CHAPTER 21: THE NIGHT BEFORE

The night before the third wedding, I couldn't sleep. I stood on my balcony at 2 AM, looking out at the city lights, wrapped in a blanket against the cool night air. The streets below were mostly empty, just the occasional car passing by, the distant sound of sirens, the city breathing in its quieter hours.Tomorrow was supposed to be my wedding day. Again. For the third time. Part of me couldn't quite believe we'd made it this far. Part of me was waiting for the inevitable disaster.My phone rang, making me jump. Alexander."Can't sleep either?" I answered."No." His voice was rough, like he'd been awake for hours. "Lila, I need to tell you something. Before tomorrow. Before you marry him."My heart started racing. "Okay."There was a long pause. I could hear him breathing on the other end, could picture him in his apartment, probably pacing the way he did when he was working through something difficult. Perhaps he had expected to reach my voicemail. "I'm in love with you," he said

Última atualização : 2026-02-03

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CHAPTER 22: THE BREAKING POINT

Which brings us back to where we started. The third wedding. The moment everything changed.Standing at the altar in my white silk gown, watching Miles's face change as his assistant burst through the doors. Feeling my grip tighten on his wrist as he tried to leave. Hearing him say those words again: "Valeria has no one else. I have to go to her."But this time was different. This time, something inside me didn't just crack—it shattered completely.Because as Miles walked away from me for the third time, as I stood there listening to the whispers and feeling the pitying stares, I finally understood something crucial that I should have seen years ago:Miles would never choose me. Not over Valeria. Not over anyone. Because in his mind, choosing me wasn't a choice—it was an obligation. Something to do when there was nothing more urgent demanding his attention.I was his fallback. His safety net. The woman who would always forgive him, always understand, always be there waiting when he fi

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CHAPTER 23: MRS. CALVERT

That night, Miles didn’t even bother to call.I stood in the empty chapel long after most of the guests had left, still in my wedding dress—though now it felt like it belonged to a different person, a different life entirely. The ivory silk that had seemed so perfect that morning now felt heavy and wrong, the delicate lace sleeves scratching against my wrists like a reminder of expectations that would never be fulfilled.The chapel was quieter now, the excited chatter of guests replaced by the hollow echo of my footsteps on marble floors as I finally moved from where I’d been standing frozen at the altar. Candles still flickered in their holders, creating dancing shadows on the stone walls. The flowers—thousands of dollars worth of white roses and peonies—still perfumed the air with their sweet, cloying scent that was starting to make me feel sick.Everything was exactly as I’d planned it, down to the smallest detail. Everything except the fact that I’d just married a completely diffe

Última atualização : 2026-02-04

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CHAPTER 24: THE FIRST NIGHT

I took a long bath in the master bathroom, letting the hot water wash away the tension of the day. The bathroom was enormous—all marble and glass, with a soaking tub that could fit three people comfortably. I'd filled it almost to the brim, added some lavender bath salts I'd found in a cabinet that smelled expensive and felt luxurious, and just let myself sink into the heat.My muscles slowly unknotted as I lay there, watching steam rise toward the vaulted ceiling. I could still feel the phantom weight of the wedding dress, the tight grip of my shoes, the heaviness of the day pressing down on me. But gradually, the hot water worked its magic, drawing out the stress and replacing it with a bone-deep exhaustion.When I finally emerged, wrapped in the softest towel I'd ever touched, I found that Alexander had somehow acquired comfortable pajamas in my size—silk, in my favorite shade of midnight blue. Of course they were. Of course he knew my size. Of course he knew my favorite color, the

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Todos os capítulos de Third Wedding, Right Groom : Capítulo 21 - Capítulo 24

CHAPTER 21: THE NIGHT BEFORE

CHAPTER 22: THE BREAKING POINT

CHAPTER 23: MRS. CALVERT

CHAPTER 24: THE FIRST NIGHT