Chapter 5

Ryan stared at me.

“What?”

I adjusted my grip on the bouquet.

“You heard me.”

“Natalie.”

“The flowers are paid for. The food is downstairs. Three hundred guests have apparently cleared their schedules.” I smiled. “It would be wasteful to send everyone home.”

Daniel made a choking sound.

Mom stared at me.

Dad looked concerned.

Grandpa?

Grandpa looked interested.

Ryan shook his head.

“You're not making sense.”

“I think I'm being very practical.”

“You just ended our engagement.”

“Yes.”

“Then there is no wedding.”

“I said I'm not marrying you. Those aren't the same thing.”

Silence.

Serena was the first to understand.

Her head snapped up.

Ryan followed a second later.

His expression darkened.

“You're joking.”

“No.”

“You're going to marry someone else?”

“I haven't decided.”

“Today?”

“That would generally be necessary if I intend to keep the wedding.”

“Natalie,” Mom whispered.

I looked at her.

Her face was pale.

I knew what she was thinking.

That her daughter had suffered some kind of breakdown.

Maybe I had.

I'd died less than an hour ago.

Surely that entitled me to a little irrational behavior.

Except this didn't feel irrational.

For the first time in years, my mind felt perfectly clear.

“Nattie,” Dad said carefully, “ending the wedding is one thing. Marrying another man today is another.”

“I know.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

Ryan laughed.

“You're trying to punish me.”

I turned to him.

“Not everything is about you.”

“This is obviously about me.”

“No. Our relationship was about you. My decision isn't.”

His face hardened.

I knew that expression.

Ryan hated losing control.

In my first life, I had learned to recognize the tiny changes in him. The tightening around his mouth. The stillness that came before anger.

I had spent years adjusting myself to prevent it.

Changing plans.

Changing clothes.

Changing opinions.

Eventually, changing so much that I barely recognized myself.

Not this time.

Ryan stepped closer.

“Who?”

I didn't answer.

“Who exactly do you think you're going to marry?”

“I'll let you know.”

“You don't have another man.”

Serena's mouth twitched.

She was enjoying this now.

Of course she was.

If I made a fool of myself, she won.

Ryan would still be available.

And I would become the hysterical bride who'd lost her mind after discovering his affair.

I looked at her.

The satisfaction disappeared from her face.

Good.

“Natalie,” Ryan said, “stop embarrassing yourself.”

Something inside me went very still.

How many times had I heard that?

Don't embarrass yourself.

Don't embarrass Ryan.

Don't embarrass the family.

Don't make a scene.

Those words had kept me obedient for eight years.

“I haven't even started.”

Daniel laughed again.

This time Dad covered his mouth, badly hiding a smile.

Ryan's father stepped forward.

“This has gone far enough.”

I looked at him.

Thomas Coleman.

He'd kissed my forehead on my wedding day and called me the daughter he'd never had.

Years later, he'd voted to remove me from the Bennett Group board.

I wondered how much he'd known.

All of it?

Some of it?

It didn't matter.

I would find out.

“You're right, Mr. Coleman.”

His expression softened slightly.

“This situation is painful for everyone. We should take some time, allow emotions to settle, and discuss this privately.”

“No.”

His smile vanished.

“I meant you've been here long enough.”

Ryan stared at me.

“Natalie.”

“The Colemans should leave.”

“You can't throw my family out.”

“It's my family's event.”

“It is our wedding.”

“Not anymore.”

Serena touched Ryan's arm.

He immediately pulled away.

Interesting.

She noticed.

So did I.

“Ryan,” she whispered.

“Not now.”

Her face crumpled.

Eight years ago, I would have felt sorry for her.

Today, I almost admired the performance.

Almost.

Ryan turned back to me.

“Let's talk alone.”

“No.”

“You're being childish.”

“And you're still here.”

“Natalie—”

Grandpa cleared his throat.

“Ryan.”

Ryan stopped.

“My granddaughter asked your family to leave.”

Mr. Coleman stiffened.

“Arthur—”

“Thomas.”

One word.

A warning.

The two men stared at each other.

Then Mr. Coleman turned.

“Come on.”

Ryan didn't move.

His father grabbed his shoulder.

“Now.”

Serena followed them toward the door.

At the threshold, she looked back at me.

For one second, the frightened pregnant woman disappeared.

Hatred stared back.

There you are.

Then she lowered her eyes and left.

Ryan remained.

“You'll call me by tonight.”

“No.”

“Tomorrow, then.”

“No.”

“When you've calmed down.”

I smiled.

“Goodbye, Ryan.”

He stared at me for a long moment.

Then he walked out.

The door closed.

Mom immediately turned to me.

“Please tell me you aren't actually planning to marry a stranger.”

“Not a stranger.”

Daniel frowned.

“Oh God.”

Dad sighed.

“Who?”

I didn't answer.

Because suddenly, without Ryan standing in front of me, the insanity of my own plan became obvious.

Dominic Sullivan.

I barely knew him.

We'd met perhaps a dozen times.

He was thirty-four. Unmarried. Impossibly wealthy.

And, according to Ryan, an arrogant bastard.

More importantly, Ryan hated him.

In my first life, Dominic had attended my wedding alone.

I remembered him because he'd left before the reception.

Years later, I'd seen his name constantly.

Business articles.

Acquisitions.

Deals.

Every time Ryan complained that Sullivan had taken something he wanted.

Then, during the final year of my life, something had changed.

Ryan stopped complaining.

He became afraid.

I didn't know why.

But I remembered one night.

Ryan had been shouting in his office.

I had heard Dominic's name.

If Sullivan finds out, we're finished.

At the time, I'd thought it was business.

Now?

I wasn't sure.

I looked at Grandpa.

“Is Dominic Sullivan downstairs?”

His eyebrows rose.

“He should be.”

Daniel stared at me.

“No.”

I handed him my bouquet.

“Yes.”

“Natalie, you cannot be serious.”

I walked toward the door.

Mom hurried after me.

“Where are you going?”

“To my wedding.”

I opened the door.

Daniel caught up.

“You don't even know if Sullivan likes you.”

I stepped into the hallway.

“Then I suppose we're about to find out.”

Downstairs, three hundred guests were waiting for Natalie Bennett to marry Ryan Coleman.

I smiled.

They were about to get a very different groom.