Chapter 2

Eric hugged me from behind. His voice was trembling.

I quietly ended the call and tried to answer him as calmly as possible, "The travel agency said our post-wedding honeymoon needs to be rescheduled."

Eric was greatly relieved. "Oh, that's right. You promised to be with me forever. You wouldn't leave me."

After that, he hugged me tightly again out of guilt. "Don't worry. Once Naomi's mom is reassured, I'll give you an even bigger wedding."

I quietly looked at the documents in his hand. He had suddenly come back to get his identification papers.

Eric pulled his hand back uncomfortably when he noticed what I was staring at. "Naomi's mom won't be able to feel relieved if she doesn't see our marriage certificate. Don't overthink this, Ayla. When the time comes, I'll divorce her."

I held my breath. It was painful to hear what he said. He had promised that I was the only woman he would marry. Yet, he was getting married to another the next moment. Even though I had decided to leave him, it still felt painful to me.

Before I could say anything, Naomi rushed in. She squeezed between both of us.

Naomi forced herself between us and even secretly tried to push me further away. I stumbled from her push and fell. She took the opportunity to fall into Eric's arms. She looked at him with tears streaming down her face.

"Eric, my mom's condition just got worse. She's refusing the surgery unless we show her our marriage certificate."

Her words made Eric anxious. "Why is she refusing surgery when her condition is so serious?"

He grabbed Naomi's hand and walked toward the door, but he suddenly stopped. He looked back at me awkwardly.

"You've seen it for yourself, Ayla. Naomi's mom's situation is an emergency. We need to get our marriage certificate to soothe her for now. You understand it, right?"

Naomi ran toward me while stumbling. Her voice sounded pitiful. "Ayla, please help me fulfill my mom's wishes. Let her witness my wedding before she dies!"

She was crying while looking frail as she tried to kneel in front of me.

Eric quickly grabbed her into his arms. There was slight anger in his eyes. "How can you be so cold, Ayla? Didn't you agree to this? Why do you still want Naomi to kneel and beg you?"

Naomi tugged at Eric's sleeve while forcing a smile. "Eric, it's only normal for Ayla to be mad for letting me have her wedding. I don't blame her at all…"

It hurt me even further to see Eric's face turning grimmer. So, I said to him earnestly, "Go ahead. I don't mind."

Eric looked unsettled when he saw how sincere I was, and he tried to explain further, "I won't really get married to Naomi. It's just a formality. Don't worry about it."

He pulled Naomi up and left without another glance. Naomi looked back to smile gleefully at me.

I sat alone for a long time before I finally wiped away my tears and headed to the bridal shop to get my wedding gown. That gown was created by a top Itolian designer whom I hired specifically for my wedding to Eric.

It was a gown that I had poured my heart into. I wanted to wear it to my wedding, even if Eric was not the man I was marrying.

When I arrived at the bridal shop, the owner said to me in astonishment, "Don't you know that your fiancé has collected it, Ms. Elderon?"

I looked at him blankly, feeling a chill all over.

The owner noticed something was wrong and apologized to me with great embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. This was our fault. I'll make a call about it right now!"

He called Eric in a fluster, but Eric sounded calm on the other end of the call. "Yes, I collected it for the wedding the day after. If Ayla asks about it, just tell her that I'll return it after I'm done using it. No one can take anything that belongs to her."

Eric's words made me give up on him completely. I shook my head at the owner and stumbled out of the place.

I no longer wanted the wedding gown that Naomi would be putting in. I no longer wanted Eric either.