Chapter 4

I packed up what little I wanted to take with me.

Not long after I was done, the real estate agent I had contacted earlier sent a message saying he wanted to come by the next day to photograph the apartment. He asked me to tidy things up beforehand.

It was the last thing I had to do before I left.

I grabbed the keys and headed to the apartment I had furnished piece by piece for our married life together.

The moment I pushed the door open, I froze.

Only two people had keys, me and April. She was the one who had insisted we wait until after the ceremony to move in, saying it would mark a fresh start.

The couch cushions were rumpled and shoved out of place. The coffee table was covered in takeout containers, half-eaten bags of chips, and empty cups. Beer bottles and wine glasses littered the tile floor.

A sound came from the main bedroom.

I walked over. Through the door that had not been shut all the way, I could see April and Sebastian lying side by side on what was supposed to be our bed, their clothes disheveled, tangled up in each other, fast asleep.

My heart lurched and I reached for the door handle without thinking.

Behind me, a burst of laughter and chatter cut through the silence. Toby and the rest of the group had come back.

The second they saw what I was about to do, every face went pale.

Before I could react, someone yanked me backward with enough force to slam the back of my head against the wall. The pain shot through my entire body and my vision went dark.

A hand locked around my wrist and dragged me away. When I managed to pry my eyes open, I saw Toby easing the bedroom door shut as quietly as he could. The others stood behind him, staring at me with open disapproval.

Leah was the first to speak, her voice dripping with irritation.

"Are you seriously following my sister around now? Can't you just be the bigger person? You've got the rest of your life with her. Is it really that hard to give Sebastian a few days?"

Jamie nodded in agreement.

When I did not say a word, Toby stepped forward. He at least had the decency to look uncomfortable.

"Oliver, it's just a couple of days. Can't you just pretend you didn't see anything? It's better for everyone that way."

He held up his phone and scrolled through a group chat I had never been added to. "See this? This is the private group the rest of us are in. April even reminded everyone not to accidentally send anything to the wrong chat. It's full of photos and updates of her and Sebastian together."

No wonder the group I had created with all of them had gone so quiet.

He took another step forward and walked me through the apartment, gesturing around as he went.

"Oliver, you know what this place is? Every time you and April had a fight, we'd all come here and hang out. This was our spot, our little hideaway.

"The way I see it, the one who isn't loved doesn't really get a say."

So behind my back, while I was not looking, Sebastian had worked his way into every corner of my life. My wedding portraits, my ceremony, my home, my fiancée. He had touched all of it.

I looked at those faces, every single one of them so familiar it hurt, and I had nothing left to say.

I pulled off the promise ring I had exchanged with April right in front of all of them and threw it into the trash.

"Fine. I'll step aside. You can all have what you want. Starting today, I have nothing to do with any of you."

I turned around and walked out without looking back.

Once I got home, I grabbed my bags and headed straight for the airport.

"April Neville, I hope we never cross paths again."

…

April and the others slept off the alcohol well into the following day. When she finally woke up, it was already afternoon. She freshened up and stretched.

"I think we should wrap things up here. Oliver's probably cooled off by now. I'll go home and smooth things over."

She did not notice the uneasy looks the others exchanged.

The moment she walked through the front door, the silence in the apartment made her chest tighten for reasons she could not explain.

A knock came from outside. She assumed I had forgotten my keys again and hurried to open the door.

It was only a delivery worker, holding a small package. "Ms. Neville, Mr. Penn asked us to drop these off this afternoon. If you could just sign here."

The tension in April's face eased a little. After signing, she picked up one of the wedding invitations and flipped it open casually. When her gaze landed on the names of the bride and groom, she blinked and rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

She was probably wondering why Sebastian Pratt's name was on it?