Chapter 3

I looked at Felicity resolutely.

“I’ve made up my mind. Go ahead and cancel it.”

“Okay, but I’ll need you and Mr. Wayman to both sign off on the cancellation before I can process it.”

I calmly dialed Adam’s number, but all I heard was a cold automated tone.

Even after calling several times, he did not pick up.

I knew all too well what that meant. I calmly opened Diana’s social media account.

In her latest post, Diana was sprawled against the headboard. Her hair was a mess, and her face was flushed.

Her lipstick was smeared, and the hickeys on her neck said everything.

I steadily zoomed in on the image and saw Adam’s clothes scattered on the floor.

Once I accepted the truth, I turned off the phone and looked up at Felicity with a smile.

“Never mind. I can sign a waiver stating that both parties agree to cancel. Would that work?”

Felicity nodded.

The next day, Adam replied to my message, [Hey, Grace. They didn’t allow electronic devices in the meeting room. I didn’t get my phone back until everything wrapped up.]

There was one time when he was swamped with work and he did not text back.

I was so worried that something had happened. I did not sleep the whole night.

After that, he promised that he would always get back to me within an hour, no matter how busy he was. Even if he had a meeting, he would let me know ahead of time.

Not only had he broken his promise, but he had also lied to me.

When he saw that I did not reply, he assumed I did not believe him. He quickly sent a message to reassure me. [Trust me, Grace. I’m working so hard because I want to finish everything early and come back to marry you.]

Immediately after, he sent me a photo of his worksite.

The picture showed a messy meeting table, scattered documents and notebooks, and blurry figures.

In the past, I would have believed him without question.

At this moment, I found it utterly absurd.

He was vacationing in Marisol Bay with Diana while pretending to be at work. He was weaponizing my hopes for our wedding to keep me placated.

I smiled flatly and felt completely calm inside before I sent a brief reply. [I believe you.]

After packing up some of my belongings and throwing some away, I drove to the bridal shop.

With every mile I crossed on the way, I felt calmer. I refused to punish myself for someone else’s mistakes.

The wedding dress designer, Tiana Grandeur, was genuinely surprised.

“Ms. Atwood, did you and Mr. Wayman have a change of plans? Why would you rather pay the cancellation fee than continue with us?”

To everyone else, Adam was the perfect fiance.

He would accompany me to dress fittings until 10 p.m., and he would stay by my side no matter the time.

Hence, they thought that they had been replaced for not doing well enough. That was more believable than us no longer getting married.

Tiana was still hoping that I would change my mind.

“Ms. Atwood, this dress means so much to both of you. No one knows better than I do how excited you are for this wedding. Are you sure you don’t want to take some time to think it over?”

I looked at the dazzling wedding dress before me.

“No, just go ahead and cancel it for me. Thank you.”

By the third day, after confirming that the florist had canceled the order, the wedding that had held all of our dreams would completely disappear.

Meanwhile, Adam was far away in Marisol Bay. He was still immersed in his own lies and unaware of this.