Chapter 8

Dante confronted me without even getting the facts straight first, but I simply snorted in response. "You want me to apologize? You should check the security footage and see for yourself who's lying!"

However, he continued to frown in disbelief. "Isobel is ill and pregnant too! Why would she purposely allow herself to fall down the stairs?"

Panic flashing in her eyes, Isobel hastened to gently say, "Let's just forget about it, Dante. It's perfectly understandable for Nina to be upset… Let's go."

I could tell she was worried that Dante would actually check the security footage, so she quickly pretended to clutch her abdomen weakly.

Unsurprisingly, Dante's expression instantly changed. He quickly scooped her up in his arms and rushed off with her.

He didn't come home that night. I figured he was busy tending to Isobel with the "unstable" pregnancy.

The next day, I had most of my luggage shipped to the dorm I'd be staying at in Laran. All that was left was a carry-on suitcase I'd be taking with me.

At night, Dante returned, still looking rather angered.

"Isobel is still in the hospital right now! Even if you didn't do it on purpose, can't you be a little more gracious? Must you insist on picking on her?"

I sneered coldly. Wasn't I being more than gracious enough? I'd generously given her my fiance and allowed her to put on the wedding gown I got for myself to have a wedding photoshoot with him.

After noticing the date circled in red on the calendar, Dante eased up and said in a less forceful tone, "We're getting married tomorrow. I don't want to fight. Apologize to Isobel after the ceremony, and we can go on our honeymoon after that. Have you made the arrangements for our honeymoon?"

I didn't reply at once.

If he'd bothered to pay even the slightest bit of attention, he would have noticed how bare the house looked. It didn't look like the house of a couple who were about to get married.

"Let's—" I'd just begun to speak when his phone rang. Of course, it was Isobel calling.

"Wait for me. I'll be right there," Dante said before ending the call.

As he hurriedly pulled on his shoes and headed off, he said, "Isobel's feeling unwell. I'll check on her at the hospital. Don't be late tomorrow. Make sure you show up at the hotel on time."

Just as the door closed behind him, I finally finished my sentence. "Let's break up, Dante. I've called off the wedding."

But no one heard me. All I got in response was the ticking of the old clock hanging on the wall.

That night, I sat in the living room and waited till dawn. At last, I got a notification on my phone reminding me that it was two hours until my flight's boarding time.

I got up, grabbed my suitcase, and crossed out the circle around the tenth, my original wedding date. Then, I wrote out a sentence.

"Let's break up, Dante."

I left the calendar in the most prominent spot in the living room. Then, without a shred of hesitation, I left the apartment that had accompanied me for many years.

Meanwhile, Dante stayed at the hospital until Isobel's condition stabilized before he finally left. Along the way, he messaged me.

"Have you gotten everything ready for the wedding ceremony? I'll be right there."

His message went unanswered for ages, and he began reviewing the messages we had exchanged over the past few months. At that moment, he realized that I was the one who kept messaging him.

"When are you coming home tomorrow? I'll wait and have dinner with you.

"Are you free to check on our wedding reception?

"I chose red roses for our wedding hall decor. Is that okay with you?"

But he only ever gave half-hearted responses.

"Sure.

"You decide.

"Whatever's fine with me."

Dante felt a flicker of uneasiness. The last time he brought up their artificial insemination, he had noticed the look of despair and stillness in my eyes, a look he had never seen before. Ever since then, I stopped initiating conversations with him and no longer waited for him to get home.

Gripping his phone tightly, he said to the driver, "Hurry up."

When he arrived at the hotel, he saw his friends and his mother, Maria Benelli, waiting for him in the lobby.

"Why haven't you changed into your suit yet? And isn't Nina with you?" Maria questioned, frowning.

Startled, Dante replied, "She should be at the wedding venue already."

However, he didn't know which ballroom our wedding ceremony was supposed to be held in. I'd never told him, and he never bothered to ask.

Dante quickly stopped a hotel employee and asked, "Which ballroom did Nina Ford book?"

The employee checked the list before replying, "It was ballroom three, but…"

Frowning, the employee continued, "Ms. Ford called us up two weeks ago to cancel the booking. She said the wedding ceremony had been canceled."

Dante froze. The wedding had been canceled?

At that moment, he felt as though his world had come crashing down.