Chapter 8

Third-Person POV

Once Renee was sure Chad was out of danger, she finally left the hospital. On the way out, she texted Joshua to ask if everything for the wedding was ready and told him she was already heading to the hotel.

But by the time she got into the car, he still hadn't replied. She unlocked her phone, ready to text again, when she realized the last time they'd texted was half a month ago.

She scrolled up through their chat, the screen almost nothing but text bubbles from his side. Sometimes it was him asking what she wanted to eat that day; sometimes it was him asking for her opinion on wedding details.

Her replies were always short.

"Whatever."

"Anything."

"You decide."

But Joshua never seemed bothered. He still messaged her every single day. Yet for the last half month, there'd been no communication between them.

A strange feeling crept into Renee's chest. Why hadn't he texted her for so long?

As that thought surfaced, what flashed through her mind was the shock and disbelief in Joshua's eyes a month ago, when she told him she was going to get pregnant with Chad's child through artificial insemination.

They'd known each other for 20 years, and that was the first time she'd ever seen him look so hurt. It was also the first time he'd reacted so strongly against anything she said.

Even then, all he did afterward was firmly refuse to accept the idea of artificial insemination. In every other way, he treated her the same as before.

Thinking back, it seemed like it was half a month ago—after the last time she told him she was going through with having Chad's child—that everything between them had gone quiet.

It wasn't that he'd just stopped messaging her. Even at home, he'd almost completely stopped starting conversations with her.

The more Renee thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. Her heart pounded hard, like something bad was about to happen.

She tried to talk herself down, telling herself Joshua was just overwhelmed with wedding preparations, that this was normal. At the same time, she urged the driver to speed up.

She checked her phone again. There was still nothing. Her hand tightened around it without her realizing.

When Renee reached the hotel, her close friends and family were already there. They were huddled together talking about something, and they rushed over the moment they saw her.

Renee's mother, Mariah Baker, frowned when she hurried in. "Renee, why aren't you wearing your wedding gown? And where's Joshua? Didn't he come with you?"

Renee's friends looked her up and down, confused that she was alone. One of them said, "Yeah, we haven't seen him at all. And you're the bride. Why haven't you changed into your gown yet?"

Panic flared in Renee's chest when she realized they hadn't seen Joshua either. She'd clearly told him before she left last night to just come straight to the hotel in the morning. So where was he now? Had he gone to the banquet hall first?

She forced a smile. "He's probably checking on things in the banquet hall."

She started toward the banquet hall, then suddenly remembered she had no idea which hall the wedding was actually in. Joshua had never told her, and she'd never asked.

Naturally, her friends and family had no idea, either. Otherwise, they wouldn't all be waiting in the lobby.

Renee had no choice but to flag down a staff member. "Excuse me, could you tell me which wedding hall Mr. Joshua Downey booked?"

The staff member pulled out a registration sheet, flipped through it, and answered politely, "He booked Hall 3."

Renee was secretly relieved. So it really was just in her head. Joshua really had just been busy these days.

She started thinking about doing something totally out of character and buying him a gift during their honeymoon. It would be her way of thanking him for all the effort he'd put into the wedding.

Just then, the staff member noticed a note in the last column of the sheet. He hesitated, then spoke again, sounding confused. "However, Mr. Downey called half a month ago to cancel the reservation. He said the wedding was off."

The words hit every person there like a sledgehammer.

Renee's mind went blank. What did he mean, the wedding was off?