Chapter 3

Wade froze for a moment, then tilted his head with an exasperated look.

“Mila, playing hard to get only works on certain people. I’m not falling for that.”

I continued gripping the back of the passenger seat and refused to let go.

With a scoff, he let his hands fall and slipped them into his pockets.

“Are we really doing this?”

“Yes. Unless we’re breaking up, don’t expect me to do anything.”

Wade ran his tongue over his thin lips and looked toward Hayley.

After a brief pause, he quietly said, “Fine.”

I got out of the car and brushed past Wade.

He warned me in a low voice, “Should you deliberately take your anger out on Hayley, don’t blame me for being heartless enough to leave you here.”

People from both wedding parties stood along the roadside as I walked toward the other car in my wedding gown and high heels.

Everyone leaned toward one another and whispered, their faces twisted into mocking smiles.

In the back of a Mercedes SUV worth more than a million dollars, Hayley sat with her white wedding gown spilling across the entire back seat. She looked impossibly pure and elegant.

She leaned back and smiled as she extended her injured foot.

“Thanks, Mila! We studied medicine together in college. Who would’ve thought I’d twist my ankle on my wedding day and have an old classmate take care of me? I’m so lucky!

“Wade, you’d better cherish such a kind and thoughtful bride. If you ever mistreat her, I’ll beat you up myself.”

Wade gazed at Hayley with unmistakable happiness in his eyes.

I crouched down, lifted Hayley’s foot, and examined her ankle.

“Ah!”

“Mila, what are you doing?”

Wade immediately yanked me away and cradled Hayley’s foot carefully, as if it were something precious.

I landed hard on the asphalt, scraping my palm until it bled.

“Hayley, Mila didn’t even do anything. What are you screaming about?” Chloe pointed at Hayley and snapped.

“Wade, what is wrong with you? Of course, treating an injury is going to hurt. She lets out one little scream, and you shove Mila like that?”

“You!”

Wade’s chest heaved, but knowing he was in the wrong, he had no choice but to swallow his anger.

Reluctantly, he grabbed my shoulders and helped me to my feet.

“I’m sorry. I overreacted because I was worried.”

Hayley stuck out her tongue and giggled.

“Sorry, Mila. You know how terrified I am of pain. I’m really sorry about that!”

I did not want to hear any more of it. I only wanted to bandage Hayley’s ankle and get out of there as quickly as possible.

“Do we have any ice? What about gauze?”

“We have gauze, but no ice. We only have some frozen bottled water.”

“Bring it all here.”

Wade’s heart began to pound uneasily when he saw how utterly calm I remained.

He tried several times to help me, but each time, I quietly moved his hands away.

I soaked the gauze and wrapped it around Hayley’s swollen ankle.

“Ah!”

Hayley kicked me in the face, causing me to lose my balance and fall again.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Mila. I really didn’t mean to do that this time.”

I lowered my head and took a deep breath, unaware that Wade had instinctively reached out to catch me.

“Hayley, Mila’s been crouching there for so long. Stop bothering her.”

Hayley pouted and shot Wade a playful glance.

“I’m sorry for what Hayley did. Let me help you up,” he said.

I pushed him away, keeping my tone polite but distant.

“No need. Thank you.”

I finished treating Hayley’s ankle.

“We don’t have any ice, so pour some ice water over the gauze every half hour to help reduce the swelling. Avoid strenuous activity, and don’t stand and put weight on it for too long.”

Hayley looked at her foot from different angles.

“This bandage looks awful, but thanks.”

Without looking back, I walked toward my wedding car.

Wade bumped shoulders with Tyler and the other groomsmen and said quietly, “See? I told you. I knew she was just playing hard to get. All that talk about breaking up was just to get a reaction out of me.”

“You’re a genius, Wade. You’ve got Mila wrapped around your finger.”

“You can’t give women too much leeway. Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile.”

I said nothing as I opened the car door and grabbed my purse.

With Chloe and Ava beside me, I strode toward the person coming to pick me up.