Lahat ng Kabanata ng At My Engagement Party, My Fiancé Told Me He'd Been Cheating: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

I was standing in the most expensive ballroom in Boston. My mother's voice echoed in my head."The Harrises spared no expense, sweetheart. Every single flower was flown in from Holland. Every girl in this city would kill to be in your place."A chill ran through me. Like I'd been dropped into ice water.I thought back to the day Connor went for his suit fitting. He'd frowned. He'd said the one I'd picked out looked dated.Sophia had stood next to him, smiling as she fixed his tie. "That's much better."No wonder his mouth had curved into a smile.He acted like nothing had happened. He opened the ring box.Applause erupted in the ballroom.My mother's eyes filled with tears. The Harris elders nodded their approval.Sophia was the first one in the crowd to clap.I looked at her and felt my stomach turn.Connor held the ring out for a long moment. When I didn't move, he frowned and pushed it toward me again.I extended my hand.The applause swelled.Then I snapped the ring box shut.The a

Once my mother was admitted, I drove back to the Back Bay townhouse alone.I'd picked the dining table out myself. Connor had wanted something big. Easier for entertaining, he'd said.In the closet was the nightgown for our wedding night. Tags still on it.I looked away and headed upstairs. My suitcase was open on the bedroom floor. I started throwing things in. I moved fast. I couldn't slow down. The second I slowed down, every memory we'd made in this house would come flooding back.Connor walked in."Charlotte."I didn't stop.He set a folder down in front of me."Equity transfer. Take a look.""My family talked it over. This is what we're offering you. As compensation."I glanced up at him."It's worth a billion."He winced slightly, like the number physically hurt him to say."For Sophia. For your mother. I think this should cover it.""And we're going to be husband and wife soon anyway. It makes sense to tie the two families together financially."That stopped my hands.He sighed

After that one sentence, all three of us went dead silent.I swayed. I grabbed the edge of the table to keep from falling.So the night my father died, the night my mother and I held each other and sobbed, Connor (who said he was in a meeting) and Sophia (who said she was at school finishing a paper) had been in bed together.I walked toward them, one step at a time. Like a ghost crawling up out of hell."What did I do to either of you. What did I do to deserve this."Connor realized what had just come out of his mouth. His composure cracked."No, let me explain—"I closed my eyes."Get out. Both of you. Get out."Connor came at me. "You and your family always treated Sophia like dirt. Just because she lost her parents young, you bullied her her whole life. At first, I really did just feel sorry for her. Like a sister.""Your father called me that night around ten. I didn't pick up. I figured he was just calling to lecture me about treating you right. Again. It was so fucking annoying.

Charlotte had been off the grid for a full week.At first, Connor didn't think much of it.She'd done this before. After a fight, she'd retreat to the Ashford estate and refuse to talk for a day or two. He'd go pick her up. He'd smooth things over. She'd come back with red eyes and let him take her home.This time would be the same, he thought.Besides, he had Sophia to take care of.Sophia had been through a lot that day. He'd moved her into his apartment on Beacon Hill.The day she moved in, she'd brought one small suitcase. She'd said she didn't want anything else from the Ashford house. Not one thing.Something in him had softened when he heard that.That first night she cooked him an entire spread.He sat down at the table. He cut a piece of steak and put it in his mouth. He chewed twice. He couldn't taste a thing."Is it good?" Sophia rested her chin in her hand and watched him."It's good."It wasn't as good as Charlotte's. The thought drifted in out of nowhere. Charlotte had lo

Later, our old housekeeper told me. Connor had been to every property the Ashfords owned.The Back Bay townhouse. The summer house on Cape Cod. The estate in Newport.One by one. House by house.The housekeeper said he'd come to the Back Bay townhouse.I'd changed the lock code after my mother died. He didn't have the new one.He'd stood outside for a long time. In the end, the housekeeper let him in.He went straight to the closet. He saw the black trash bag.Before I left, I'd thrown every gift Connor had ever given me into that bag.He crouched down. He took them out one at a time. He wiped them clean with his sleeve.The last place he went was my mother's grave.The wind that day was brutal. He knelt there for over an hour without moving.The groundskeeper came over to tell him to go home. Closing time. Come back tomorrow.He didn't move.He was thinking, the housekeeper said. They used to be so happy.Every time he came over to Charlotte's parents' house, her mother cooked for him