Chapter 3

When Hannah's parents found out she'd slept with Yates, they insisted on taking her home.

Hannah agreed. Through her tears, she said, "I can't keep hurting Tessa like this."

Yates refused to let her go.

That evening, my wedding planner called me, sounding flustered.

"Ms. Xavier, Mr. Grant has asked to use the venue you reserved ahead of schedule. The names on the main screen have also been changed from yours to Yates Grant and Hannah Sawyer.

"Was this something the two of you agreed on?"

Three months earlier, Yates had told me that the most popular wedding venues booked up quickly. He still owed me a proper proposal, but there was no reason we couldn't reserve the wedding we wanted in advance.

From the white tulips to the processional music to the crystal floral arch, I'd chosen every detail myself.

He'd held me in his arms and said, "Next May, I'm going to make you the happiest bride in the world."

By the time I reached the hotel, the ballroom was already lit.

And sure enough, my name on the main screen had been replaced with Hannah's.

Yates and Hannah both saw me come in.

He didn't call off the proposal. He simply walked over and lowered his voice.

"I'm just letting Hannah use the venue tonight.

"Her parents don't believe I'm serious about taking responsibility for her. They're determined to take her away.

"You're not losing your wedding.

"Next year, I'll recreate all of this exactly for you."

I looked at the floral arch I'd chosen myself and suddenly found the whole thing almost laughable.

The future I'd waited five years for was, to him, nothing more than a set of decorations that could be duplicated whenever he wanted.

When Hannah's parents arrived, Yates got down on one knee in front of them.

He took out a ring.

For a moment, I thought he'd borrowed the wedding ring I'd picked out too.

Then the light caught it, and I realized I was wrong.

This ring had been custom-made for Hannah.

Her initials were engraved inside the band, and it had been sized specifically for her.

Yates hadn't just borrowed my wedding.

He'd already prepared something for Hannah that could never have belonged to anyone else.

Hannah didn't hold out her hand right away.

Crying, she asked, "Is this just for my parents, or are you actually going to marry me?"

Yates looked up at her.

"It's real. I'm going to marry you."

Hannah turned to look at me.

She knew perfectly well that she was standing in my place, surrounded by the wedding I'd planned, with the man I'd loved for five years kneeling in front of her.

Still, after a long silence, she held out her left hand.

"Tessa, I'm sorry.

"I don't want to be abandoned again."

Yates slid the ring onto her finger.

Hannah curled her fingers around it and didn't give it back.

When Yates stood and kissed her, she stiffened for a split second. Then she caught hold of his collar, closed her eyes, and kissed him back.

Her guilt was real.

But so was the fact that she wanted Yates.

I didn't interrupt them.

I simply turned around and found the wedding planner.

Right there in front of her, I canceled the venue reservation and every wedding arrangement under my name.

"Whoever's name you put on this wedding from now on has nothing to do with me."

That night, I packed my documents, my laptop, and most of my belongings and left.

Then I contacted the project manager and moved up the start date of my three-year assignment.

Yates thought he'd only borrowed my wedding for one night to reassure Hannah, someone he was afraid might leave at any moment.

He didn't know I'd already decided to leave both him and that future with someone else's name on it exactly where they were.