All Chapters of A Saint I Cannot Keep: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

The day before our wedding, I was eagerly going through the final checklist with my fiancee, Winona Yale. We'd been together for five years. Tomorrow we were finally getting married, so naturally I wanted to give her a wedding she'd never forget.But she seemed distracted. I asked her several questions, but she didn't respond to any of them, which started to worry me."Winnie, what's wrong? Are you having second thoughts about marrying me?"She snapped back to attention and waved her hands. "Of course not, Liam. I'm just as excited for tomorrow as you are."Relief washed over me, and I tried to lighten the mood."I guess you're having pre-wedding jitters. Don't worry. I promise you'll be the most beautiful bride tomorrow."Winona blushed and leaned shyly against my shoulder. I could tell she wanted to say something, but kept stopping herself."Whatever it is, just tell me. We're getting married tomorrow, and couples don't hide things from each other," I said.She avoided my

Chapter 2

Whatever excitement I'd had about the wedding evaporated. I hadn't expected Winona to blow up like this. I thought my request was reasonable, but I couldn't understand why she was acting so defensive."Winnie, no husband in the world would be okay with his wife visiting her ex alone. I'm already compromising by saying I'll go with you."She looked increasingly frustrated. Then, she stamped her foot."I don't care what you think. I'm going whether you like it or not, and you're staying here."She seemed to realize her attitude had been too harsh and softened her tone."Liam, I just want to see Julian one last time. If you're there, he'll feel uncomfortable. Besides, tomorrow I'll be your wife. Don't you trust me?"I knew Winona. She only softened her tone like this when she was trying to appease me. But her insistence on not letting me go only fueled my suspicions.I stared at her intently and said, "Our wedding's tomorrow. Just be back early."Her eyes lit up. She threw her arm

Chapter 3

Julian said, "Winnie, I'm in room 601. I'll be waiting for you."Just then, Winona's reply synced to the computer screen."I'll give you the most perfect, unforgettable experience tonight, so your life won't have any regrets."His next message came through almost immediately, clearly excited."I can't wait. I wish you were here with me right now."Those messages sent blood rushing straight to my head. It took every shred of rationality I had to keep myself from driving to that hotel and catching them in the act.If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I never would've believed Winona would be capable of saying something like that. From what I knew of her, she'd get embarrassed just kissing me. Yet for Julian, she revealed a side of herself I never knew existed.Earlier, she kept accusing me of not trusting her, but I'd obviously hit a nerve, and she freaked out.Julian's cancer diagnosis and needing to visit him at the hospital were just an excuse. They were clearly getting back

Chapter 4

I tore down all the wedding decorations in the room and notified everyone that the wedding was canceled. The banquet would go on as planned, but we'd be celebrating my single life instead. After that, I turned off my phone to avoid my family bombarding me with calls.At 11:00 am, Winona still hadn't returned. It seemed there was no need to spare her even the last bit of dignity. When I arrived at the wedding venue, Margaret Sullivan, Winona's mother, stormed forward to confront me. She was so close that I could feel her spit flying."Liam, what is the meaning of this? You turned a perfectly good wedding celebration into some singles party? You need to pay my family another half million for this embarrassment, or Winnie's not going to forgive you."I frowned and took a few steps back. Margaret was the type who favored sons over daughters. When we discussed the wedding, she had demanded an outrageous sum of one million in cash. I used to tolerate her crap because I wanted to marry

Chapter 5

When I looked at her, it hit me that Winona still didn't think she'd done anything wrong. It was as if her mere presence at the wedding today was doing me a huge favor.I used to dote on her. The second she showed the slightest hint of irritation, I'd drop everything to make her happy. But right now, all I wanted was a clean break. I didn't want anything to do with her anymore."I've made myself perfectly clear," I stated. "I'm calling off the wedding. From now on, who you choose to help find closure is none of my business."Winona yanked off her veil and threw it on the ground."Fine. Call it off then. Don't come crying to me later," she spat.She then stormed out, brushing past Margaret's attempts to stop her. The guests had already pieced together what had happened and exchanged bewildered glances.My parents came forward to comfort me. They said they never thought Winona would cheat on me. All I felt was relief that it was finally over.I picked up the microphone and told ev

Chapter 6

Winona's face turned deathly pale. Her eyes widened with panic."Liam, that's not what happened. Please try to understand. How can you just deny everything we've had these past five years?"Before I could respond, someone rushed up and slapped himself hard across the face."Liam, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have returned to the country or told her about my cancer. I also shouldn't have asked her to help fulfill my dying wish. If you're angry, take it out on me, not her."Winona, who had just been professing her love for me, now focused entirely on Julian. She instantly grabbed his wrist and spoke frantically."Stop! You're not feeling well. How can you do this to yourself?"Then she turned to me with an accusatory look. "Liam, I brought Julian here to clear things up. Look at him, he's so worked up he's hitting himself. You don't have to keep dragging this out."From the moment Julian showed up until now, I hadn't said a word or laid a finger on him. He was putting on th

Chapter 7

I told Clara everything that had happened and let out a bitter laugh."You must think I'm pathetic, right? Getting cheated on right before my wedding, and Winona didn't even think she did anything wrong. Instead, she expected me to understand her."But she shook her head earnestly. "No. This just proves you're someone who's loyal and devoted in relationships. The ones who should be condemned are them, not you."I stared at her, dumbfounded. The knot of resentment in my chest miraculously loosened, and a genuine smile spread across my face for the first time in days. "You're right. This wasn't my fault. I need to move on."Maybe it was the excitement of seeing an ex-classmate after so long, but Clara and I seemed to have endless things to talk about. When I learned she had just returned to the country and hadn't found a place to stay yet, I volunteered to help her look for an apartment.Since I'd soon be transferring to a branch office in another city, she only needed a place t

Chapter 8

Winona completely broke down when she saw Clara. Tears were streaming down her face."No. You two are working together to trick me, just to make me give up on him, right? I can prove I wasn't lying. This is Julian's cancer report. He really is sick. I was just trying to help him fulfill his last wish," she said, handing me a medical report.I was still too stunned to react, so Clara took it instead. She glanced at it and let out a short, mocking laugh."He's pulled this scam on more women abroad than I can count. When that stopped working, he came back here to try again. And you actually fell for it."Her words hit Winona like a freight train. She stood frozen while I stared at Clara because I'd had no idea about any of this.Clara calmly pulled out her phone and showed us a foreign news article. The headline read, "Man Fakes Cancer Diagnosis to Deceive Multiple Women."The photo of the suspect was unmistakably Julian. It turned out he had returned to the country to escape prosec

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