Even the baby’s breath delivered to the front desk every day was thrown into the trash without mercy. 

After I poured all my energy into work, Mr. Cooper saw the company’s steadily rising numbers and gave me a promotion and a raise on the spot. 

At my promotion celebration, I received a text from an 

unfamiliar number. 

[Claire, did you mean what you said back then?] 

I blocked the number and deleted the message without a 

second thought. 

The next day, I learned from the news that Ethan and Laurel 

had got into a violent fight the night before and both died. 

There had been a chance to save them, but after Ethan sent 

one final text, Laurel flew into a rage and smashed his phone. 

In the end, both of them died from excessive blood loss. 

Once I realized what had happened, my only thought was: how 

disgusting. 

Trash belonged in the trash. 

And my future stretched open before me, bright and wide.