Chapter 4

I walked right past the people.

The bridesmaids and Emma stood there, completely stunned.

"What the hell?" Lena blurted.

Claire stared after me. "He's really leaving."

Emma froze for a second before finally snapping out of it. She rushed after me and grabbed my hand, a faint edge of panic creeping into her voice. "Nathan Cole, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

I looked at her and said, "We're breaking up. It's exactly what it sounds like."

She raised her voice. "Are you seriously doing this right now? Can't you see everyone's waiting for you?"

I glanced back.

24 wedding cars stretched out behind us, but not a single person was waiting for me.

"They're waiting for you," I said coldly. "They're waiting for you to walk your childhood sweetheart down this entire road, roll out the red carpet, set off the fireworks, and then wave goodbye as he leaves."

Emma clenched her jaw, guilt written all over her face.

For once, she had nothing to say.

I pulled my hand free and kept walking.

That was when she finally lost her temper. "Nathan Cole! If you walk away now, don't ever think about coming back to me! Don't you dare regret this for the rest of your life!"

I didn't answer. Neither did anyone else.

She could put on whatever show she wanted. I was done playing my part.

The other woman had sent me her live location. With every step I took, the distance between us grew smaller.

I motioned for my groomsmen to follow and kept walking.

Behind me, the bridesmaids watched the situation unravel, their panic growing by the second.

"Emma, go after him!" Lena urged. "Talk to him. Make things right! If you let him get too far away, you might actually lose him!"

Ryan leaned out of the car window.

"Emma, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have made Nathan angry. Maybe I should apologize to him."

The tension immediately left Emma's face.

"A groom walking out of his own wedding halfway through the ceremony is disrespectful to our traditions. Stay right here. You don't need to worry about him."

"But what if Nathan really leaves?" Ryan asked.

Emma reached over and straightened his slightly crooked tie.

"Ryan, today is the most important day of your life. I'm going to make sure you get the send-off you deserve."

She smiled confidently.

"Don't worry. Nathan's been chasing after me for years. He won't get far. He's probably hiding somewhere in the shade, waiting for me to come after him and apologize."

Ryan grinned, some color finally returning to his pale face.

"Emma, this designer suit fits me perfectly. I love the ring, the tie, and the watch, too."

He hesitated before adding, "I may not be able to marry you, but you'll always have a place in my heart."

Emma barely heard him. Her mind was already somewhere else.

Then it hit her. I wasn't wearing anything particularly expensive or flashy that day.

For the first time, Emma realized how little thought she'd put into my outfit compared with everything she'd done for Ryan.

She looked in the direction I'd gone.

Then she remembered my shoes. They weren't even in my size. Yet, I'd already walked that far. Wouldn't my feet be killing me by now?

Her gaze shifted toward the blazing sun. My clothes weren't exactly made for walking in this heat, either.

Still, I'd kept going. I'd even chosen to leave with my groomsmen rather than stay behind.

A sudden thought struck her. Was I really that angry? Maybe this time, I wasn't bluffing.

Emma turned around and immediately ordered the convoy to pull over and let the other cars pass.

"Ryan, this is where I leave you."

Ryan pushed the car door open, jumped out, and shouted something after her.

Emma hit the gas. The wind rushed past the windows, drowning out every single word he called after her.

Lena laughed. "Emma, you really are something. The second you decide to let go, you let go. The second you decide to leave, you're already halfway out the door! You really know how to roll with the punches."

Claire grinned. "This is getting good. Come on, let's go catch the groom!"

Emma burst out laughing behind the wheel.

For the first time, she realized that maybe women weren't so different from men when it came to being childish.

She could already picture my face when I saw how quickly she'd caught up. She figured that I'd probably be so shocked that I wouldn't know what to say.

With her sunglasses on, Emma couldn't stop the smile spreading across her face.

The road twisted deeper into the mountains, each turn taking them farther from civilization. But Emma's uneasiness grew with every mile.

15 minutes passed, yet they hadn't seen a single person.

Lena glanced at Emma. "You don't think Nathan hitched a ride and took off, do you?"

"Oh, shut up," Emma snapped. "We're in the middle of nowhere. Who the hell would he even hitch a ride with?"

"Right, right. Sorry. Don't say stuff like that. He's probably hiding somewhere, waiting for us to find him."

"We'll just keep driving," Emma insisted.

Emma pulled out her phone, her hand trembling slightly as she called me.

The phone rang several times before the call was abruptly rejected.

She tried again. This time, the call didn't even go through. She stared at her screen in disbelief.

I had blocked her.

She sent me text after text. Then, she tried messaging me through every app we used.

But she got nothing. Not a single response.

Fury surged through her as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel and started ranting.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "Emma, look! There they are! They're up ahead, at the fifth hairpin turn!"

Emma squinted through the windshield.

Sure enough, there we were—the three of us, standing beside the road.

The tension that had been building inside her vanished in an instant.

Claire laughed. "Would you look at that! He even went and got himself a car and changed into a nicer suit. So this whole time, he was planning to surprise you, Emma!"

Lena grinned. "Nice one, Nathan! You really know how to make our girl happy."

Emma couldn't hide the smile spreading across her face.

Then her longtime business rival, Audrey Collins, called.

Emma was still riding high from what she thought was a romantic surprise, so she answered without hesitation.

But after hearing just one sentence, the smile vanished from her face, and her phone slipped from her hand.

"Emma, thank you for giving Nathan to me," said Audrey.

Emma stared ahead, stunned.

Then her hands tightened around the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. She slammed her foot on the gas.

Because just moments earlier, she had watched me—dressed in a new suit—get into Audrey's wedding car.