The Wedding Ring That Never Made It to My Finger Chapter 02

The Wedding Ring That Never Made It to My Finger Chapter 02

“It’s her wedding day! You couldn’t have picked any other day?”

“Clara, listen to me — it was an accident!”

An accident?

Was it an accident that every time Ethan stormed out after a fight, Nina’s phone went straight to voicemail?

Was it an accident that when we visited her apartment, Ethan knew where everything was before I did?

Even Nina’s dog ran straight to him, like he practically lived there.

I should’ve seen it. All of it. A long time ago.

But they were the two people I loved most in the world, and I’d rather lie to myself than lose either one.

“You’re disgusting, Nina.”

Something in me snapped. I didn’t even feel my arm move, but the crack of my palm against her cheek echoed down the hallway.

Ethan was between us in a second, shoving me back.

“What the hell, Clara!”

He planted himself in front of Nina, shielding her, and the look he gave me was pure disgust.

“Yeah, we messed up. But do you have any idea how many times Nina put you first over the years?”

“Every time we went out to eat, she let you pick the place. She showed up to your concert running a 102-degree fever because she didn’t want to let you down.”

“Five years she kept this to herself — five years — because she didn’t want to hurt you.”

“So would it kill you to let her have this one thing?”

His words hit me like a freight train. My ears were ringing.

Eight years together. Five of those, he’d been with her.

Five years of hotel rooms and lies and borrowed time, all of it happening right in front of me. And afterward, they’d come back without missing a beat, flashing easy smiles, letting me love them both like nothing had happened.

What a joke.

My mother caught up to us. She’d heard everything.

The shock on her face was absolute.

Just weeks ago, Ethan had sat her down and made a promise. He’d sworn he would spend the rest of his life making me happy. He’d looked my mother in the eye and asked her to trust him.

He’d put everything he owned in my name to prove he meant it. Even the house — the one he’d bought for us — was in my name alone.

Now he looked at me like I was a stranger, his whole body angled toward Nina.

The girl my mother had raised like her own — the girl who’d sat at our dinner table a thousand times — had torn everything apart.

“Nina, how could you do this to her?”

My mother’s eyes rolled back. She crumpled, hitting the floor before anyone could catch her.

Nina stepped forward, and I screamed.

“Get away from her!”

The ambulance doors closed. I sat beside my mother, gripping her hand, my own fingers trembling so hard I could barely keep my grip.

Everything I’d been holding together finally snapped. I couldn’t see through the tears, could barely get the words out.

“Mom… I’m not getting married. I’m not. Just please be okay. Please be okay.”