All Chapters of My Groom Fled Again, so I Chose Another: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

That night, my best friend, Janice Randall, dragged me out for drinks."It's your first day being married. We've got to celebrate, no matter what."The bar was dimly lit. I had barely finished half a drink when a familiar burst of laughter drifted over from the booth next to ours.Derek was seated in the center of the room with the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows. He looked completely relaxed.Lessie sat next to him in a pale pink slip dress. Her body was pressed close against his arm.Someone raised a glass and shouted with a grin, "To a toast, Mrs. Hubbard!"Lessie blushed and waved them off. "Stop it. Celine will be upset if she hears that."The guy laughed even harder. "When isn't she upset?"Derek ditched her at the city hall 18 times, and she still waits around for him every single time, doesn't she?"The entire table erupted into laughter.My hand holding the wine glass froze for a second, just as I heard someone toss the conversation back to Derek.

On the day of the wedding, Reuben and I arrived right on time.The entrance to the ballroom next to ours was covered in oceans of pink and white roses. Derek stood there in a groom's tuxedo, surrounded by his usual circle of friends.Someone laughed and gave his shoulder a playful nudge. "Are you going all out this time, Derek? Are you seriously throwing Lessie a wedding?"Derek lowered his head and adjusted his cufflinks, looking utterly nonchalant. "I know that Lessie has loved me for years. She's not in great health, and she's always felt insecure. So, I'm indulging her and letting her have her way, just this once."Someone clicked their tongue, while Derek smiled and continued, "Once Lessie's wedding wraps up today, I'll go to Celine. She's had her little tantrum and thrown enough of a fit by now. All I have to do is coax her a little, and she'll come back to me."When the time comes, I'll marry her for real and register our marriage."He spoke with such entitlement, as if my

"Wife."The moment the word left Reuben's lips, all the color drained from Derek's face.I had waited for seven years, through 18 grueling near-misses, and never once received such a formal, public acknowledgment from Derek. But Reuben pulled me out of all the humiliation I had endured with a single sentence.Derek fixed his deadly stare on me."Do you even know what you're doing, Celine? How long have you even known him? We have seven years of history together. Are you just going to throw that away on a whim?"As I looked at him, my heart felt terrifyingly calm."You were the one who threw everything away first. When you walked away with Lessie the 18th time we were supposed to sign the papers, didn't you already make the choice for me?"Derek's Adam's apple bobbed."I was only taking her to the hospital since her stomach hurt. It's not that I didn't want to marry you, Celine. I just believed Lessie needed me more than you did."I nodded."That's why I stepped aside so the t

Derek didn't leave the day my wedding with Reuben ended.Janice later told me he stood outside the ballroom alone for a long time.Lessie clung to him and wept. "The guests are still waiting for us, Derek. Today's supposed to be our wedding day, too."Derek acted as if he couldn't hear her at all. His gaze was fixed on the direction in which Reuben and I had left, and his eyes were horrifyingly bloodshot.It wasn't until Lessie reached for the white tulip pinned to his chest that he reacted."This is Celine's way of trying to humiliate us on purpose!" she yelled. "Why are you still keeping it?"Derek suddenly grabbed her wrist so hard that her face paled with pain."Don't touch it," he hissed in a voice so hoarse that it barely sounded human. "This is the last thing she'll ever give me."While Lessie froze, the gazes of the guests around them turned sharp and mocking.Someone chuckled and remarked, "I thought he was just indulging Lessie for one day, but now that Celine's actu