Six Times He Left Her at the Altar. The Seventh, I Stopped Waiting.

Cade left without looking back.

I curled my fingers tight without thinking.

His scent still hung in the air. I couldn't even muster the strength to take one more breath.

Nina saw my red eyes and couldn't stand it.

"Celine, are you still gonna go wait for Cade at the ceremony?"

I shook my head.

"No."

I used to think we had time too. That's why I was willing to wait.

Now I understood.

This was God's will.

If even God didn't want me dragging him down, who was I to fight it?

I went through the things Cade and the Russell family had entrusted to me over the past three years one more time.

Ordinary gifts didn't need to go back. But the engagement ring and several pieces of Russell family heirloom jewelry would have to be returned once the engagement was called off.

These had been kept in separate vaults, and a couple of pieces had been sent out for maintenance. I went through them one by one and made a list.

I handed the list to my parents and Nina.

"My body's getting worse by the day. The smallest thing leaves me in pain. Getting these pieces back together is going to have to fall on you."

"Once the engagement is canceled, return everything along with the ring. I don't want anything left unclear."

"The maintenance costs, the retrieval, the cancellation fees, pay for all of it from my couture studio account."

Nina frowned. "Celine, you're really not doing the ceremony?"

When I first found out I didn't have long, I couldn't accept it either.

Locked myself in my room for days. Didn't eat. Didn't drink.

Threw fits and begged my parents to bring in every well-known doctor they could find.

They came, one after another. Every single one read my reports, and every single one just shook their head.

Slowly, I made my peace with it.

Now my heart was perfectly still. Not even a ripple.

"I'm not doing it."

"I could go any day. Why drag him into it?"

"Making him watch his newly married wife die in front of him? That's too cruel."

My father turned away, eyes red, his voice tight. "Fine. Whatever you want."

"If the ceremony's off, the ring and the Russell heirlooms should go back."

"But your mother and I are still here. We're not touching your money. Keep it for yourself."

"Whatever needs paying, I'll handle it."

My father is the chairman of the Winston Group and the trustee of the family trust. But I knew he barely had any cash left.

These past years, hurricanes, wildfires, and floods had hit one after another. My father had donated most of his corporate dividends to disaster relief funds.

My mother sold off her best jewelry to support him through charity auctions.

I used to resent him for it. Our own family scraping by while he took care of everyone else.

Then the specialists started showing up and refusing payment. They'd come through the medical foundation my father had funded. That's when I understood. He was right all along.

Goodness does come back to you.

So I stopped blaming him.

I pressed the studio's ownership transfer papers into his hand and smiled. "Once I'm gone, none of this comes with me. What's the point of keeping it?"

"Dad, spend it. Just save enough for the funeral."

My father finally broke. Tears streamed down his face.

"Celine, I'm useless. I can't even fix what's killing you."

"I'm going to tell Cade the truth right now. Even if the ceremony's off, he should at least be there with you until the end."

"I won't let him waste the love you gave him!"

I panicked so hard I coughed up blood.

"Dad, don't."

"If he knows, I'll have too much to hold on to. I won't be able to close my eyes when it's time. You want that for me?"

"Please. Listen to me this once. A clean break is better than a slow one. Tell him after I'm gone."

My whole life, I'd rarely gone against my parents.

And I'd almost never asked them for anything.

This was the first time.

No matter how much it hurt them, they agreed.

The morning had worn me out completely. This wrecked body had nothing left.

I sent the family away and was about to rest when Cade showed up.

And for the first time ever, he brought Leah with him.