The Same Wedding Dress, Two Different Brides Chapter 02

The Same Wedding Dress, Two Different Brides Chapter 02

So in the end, even asking one question counted as me “making a big deal out of it.”

I hung up without another word.

On my way out, Elliot was helping Vivian pick out a reception dress. He looked completely absorbed, smiling as he talked to her.

He didn’t even notice when I walked right past him.

I called a rideshare and went to my mom’s place, then told her everything that had happened between Elliot and me.

“Mom, I’m going to break up with Elliot. But the baby…”

My voice faded. A few seconds passed before I continued, “I still haven’t decided whether I’m going to keep it.”

She was quiet for a long time.

Then she told me that whatever I decided, she would stand behind me.

That was when I truly understood that someone who loved me couldn’t bear to see me hurt.

On my way home that evening, I came across a post from Vivian.

She had uploaded a photo.

She was holding a cake in a cozy living room while Elliot looked at her with an easy smile.

The caption read:

[Moved into our new place today. From here on out, it’s Elliot and me—every morning, every night, and all the ordinary days in between, forever and always.]

Mutual friends had filled the comments with congratulations.

Elliot replied: [Forever and always.]

I stared at the place she was calling their new home, and bitterness rose in my throat.

When I got home, Elliot wasn’t there. I wasn’t surprised.

I lay in bed, lost in a haze of thoughts.

At three in the morning, a nightmare jolted me awake.

Out of habit, I reached toward the warmth that should have been beside me. My hand found nothing but cold sheets.

I sat there for a while before picking up my phone and calling Elliot.

“Where are you?”

His voice was thick with sleep.

“What?”

“I’m home.”

I stood on the cold floor, my fingers slowly tightening.

“Which home, Elliot?”

Three minutes later, Elliot came through the door, bringing a gust of cold air in with him.

He looked at me in the darkness, guilt written across his face.

“Sorry, Elena. I helped Vivian move into her new place this afternoon and got so tired I fell asleep on the couch. Have you been waiting long?”

“Where did she move?” I asked casually, though I already had a pretty good idea.

Elliot was quiet for a couple of seconds before answering.

“I promised her parents I’d take care of Vivian. Having her in the apartment downstairs makes that easier.”

A short, bitter laugh escaped me.

Directly below the apartment Elliot and I shared was the home he’d set up with Vivian.

He had stripped away every last shred of my dignity.

He had never stopped to ask whether any of this would hurt me.

He had never considered what it would make everyone else think of me.

All he had was one excuse: it was more convenient.

I looked away, my chest so tight I could barely breathe.

Elliot seemed to notice. He stepped closer, his voice turning coaxing.

“Don’t sit there stewing over it. I’ll take you for engagement photos tomorrow. You’ve been talking about doing them forever.”

The man who had spent the day helping Vivian try on wedding dresses was now casually offering me engagement photos as if that would make everything fine.

Standing there in the dark, I felt an exhaustion I couldn’t put into words.

Early the next morning, Elliot came prepared with ideas for the engagement shoot.

He had barely started asking me which look I liked when the doorbell rang.

I moved away from him and went to answer it.

The moment I opened the door and saw who was standing outside, I froze.

Vivian’s parents stood at the door with a bakery box, smiling.

The smiles vanished the instant they saw me.

Two seconds later, Vivian’s mother erupted.