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Too Late to Choose Me
Too Late to Choose Me
Penulis: Sasha Shaw

Chapter 1

Penulis: Sasha Shaw
Erica's POV

By the time I got home, the house was packed with relatives.

Madelyn Swanson stood in the middle of the crowd with her arm linked through Joseph Crosby's. Smiling, she directed the workers as they hung an enormous wedding portrait in the living room.

Everyone immediately started gushing over it.

"Wow, that could be an ad for a wedding photographer."

"Madelyn and Joseph look perfect together. Those two were made for each other."

Madelyn's cheeks were flushed pink, and beneath the crystal chandelier, she looked radiant.

"Oh, stop. I was only filling in for Erica because she wasn't feeling well. If she hears you talking like this, she'll get the wrong idea again."

The smiles around the room disappeared.

Mom and Dad sighed.

"She's always been so petty. I don't know where she gets it from."

"She's having a rough pregnancy, so now she expects everyone to wait on her hand and foot. Then she gets jealous over nothing and picks fights with Joseph. Joseph and Madelyn are the only ones patient enough to put up with her."

So that was how they saw me.

My morning sickness had gotten so bad I couldn't even get out of bed. I'd even had to go to the hospital for injections to keep the pregnancy stable.

To Mom and Dad, I was just being dramatic.

I didn't want Madelyn taking my place in the wedding photos with Joseph. All I'd wanted was to postpone the shoot.

To Mom and Dad, that made me petty and jealous.

I looked around at the people who had once mattered most to me.

Mom and Dad were there, along with my twin sister and my fiancé, the father of my child. Not one of them stood up for me.

I almost laughed.

Someone finally noticed me and called out my name.

No one explained. No one apologized. The relatives quickly scattered, and Mom and Dad left too.

Within moments, the room was empty except for the wedding decorations. Suddenly, even looking at them hurt.

Only then did I get a good look at the enormous wedding portrait.

Madelyn wore a white gown, and Joseph stood beside her in a suit. They were by the lake at sunset, their fingers laced together.

I'd chosen the location and planned the pose myself. I'd pictured that exact photo more times than I could count.

And now Joseph and Madelyn had taken it together instead.

Madelyn walked over, looking pleased with herself as she admired the portrait.

"Well, Erica? What do you think? I did a pretty good job standing in for you, didn't I?"

In the photo, Madelyn looked almost exactly like me. The only difference was the tiny beauty mark at the corner of my eye. She didn't have one.

That tiny mark was enough to tell us apart.

Everyone knew the woman in the portrait wasn't me. Yet Joseph, of all people, kept insisting he couldn't tell the difference.

And every time he used that excuse, Madelyn took my place in another moment that should have belonged to us.

When I didn't respond, Madelyn bit her lip.

"Erica, don't you like it? If you don't, I'll throw it away right now!"

Joseph frowned at me. "Madelyn was just trying to help you. Why are you giving her attitude?"

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  • Too Late to Choose Me   Chapter 9

    Erica's POVI met Joseph's anxious gaze and smiled."I love Tristan," I said.When Joseph asked me to forgive him, I almost laughed.I looked at the guilt on his face and suddenly felt sick. After everything he'd put me through, all I got in the end was one hollow apology.I shook my head, completely unmoved.Joseph's eyes reddened as he dropped to his knees in front of me."Erica, then let me pay for what I did. Hurt me the way I hurt you. Do whatever you need to do to get even with me. If I take it all, will you give me another chance?"He reached for my hand, but I kicked him away.Joseph tumbled down the steps and stared up at me in disbelief, as if he couldn't understand how I could bring myself to do that to him. After everything he'd done, I could.I rested a hand on my stomach. I was carrying Tristan's baby now, and he was the man I'd chosen to spend my life with and the father of my child.Just then, Tristan came back with a bottle of water. I reached for him, pulle

  • Too Late to Choose Me   Chapter 8

    Erica's POVTristan's eyes filled with tears as he pulled me into his arms. He held me tightly, as if he needed to make sure I was really alive.Seven years ago, when Joseph and I were together, Tristan had looked at me with tears in his eyes too. He'd told me he'd wait for me for the rest of his life.I'd thought he'd only said it in the heat of the moment. I never realized he'd meant it.Tristan and I had known each other since childhood. If Joseph hadn't come into my life that summer night, maybe everything would have turned out differently.Two months after I moved abroad, I finally put my foot down and made Tristan sleep in his own room instead of on my floor.I couldn't stand waking up in the middle of the night to find him checking to make sure I was still breathing.Tristan hugged his pillow and looked at me like a kicked puppy, but after two months, I'd gotten used to that look.He took such good care of me that there was no missing how much he loved me.I couldn't be

  • Too Late to Choose Me   Chapter 7

    Third-Person POVMadelyn said, "Don't even get me started. Joseph's been acting insane these past few days. He won't even touch me. You're way better than he is."Joseph's fists clenched as he thought about the skimpy outfits Madelyn had been wearing lately.Jason asked, "Ms. Swanson, when am I getting the money you promised me? The loan sharks are already breathing down my neck."Madelyn sounded irritated. "I know. I had to get that bitch Erica out of the way before I could take her place. Once she's gone, everything the Crosbys have will be mine. You really think I won't be able to pay you five million dollars then?"Erica's already gone, and I've got Joseph wrapped around my finger. All I have to do is keep playing him, and sooner or later, everything will be mine."Joseph stumbled back, a low, furious sound escaping him.Everything that had happened between them suddenly came back to cut him deep. He had thrown away Erica, the woman who had stood by him for seven years, for

  • Too Late to Choose Me   Chapter 6

    Third-Person POVSomething didn't add up. Madelyn hadn't bled nearly that much the night before.Joseph pulled out his phone and called Erica. It rang for a long time before an automated voice finally came on.He called again and again, but she never answered.Panic hit him. He sent her a text."Erica, where are you? Call me back as soon as you get this."Erica had texted him every day without fail. But that morning, his phone stayed silent.He asked around, but no one knew where she'd gone.She'd once told him he was the only person she could rely on, the one person she couldn't let go of. Yet now she'd disappeared without saying a word.The bond that had tied him and Erica together for seven years had quietly broken.Joseph tore through the house, desperate to find anything that might tell him where Erica had gone.Then he spotted the necklace on the nightstand. He'd given it to her after landing his first project. She'd been so happy back then, as if he'd given her the wh

  • Too Late to Choose Me   Chapter 5

    Third-Person POVMadelyn's face was streaked with blood.As Joseph rushed her to the hospital, panic began to set in. He couldn't get the devastated look on Erica's face out of his mind.For the first time, he wondered if he'd gone too far. Maybe he never should have married Madelyn. Maybe finding out about the marriage had been too much for Erica.His thoughts went back to when Erica had been hospitalized because she was at risk of losing the baby. He remembered how pale she'd looked as she endured one painful injection after another.She had wanted that baby so badly.Then he thought about everything she'd put up with because of him. And for the first time, he began to wonder if he'd been wrong all along.Once the doctor told him Madelyn's injury had been treated and bandaged, Joseph hurried to see her.Madelyn gently touched the bandage on her forehead, looking hurt. "Joe, don't blame Erica. I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt me."For once, Joseph didn't immediately try to co

  • Too Late to Choose Me   Chapter 4

    Looking back, the signs had been there all along.Joseph wouldn't postpone the proposal or the wedding photo shoot. He'd even had the dress altered and the ring resized to fit Madelyn instead of me.I'd always thought I was the one he chose. Now I knew better.I looked at Joseph for a long moment. Only now did I finally see him for who he really was and understand where his heart had been all along."Whatever you decide is fine," I said.The wedding wasn't mine anymore, and neither was Joseph. I didn't want either of them.I went to the bedroom to rest.The wedding dress that no longer fit me was laid out on the bed, and the diamond ring that was too small for my finger sparkled on the nightstand.Joseph and Madelyn followed me in."Oh, right. The bridal consultant told me yesterday that the dress doesn't fit you, and neither does the ring. So we'll just have Madelyn be the bride instead."Joseph said it as casually as if he were talking about a change in seating arrangements

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