She Wore My Dress, She Married My Groom, She Planned My Love Chapter 03

She Wore My Dress, She Married My Groom, She Planned My Love Chapter 03

The ballroom doors opened again.

Mom hurried straight to Cambria and wiped away her tears. When she turned to me, her voice was full of blame.

“Cambria has spent seven years putting herself second because of you.”

“She only wants the wedding that should’ve been hers. Why did you have to come back and ruin it?”

My voice shook.

“Mom, you were never having heart problems, were you? You faked the whole thing.”

“Three years ago, Torin and I were supposed to go to the courthouse.”

“You suddenly had chest pain and made me take you to the hospital.”

“Was that fake too? Were you just getting me out of the way?”

Cambria laughed.

“So you finally remembered.”

From beneath her bouquet, Cambria pulled out a folded marriage certificate and a photo from the courthouse.

In the photo, she stood beside Torin, both of them smiling like newlyweds.

The marriage date printed on the certificate was the exact day I’d spent at the hospital with Mom three years ago.

Dad and Corbett had been there as witnesses.

Tressa had taken the photos.

While I stayed beside a mother who wasn’t sick, Torin had held Cambria’s hand and legally married her with everyone’s blessing.

And I had spent that day sending him message after message like an idiot.

I apologized for missing the day we were supposed to get married.

I promised that as soon as Mom was better, we would pick another date and make up for it.

Torin hadn’t replied for a long time.

Then one message finally came through.

[It’s okay. We have plenty of time.]

Cambria lifted the marriage certificate and laughed.

“Oh, Veda. I sent that one too.”

“Torin had both hands on me at the time. He was a little too busy to check your messages.”

I stood in the middle of that ballroom, so cold I could barely feel my body.

I bit down hard on my lip and turned away.

If I stayed there one second longer, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to breathe.

Outside the ballroom, the wedding music started up again.

With shaking hands, I opened the message from the Viremont project team and typed one word.

[Accepted.]

Their response came almost immediately.

[Ms. Kellan, your long-term Viremont assignment is confirmed.]

[Your flight has been booked.]

Twenty-four hours.

That was all that stood between me and leaving every one of them behind.

Torin and I had originally planned to head straight to the airport after the wedding for our honeymoon, so my passport and luggage were already waiting in the bridal suite.

I slipped my passport into my suitcase and was about to leave when the door suddenly opened.

“Veda!”

Torin rushed in, out of breath, like he was afraid I might disappear before he reached me.

I gave him a bitter smile and started to speak, but he slipped a butterscotch into my mouth first.

The motion was effortless, familiar from seven years of doing the same thing.

“You’re pale. Eat this before you get dizzy.”

The rich sweetness melted across my tongue.

For the first time, it tasted bitter.

When I said nothing, Torin took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

“I’ll have the driver take you to the hotel.”

“I already booked you a room. Stay there for a few days.”

“When the wedding is over, I’ll come find you and explain everything.”

My eyes stung.

He didn’t say he loved me.

He didn’t ask me not to leave.

But those instinctive little acts of care still reminded me of the Torin who used to bring me medicine in the pouring rain, who wouldn’t leave until he saw me finish a meal.

Seven years of habit were still there.

His jacket was still warm around my shoulders.

I used to think that warmth belonged to me.

Now his wife was someone else.