The Same Wedding Dress, Two Different Brides Chapter 04

The Same Wedding Dress, Two Different Brides Chapter 04

Before I could speak, Elliot grabbed my wrist and pulled the ring off my finger.

Then he slid it onto Vivian’s ring finger himself.

I stared at him, too stunned to say anything.

The ring didn’t even fit Vivian properly. Her voice was cold when she said,

“Just because you steal something doesn’t make it yours.”

For one searing moment, the hurt was almost unbearable.

Vivian’s father watched the whole scene with open contempt before turning to Elliot.

“Your ex-girlfriend has been hounding you for years. Now she’s even showing up at your home to steal things.”

“You need to make things clear to her right now, in front of us.”

Elliot stood there in silence for a long time before finally walking over to me.

His voice was low.

“Elena, when I promised we’d be together forever, I was young and foolish.”

“Having you in my life has become a burden. I don’t love you. I haven’t for a long time.”

“Have some dignity. Stop bothering me.”

Cold washed through me as each sentence cut deeper than the last.

For one surreal second, I wondered if Elliot wasn’t acting at all.

Maybe every word was exactly what he truly believed.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

From the moment he made Vivian part of the future he was building, there had never been a future left for us.

Vivian’s father turned to me.

“Walk away with some dignity. Don’t make him remember you with nothing but disgust.”

Disgust was the word he used.

I nodded.

“Okay.”

I walked toward the door, a mess but strangely calm.

Elliot panicked.

He hurried after me, but not before calling back into the apartment.

“Mr. and Mrs. Hale, I’m just going to walk her out.”

He shut the door behind him and pulled me into the hallway.

After a long silence, he rested a hand on my stomach.

“Does it hurt?”

I stepped away.

His hand froze in midair.

A few seconds later, he lowered his voice.

“I promised Mr. and Mrs. Hale I’d always look after Vivian. I can’t let them know about us. I shoved you because I panicked.”

“And what I said in there…”

I cut him off, my voice hoarse.

“I know. You were just trying to put them at ease.”

Elliot seemed relieved.

I pushed the exhaustion aside and looked at him.

“Elliot.”

“Yeah?”

“We’re done.”

He went still.

After a moment, he rubbed his forehead, sounding exhausted.

“Elena, don’t be dramatic. I know you’re angry, but you’re not really going to leave me. We’ve been together for seven years, and you’re carrying my baby.”

Seven years of love had become his guarantee that I would never walk away.

The realization stung, but somehow it barely hurt anymore.

Vivian’s voice drifted from the other side of the hallway.

“Elliot? Are you out there?”

“Mom and Dad are asking why you haven’t come back yet.”

Elliot frowned.

A few seconds later, he pulled his hand back.

“I’ll text you the door code downstairs. You and Vivian can switch apartments for a few days.”

Then he turned to leave.

After a few steps, he glanced back.

“Get some rest. I’ll come see you downstairs tonight.”

I stared at the code on my phone.

Before I really knew what I was doing, I was standing outside the apartment Elliot and Vivian had set up together.

The moment I opened the door, everything inside had been set up for two.

Two pairs of shoes sat side by side by the door.

A framed photo on the media console showed Elliot and Vivian smiling at each other, and a matching pair of mugs sat on the coffee table.