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Chapter 3

Autor: CraveMoonlight
Lucas stayed where he was, frowning as if he hadn't heard me properly. "You... What did you say?"

I opened my mouth to repeat it, but a sob came from behind me.

Ella swayed to one side as if all her strength had left her.

"Ella!" Lucas spun around, crossed to her in two steps, and caught her by the shoulders.

"I'm fine... I'm just a little dizzy..." she managed, letting herself fall against him.

Lucas went rigid. He supported her back with one hand and fumbled for his phone with the other. "Don't talk. I'm calling an ambulance..."

"Don't... Let me sit for a second and I'll be all right..." Ella clutched his sleeve. "And there are so many guests here..."

"You call this all right?" Lucas's voice rose, sharp with panic and concern.

He looked back at me. "Freya, stop this. Go home and rest. Ella and I will look after your friends here. We can talk tomorrow."

He bent down to help Ella up and walked back with most of her weight against him, never once looking at me.

I stood there watching them go, feeling empty. There was nothing left in me.

Apparently, even canceling our wedding wasn't important enough to hold his attention.

I turned, walked out of the room, and went home alone.

I'd picked that apartment.

Back then, I'd dragged him over to see it. I'd planned the color of each wall, where the bookshelves would go, and which corner would hold the photos of us.

I took his hand and turned in a slow circle in the middle of the living room. Then I pointed to the big south-facing room. "That one's my favorite. It can be the master bedroom. I'll wake up to sunlight every morning."

He smiled and didn't say anything.

Then, on the day we got the keys, he took a phone call and went to pick up Ella.

I stood in that empty, unfinished apartment all afternoon. When he finally arrived with Ella, he pointed to the south-facing room and said, "Ella will take this one. It hasn't been easy for her here on her own. This is her home too."

He didn't come home that night, and I wasn't surprised.

I didn't call, didn't message, didn't even wonder where he was.

I packed my things one by one.

At dawn, I contacted a real estate agent about selling the apartment.

I sent her the paperwork, and she called me back.

"Ma'am, are you handling this on the owner's behalf? Or is the owner there with you?"

I stopped. "What do you mean, on the owner's behalf?"

"You'll need a power of attorney from the owner authorizing you to sell. If it's notarized, the process is much faster. Otherwise, the owner has to come in..."

"Wait," I said. "This is my apartment. Whose authorization do I need?"

There was a pause on her end.

"Ma'am..." She sounded uncertain now. "You're not the owner listed for this property."

My fingers tightened around the phone.

"What did you say?"
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  • I Gave Her My Wedding Rehearsal, and He Went Mad with Regret   Chapter 9

    I contacted Lucas's family.Some time later, his mother and younger brother arrived at the hospital.I stood at the far end of the corridor and watched the nurses wheel Lucas out of surgery.I watched the staff come and go. Lucas's mother sat by his bed, wiping the sweat from his forehead over and over.Louis came to stand beside me and followed my gaze toward the room."Do you want to go help take care of him?"I turned to look at him, shook my head, and smiled."No. His family will take care of him."Then I took his hand in mine."I have my own family to take care of."Louis paused, then smiled, his eyes lighting up.He bent down and kissed my forehead. He said nothing, just held my hand tighter.I never heard anything about Lucas again.Life went on. I finished my language classes, one lesson at a time. Then Louis and I moved into an old house he'd bought outside Lyon.Louis asked what kind of wedding I wanted. I told him something simple. He only smiled, then spent most of a year q

  • I Gave Her My Wedding Rehearsal, and He Went Mad with Regret   Chapter 8

    I stepped out of Charles de Gaulle Airport with my suitcase into the cool Paris air.A man stood in the arrivals area holding a sign with my name on it.When he saw me, he smiled, put the sign away, and held out his hand."Freya? I'm Louis. Your friend's talked about you a few times. She made me promise to take good care of you."My best friend had said she'd paid good money for a local guide. She'd promised he'd make sure I had a wonderful time in France.She was right. I was happy with all of it.Louis was a good man. Being around him was like lying on a rug in front of a fire in winter. Warm. Comfortable. Nothing to worry about.He took me to Normandy for oysters fresh from the water, to Arles to see the sunflower fields, and to Mont-Saint-Michel to walk the tidal flats.He never asked about my past. When my thoughts drifted, he'd quietly put a glass of mulled wine in my hands. When I seemed far away, he'd touch my fingers to bring me back.Slowly, patiently, he showed me what being

  • I Gave Her My Wedding Rehearsal, and He Went Mad with Regret   Chapter 7

    Lucas pushed aside his unease and drove home. The moment he opened the door, he saw how much was missing from the apartment.He walked slowly into Freya's room. The closet was empty. Everything that had been hers was gone.The whole room was clean and bare, as if she'd never lived there.In a panic, he pulled out his phone and called everyone he could think of who might know where she'd gone.Nobody knew.Freya was gone, and this time she meant it...When it finally sank in, all the strength left him. He slid to the floor and stared at the empty room for a long time without moving.He had no idea how much time had passed before he heard a noise outside. Ella hurried in, tears still wet on her face."Where have you been? I called you all night!"Lucas didn't answer. He looked up at her, then slowly got to his feet and walked over. He stared down at her.There was no anger in his eyes, no uncertainty. Only coldness.He laughed once. "Ella. Did you enjoy lying to me? Do you think I'm an i

  • I Gave Her My Wedding Rehearsal, and He Went Mad with Regret   Chapter 6

    Lucas called again and again, but heard the same recorded message every time.He frowned. An uneasiness he couldn't explain stirred in his chest.It wasn't the first time Freya had done this either.The last time, Ella had called him in the middle of the night after a nightmare, crying that she was scared. He'd driven over and stayed until she fell asleep.It was almost dawn when he got home. Freya was curled up on the couch in the dark living room, not moving.He asked why she wasn't in bed, but she didn't answer. She only looked up at him once. Her eyes were red, but she hadn't shed a tear.It was the same look she'd given him yesterday as she watched him carry Ella out.His chest tightened. He shouldn't have done that yesterday.He stood, walked to the end of the corridor, and dialed Freya's number again.Still nothing.He stared at the long list of outgoing calls in his log. Not one had been answered. After a moment, he decided to get Ella settled first.Then he'd find Freya, expla

  • I Gave Her My Wedding Rehearsal, and He Went Mad with Regret   Chapter 5

    The fluorescent lights in the hospital corridor were too bright.Lucas sat on the bench outside the emergency room, completely drained.The door finally opened, and the doctor came out. "She's fine. Some first-trimester bleeding. We want to keep an eye on her."He looked up and managed to say, "Thank you, doctor."Ella was crying inside the room.Lucas pushed the door open and found her propped against the pillows, clutching the blanket in both hands. Her eyes were red and swollen."Lucas... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to pass out... It's all my fault..."She put one hand over her lower stomach and clenched the other into a fist. Then she began hitting her belly, over and over.Lucas caught her hand and frowned. "Don't. It isn't your fault. It's mine. I shouldn't have had that much to drink that night."Ella looked up, her face still streaked with tears."I'll take care of you from now on," Lucas said. "I'll make sure you and the baby are provided for."He paused. "But we need to set so

  • I Gave Her My Wedding Rehearsal, and He Went Mad with Regret   Chapter 4

    A few seconds later, my phone buzzed, and an image appeared on the screen.A screenshot of the county property record. There it was, in black and white.Two names listed as owners. Lucas. Ella.Not mine.I remembered Lucas calling on the day we got the keys. "I've got the keys."I could hear the smile in his voice. "You stay and finish work. I'll handle the rest. I'll take care of the deed and everything. Don't worry about it."It made me feel so warm at the time.He's so good to me, I thought. He doesn't want me running around, so he's handling everything himself.I hadn't realized that keeping me out of the way made it easier for him to do what he did.I put my phone away, hailed a cab, and went straight to Ella's apartment.The door opened.Lucas was in gray pajamas with his hair sticking up, like he'd just gotten out of bed.Ella stood behind him in a matching light gray nightgown.They looked picture-perfect together. I was the one who didn't belong.Lucas froze when he saw me, th

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