CHAPTER 3

Elowen's POV

"We already changed the details on that too." Lilith confirmed my suspicion.

I staggered two steps backwards, Owen was quick to stabilize me. "Are you alright?"

I didn't push him away immediately, I allowed him lead me to one of the chairs. It was all a lot for me to absorb in and of course I wasn't alright.

"I know this is a lot for you to take in but I promise you that I have no affection for Lilith at all, you are the one I want to marry and spend the rest of my life with." Owen stooped to my height and held my hand in his.

I had no words. I simply stared at him , bamboozled.

"El, we complete each other. It's El and Owen forever."

He was right, he was the better part of me. Even my name was incomplete without his. Everyone called us a match made in heaven.

"You're about to take the vows of forever with someone else."

"It's just 3 months," he shot to his feet. Owen had a short temper.

"Stop being unreasonable El, your sister is dying. Why can't you understand that I'm marrying your sister out of duty." He realized he was raising his voice and paused.

"After her wish is fulfilled, you and I will get married, we are still alive and have our lives before us." I looked at the man that spoke and suddenly he looked different. Not like the man I had been in love with for five years but like a total stranger.

"No thank you. I'm not interested in being your second bride." I had had enough of their nonsense. If she wanted him, she could have him. I stood up to leave.

"Five years of investing my life in a relationship with you Owen and this is how you repay me?" I felt a lump form in my throat.

It broke my heart into several pieces that I had to hide my hands in my pocket to stop them from trembling.

"El wait." Owen called out to me.

My hopes were high, maybe if he saw I was upset, he was going to come back to his senses and stop this madness but instead...

"Name your price El, I'll pay you to wait for me. Three months shouldn't be too long for you to wait."

Wait, what?

"He is right. Consider it a noble sacrifice." Dad added.

A noble sacrifice? What a joke of the century.

"And besides, I'm only doing this out of duty and promise, because she is your sister."

That was the height of it all.

"Now you want to pay me off. Let's do it this way." I looked him in the eyes, my heartbreak turning to anger.

"How about you pay back all the years I wasted with you. In years not wealth. Can you?" I screamed at him because the money meant nothing to me at all, the betrayal cut too deep.

"El," I held a hand up to him before he could continue.

"Don't bother. I see your mind is made up. You're going to marry her in my stead in three days right?" He nodded.

"Go ahead. I don't care anymore. She has always preferred 'hand me downs' from me. You won't be my first used property she coverts." It pleased me to see Lilith's face turn red at my coverts.

"Elowen!"I ignored my father, took off my diamond engagement ring and tossed it at Owen.

"I'm sure she'll be needing that too." With that I walked out of the house, my voice almost broke before them, the tears already stung the back of my eyes, one had accidentally slipped.

I couldn't go back home, Owen and I lived together like a couple, everything in the house was only going to remind me of everything I wanted to forget but moving on wasn't as easy as walking out on all of them was.

I phoned my event planner and she confirmed she was aware of the change in bride, the venue managers knew as well, the graphics designer had changed the names on the cards I sent out—I wasn't diligent enough to check the printed copies before sending them out.

Even my mood board had been changed. Everything was too much for me to bear alone, as I walked along the sidewalk, my hands trembled, the tears flowed hot and unrestrained. I wanted to scream but I maintained my composure.

"I should call Marcella," I dialed my best friend twice but it didn't connect so I took a cab to a nearby club instead, alcohol had its way of working magic on a broken heart.

After five shots, I was feeling a whole lot better already.

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The next morning I woke up with a throbbing pain in my head. It took me a little time for my eyes to adjust to my environment but when it did, I felt a jolt in my system.

By looking around, I could tell the door closest to me was a bathroom. Without wasting time, I went in and emptied the contents of my stomach in the toilet bowl.

I closely observed the bathroom, it was neat and finely furnished but it had a masculine smell—chocolate musk, lavender and coffee.

"How did I get here?" My eyes grew wide with fear as I rinsed my mouth and returned to the room.

On the nightstand by the bed side, I saw a bottle of pills and a glass of water with a handwritten note. "If you feel light headed when you wake up."

I paused.

I didn't know if the note was there before I left for the bathroom but the room seemed the same, despite the fact that I didn't trust it, the bottle of pills was sealed and the pain in my head wouldn't let me ignore it.

After taking it, the memories slowly returned; while I was at the bar drinking, a man had walked up to me. I could faintly remember what he looked like but I remembered he was tall with a handsome face and a model's body.

I looked down and noticed I was in his clothes and not mine. I gasped.

"Did I really..." I felt a knot twist in my stomach with mixed feelings.

No regrets at all. I remembered pulling him to the dance floor and kissing him...oh well. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

I looked around for my phone feeling slightly naughty. If Owen ever found out, he was going to go crazy, he did like any man looking at me twice but he had chosen his path.

Thinking of him brought a wave of sadness but finding my phone and seeing the time alarmed me more.

"Damn it! Quarter past 1pm?" I flinched a bit. I had missed work that day—or not.

I threw myself back on the bed and shut my eyes. I worked with Owen but not anymore. I had decided to resign already, it wasn't worth the torture to put myself through all of that—seeing him daily. In fact, I decided I was going to relocate out of the country.

Just as I opened my eyes, to admire the strange bedroom, my eyes landed on a photo frame. The man looked familiar. I went closer and had to cover my mouth with a hand to prevent myself from screaming.

I remembered wanting to forget everything Owen did to me by making out with someone else but...

Just then someone knocked twice on the door and pushed it open and it was him.

Ryan, Owen's best friend.

He was dressed in a casual white tee and joggers, the shirt clung to his arm too tightly revealing muscular arms, his hair was slightly wet and it stuck to his pretty face.

'Concentrate Elowen, he is no different from his best friend.' I reminded myself.

"I've said good morning to you at least three times already, are you fine?" His voice brought me out of my reverie.

I nodded then I shook my head, the anger from last night resurfacing.

"How could you Ryan?!" He stared at me confused for a second.

"You knew I was drunk yet you still took advantage of me knowing I'm your best friend's fiancée."

"Oh that." He carelessly dismissed it and dropped the file he was holding on the bed beside me.

"I thought he's marrying your sister, why keep the title?" His words pierced my heart deep, I sat on the bed.