Seven Failed Weddings, and He Still Let Her Ruin My Marriage Shoes Chapter 01

Seven Failed Weddings, and He Still Let Her Ruin My Marriage Shoes Chapter 01

Bennett Hollow had a family tradition that had lasted for more than a century.

Before the wedding procession, the groom had to handcraft a pair of custom bridal boots and help the bride put them on.

If the boots fit perfectly, it meant the marriage had received the family’s blessing, and the couple would grow old together.

I had tried them on six times.

Each time, they were either too big or too small.

Each time, the wedding had to be called off.

Every time, Nolan Whitaker would look at me with guilt in his eyes and promise, “Elara, wait for me. I swear I’ll make you a pair of bridal boots that fit.”

And foolishly, I had believed him.

Until the seventh procession.

The moment I slipped my foot into the boot, my toes tore straight through the cheap fabric.

As I froze in shock, Tessa Marlowe, who had come with the wedding party, pointed at me and burst out laughing.

“Sorry, Elara. I had no idea the boots I bought this time would be this cheap. Honestly, they’re even worse than the first six pairs.”

I stared at Nolan in utter disbelief.

“She bought all of them? We prepared for seven weddings, and you just let her mess around with every single one?”

He frowned and gave me a look full of blame.

“Tessa’s just playful. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? Besides, you already waited through six failed ceremonies. What’s one more?”

Then he reached out and patted my hair, his tone dismissive.

“Don’t make a scene. I promised Tessa that once she turns twenty-five and can stand on her own, I’ll marry you.”

“I promise. Next time, I’ll make the boots myself.”

I looked at him quietly.

He had forgotten something.

I no longer had the right to make a scene.

In Bennett Hollow, seven failed processions were considered a terrible omen.

The bride had to marry outside the community within three days.

And she would be barred from returning to Bennett Hollow for seven years.

…

“The groom must be joking. He probably wanted to surprise Elara.”

Aunt Lorraine said, trying to ease the awkwardness after a brief, suffocating silence.

“Come on, Nolan, stop hiding them. Bring out the real boots.”

After a brief, suffocating silence, Aunt Lorraine tried to ease the awkwardness.

I looked at Nolan too, a faint thread of hope rising in my chest.

Under the strange stares of everyone around us, Nolan only looked at me with impatience.

“These are the only boots. There aren’t any others.”

“And seriously, you’ve been through this six times already. Aren’t you used to it by now?”

My breath caught hard in my throat.

“So all seven times, you were just going through the motions?”

Then what was I?

A joke, every time I put on my wedding gown with a heart full of joy and waited for him to come get me?

Tessa pouted, clearly unhappy.

“Who said Nolan didn’t care?”

“He made the boots every single time. I liked them so much, he gave them to me.”

As she spoke, she lifted the hem of her dress , flaunting the embroidered bridal boots on her feet.

My fingers dug into my palm, and the ache in my chest grew sharper.

Nolan had always favored Tessa, constantly using her youth as an excuse for me to cut her some slack.

But I had never imagined that even at our wedding procession, he would hand over the boots meant for me just to make her happy.

He did not care that I had waited for him for seven years.

“Elara, the auspicious hour hasn’t passed yet, and we wear the same size anyway.”

Tessa smiled with open smugness.

“Why don’t you just wear the pair on my feet and get married in those?”

One of the groomsmen nodded along. “Yeah, exactly. Don’t wait around. Just change into those and go.”

The second he finished speaking, Aunt Lorraine snapped, “What are you talking about? Since when does a bride wear another woman’s hand-me-downl boots to her own wedding?”

“That’s not a solution. That’s humiliation.”

Tessa immediately lifted her chin, but before she could speak, Nolan glared at me with displeasure.

“Elara, I told you I’d marry you. Can you just behave?”

“It’s just a pair of boots. Do you really have to embarrass Tessa in front of everyone?”

A wave of bitter sorrow washed over ache surged up my chest.

From the day he swore he would marry me, he had spent months learning how to craft those boots.

He had pricked his fingers bloody until he could finally stitch a perfect pattern.

He once told me he was not just making a pair of boots.

He was stitching the future we would share.

But now, to protect Tessa, he said it was just a pair of boots.

My throat hurt like something was lodged inside it, but I looked him dead in the eye and smiled.

“You’re right. There’s no reason to ruin everyone’s mood over a pair of boots.”

“This wedding isn’t happening anyway. You should all leave.”

Nolan froze for a moment, as if he had not expected me to smile.

After all, during the first six canceled weddings, I had always been furious enough to grab his ear and make him recite my shoe size again.

He stared at me, then suddenly let out a soft , relieved laugh, a hint of smug satisfaction bleeding into was even a hint of pleasure in his voice.

“Tessa was right. You love me so much that even after finding out the truth, you still can’t bring yourself to make things hard for me.”

He looked so utterly certain, so insufferably proud.

And in that instant, the last bit of expectation and love I had for him disappeared.