She Wore My Wedding Dress Before I Ever Did Chapter 08

She Wore My Wedding Dress Before I Ever Did Chapter 08

Miles went to Atlanta.

He waited in the lobby of Rachel’s hotel until late that night.

Rachel returned with a colleague, dressed in a tailored black suit and carrying a stack of documents.

When she saw him, she paused for only a second.

“What is it?”

Miles stood. His voice was so hoarse that it was almost unrecognizable.

“Rachel, I need to talk to you.

Her colleague took the hint and stepped into the elevator alone.

Rachel did not move any closer.

“Go ahead.”

Miles took a small box from his pocket.

Inside was her engagement ring.

“It doesn’t matter that the wedding was canceled. We can start over. I’ve made everything clear to Vanessa.

I won’t cross any lines with her again.”

Rachel looked at the ring.

He had bought it when he proposed.

That day, Vanessa had complained of stomach pain, and Miles had left less than half an hour after

proposing.

Rachel had sat alone in the restaurant with the ring on her finger, waiting for a server tobox up the cake.

The server had asked, “Is your boyfriend coming back?”

Rachel had replied, “He’s busy.”

The answer had been there from the very beginning.

Rachel did not take the ring.

“Miles, you still don’t understand.”

His eyes reddened.

“I do understand. I neglected you. I hurt you. I’ll change all of it.”

“You’re changing because I left,” she said softly. “Not because you finally learned to value me.”

Miles looked as though the words had struck him.

Rachel continued, “If I hadn’t sold the gown, canceled the wedding, and left, you would still think there was nothing wrong with any of this.”

He opened his mouth, but could not find a single word to argue.

The elevator arrived, and Rachel stepped inside.

Miles instinctively moved forward.

“Rachel, give me one more chance.”

She held the doors open and looked at him.

“I gave you one at the bridal salon.”

“I gave you another when we reviewed the venue timeline.”

“I gave you one more before you walked out after Vanessa called.”

She released the button.

“And every single time, you chose her.

The elevator doors slowly closed.

Miles remained where he was, the edges of the ring box digging painfully into his palm.

This time, he was the one left behind.

Miles stayed in Atlanta for three days.

He brought breakfast, medicine, and flowers.

Rachel accepted none of it.

By the third time the front desk sent everything back, even the clerk sounded uncomfortable.

“Mr. Caldwell, Ms. Morgan said she doesn’t need any of it.”

She didn’t need any of it.

Those words hurt more than anything she could have shouted at him.

Miles contacted Rachel’s best friend.

She did not insult him. She only sent him a timeline.

[On the day of her final fitting, Rachel had a fever, and you helped Vanessa try on Rachel’s wedding gown.]

[The next day, Rachel canceled the pre-wedding portrait session while you took Vanessa to her follow-up

appointment.]

[On the third day, Rachel canceled the reception while you brought Vanessa to eat at the venue Rachel had booked]

[On the fourth day, Rachel gave you one final chance, and you walked out again.]

The final line read:

[Miles, Rachel didn’t suddenly stop loving you. You pushed her away one time too many.]

Miles sat alone in the empty apartment they had once planned to begin their married life in.

A sample gold-foil JUST MARRIED decal still clung to the balcony door, its cheerful shine almost painful to

look at.

He finally understood.

Rachel was not waiting for him to coax her into coming back.

She truly did not want him anymore.

Later, Vanessa came to Atlanta too.

She intercepted Rachel outside her office building, looking exhausted and worn down.

“Rachel, I honestly never meant to come between the two of you.”

Rachel had just finished a meeting. Her expression remained calm.

“Okay.”

Vanessa froze, apparently caught off guard by how little emotion Rachel showed.

“I was just too dependent on Miles. I haven’t been well, and I’m afraid of dealing with those things alone.”

Rachel looked at her.

“That’s a problem for you and Miles to deal with.”

Vanessa’s eyes reddened.

“Are you really not going back?”

“No.”

It was not an answer given out of spite.

Rachel simply was not going back.

At the final project review, Rachel’s proposal ranked first.

The company announced on the spot that she would remain in Atlanta as the project’s long-term lead.