I Skedaddled When She Chose Him

Aiden's First-Person POV

I was ready to leave, so I got up and made my way to the fitting room to change back into my own clothes.

But Carter Hayes suddenly turned to my fiancee, Mabel Jones. His voice was tinged with hurt as he asked, "What am I supposed to do? Aiden must be mad at me."

"What, are you just going to say nothing?" Mabel snapped as she grabbed my arm. "Can't you see how guilty Carter feels over your stupid pants? Not one word? Really?"

Pain shot through my wrist, and I frowned at her. "First of all, they're not 'stupid pants'. This suit was custom-made overseas by my dad six months in advance. It's worth over 100 thousand dollars.

"Second, he ruined my pants and hasn't even apologized. What do you expect me to say? That it's fine?"

Mabel froze under my questioning, unable to say a word.

Seeing her reaction, Carter looked even more hurt. "This is all my fault. Don't blame Mabel. I'll fix your pants right now."

Without another word, he picked up a needle and tried to stitch the torn fabric back together. But after only a couple of clumsy attempts, the needle pricked his finger, and a bead of blood welled up.

Panicked, Mabel shoved me aside.

My back slammed into the edge of the table, and I collapsed to the floor. The pain was so intense that I couldn't even stand.

Mabel carefully took Carter's injured finger and brought it to her lips, sucking the blood.

He looked at her, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Mabel, am I really that useless? I can't even handle something this simple."

"Don't say that, Carter," Mabel said gently. "Everyone has their own strengths. You're not a tailor. It's only natural you wouldn't be good at sewing."

Then, she turned to me, her voice turning cold as she snapped, "This is all your fault! Why did you even have to come try on a suit? If it weren't for you, Carter wouldn't have gotten hurt. I want you to apologize to him now!"

The wedding was right around the corner. As the groom, was it really wrong for me to come try on my own suit?

Besides, I had only asked Mabel to come with me. Carter was the one who insisted on tagging along.

On top of that, he was the one who claimed my suit had loose threads and cut my pants. He was also the one who wanted to fix them. I hadn't said a single word.

Clearly, Mabel had already taken his side.

At this point, I had no interest in arguing with her anymore.

I slowly rose to my feet and looked at Carter. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have clung to her so stubbornly, and I shouldn't have fooled myself. I shouldn't have ever imagined marrying her. I'm giving her back to you. Is that enough?"

At my words, Mabel furrowed her brow, and her expression darkened. "Aiden Coleman! What are you talking about? Have you lost your mind? You're my fiance—"

Suddenly, Carter cried out, cutting her off. "Mabel, my finger hurts so bad. What if it gets infected? I'm not going to die, am I?"

"Don't worry, Carter. I won't let anything happen to you," she reassured him, her eyes full of concern. "I'll take you to the hospital now."

I watched as their figures disappeared from view, and only then did I let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

A beat later, I called my father. "Dad, I don't want to marry Mabel anymore. I've decided to move to New Bastia and live with you and Mom."