Chapter 5

"Carter, do you really not see how differently your family treats me compared to Chloe?"

"Or is the truth just that the daughter-in-law you all wanted was never me, but her?"

A flash of pure guilt washed over Carter’s face, and his voice became stiff.

"How can you say something so ridiculous? My mom just treats Chloe like her own daughter."

"Look, if we made you feel bad, I apologize."

He leaned down to meet my eyes, softening his tone. "I know you can be a bit sensitive and jealous. I’ll make sure to pay more attention next time, okay?"

"Don't frown so much. You're going to be the most beautiful bride next week."

"Carter," I said quietly, "I already canceled the entire wedding."

He chuckled, not taking me seriously at all. "I know. Didn't you just book a different venue and dress today? I saw the charge."

But the groom wasn't him anymore.

I opened my mouth, but the words stayed trapped in my throat. I chose to stay silent.

As Carter escorted me to my Uber, I called out to him just before closing the door.

"Carter, come home early tomorrow morning."

He frowned. "Is something wrong? I promised Mason I'd take him to the arcade tomorrow morning."

I looked at him, a bitter taste filling my mouth.

Mason had only mentioned the arcade once at the dinner table, and Carter remembered it perfectly.

But the appointment I had reminded him of multiple times was completely wiped from his brain.

"Tomorrow morning is my post-surgery checkup for my fractured wrist."

He froze, looking incredibly conflicted. "Can... can you reschedule it to the afternoon? I really don't want to break my promise to a kid."

"Never mind. I’ll go talk to Mason tonight and see if we can go to the arcade later. I’ll text you in the morning."

But I never received that text. I waited until noon the next day, alone.

I went to the hospital by myself, registered, and waited in line for an hour.

After the examination, the doctor’s face was grim.

"The bone isn't healing well at all. Have you not been resting it?"

I remained silent for a moment. "I've been busy... preparing for a wedding next week."

"Can't the groom handle those things? Let me be blunt, if you keep straining this wrist, you’re looking at permanent nerve damage."

Holding my medical report, I sat on the hallway bench for a long time before finally heading back to the apartment.

The moment I pushed the door open, a small white dog rushed out, barking aggressively at me.

Having been severely bitten by a stray dog when I was a child, my survival instinct kicked in. I reflexively kicked the dog away.

Mason was the first to run out of the bedroom.

Seeing the dog whimpering on the floor, he screamed in rage and charged straight at me, slamming his body into mine.

I instinctively raised my hands to protect myself.

The next second, the color drained from my face. A sharp, white-hot agony shot through my newly set wrist.

Carter was the second to run out.

He didn't even look at me. His entire focus was on comforting the crying boy.

"It's okay, buddy. Daddy's going to take the dog to the vet right now."

He scooped up the dog with one arm and pulled Mason with the other, rushing toward the door.

"Stop," I gasped, holding my throbbing wrist.

Carter turned, his face contorted in anger. "Get out of the way!"

I didn't back down. Instead, I stepped forward and pointed at the silver necklace dangling from the dog's collar.

"Give that back to me."

"Are you out of your mind?! It's just a stupid necklace!" Carter yelled.

Just a stupid necklace?

I was raised by my grandma, and that necklace was the only thing she left me before she passed away.

The day Grandma gave it to me, Carter was standing right there.

He had sworn to her that he would love me forever and never let anyone hurt me.

Yet now, the person hurting me the most was him.

Carter violently ripped the necklace off the dog’s collar. The string snapped, and the silver pendant fell to the hardwood floor with a sharp metallic clink.

As he turned his back to leave, I screamed after him with every ounce of strength I had left:

"Carter! If you walk out of this door today, the wedding is officially off!"

He didn't even hesitate. He didn't look back.

For the next few days, Carter never came back to the apartment.

And I used that time to pack up every single thing I owned and moved out of the home I had spent years decorating.

The night before the wedding, Carter finally sent me a text.

"I have to take Mason for his kindergarten physical tomorrow morning, so I might be a bit late. Just take the bridesmaids and go straight to the venue."

I didn't bother replying. I blocked his number and deleted him from my contacts.

The next morning, when the groomsmen arrived at my apartment to pick up the bride, no one answered the door.

One of them eventually climbed through a window, only to find the entire apartment completely empty.

Panic finally set in, and someone called Carter.

"Carter, bro... Natalie is gone. She’s not here."