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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Too Late to Call Me Yours: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

10 Kabanata

Chapter 1

Joel Hoover's mother, Amy Dempsey, held Cynthia Marsh's hand as she fussed over her. Only after a while did she notice me standing by the door."And who's this?"Before I could answer, Joel took the gift box and Amy's blood pressure medication from my hands. "She's Cynthia's best friend. She was just helping Cynthia carry the gifts."Just like that, he erased our three years of marriage as if they had never existed.Amy opened the gift box and immediately lit up. "Cynthia, you remembered how much Joel's dad loves this coffee?"Cynthia hesitated for a second, then smiled and nodded. "Of course."I was the one who had gone out of my way to have the coffee shipped in from the region where it was grown.I had also gotten Amy's blood pressure medication a month ahead, knowing exactly when she'd need more.Joel and I had been married for three years, but he had never once taken me home to meet his parents.He always said his family cared a lot about status and might not approve of s

Chapter 2

Amy went on, "Joel needs a woman from the right kind of family, someone who was raised properly. If it weren't for Cynthia, someone with your background probably never would've crossed paths with the Hoovers."But since you're her best friend, you can be a bridesmaid at the wedding."I looked at Joel. He was pouring Cynthia some water and never even looked my way.As I was leaving, Joel handed me a garment bag. "Cynthia needs this tomorrow. Drop it off at the dry cleaner on your way home."I took the bag without arguing.On the way home, I reached out about the job I'd been offered in another city three years ago. I'd turned it down when I got married."Mr. Campbell, is that creative lead position you mentioned still available?Owen and Amy were only supposed to stay for three days. But once they decided Cynthia would be their daughter-in-law, they chose to stick around and handle the wedding preparations themselves.Joel told me to go back to our place and clear out the rest o

Chapter 3

That evening, I heard back about the job in another city."The creative lead position is still available. The new project starts in 40 days."I accepted the offer and set my start date for after the divorce was finalized.On the day of the wedding, I arrived early in my bridesmaid dress.As the guests began arriving, Cynthia stood beside Joel at the entrance, her arm linked through his as they greeted everyone.Amy had me, Cynthia's "best friend," stand by the gift table, collecting cards and noting down who each gift was from.When the processional started, I realized they were still using the music I had chosen. Even the vows came straight from my wedding binder.The day Joel and I got married, he had told me, "Those are promises I'll only say out loud when I can finally marry you in front of everyone."The dress, the rings, the music, and the vows were all the same. The only difference was that I was standing off to the side, watching him marry someone else.Just before the

Chapter 4

Owen, Amy, Cynthia arrived at the hospital just as Grandma was being taken into the ICU.In front of everyone in the hallway, Amy pointed at me and snapped, "You may not have much of a background, but you sure know how to scheme! You befriended Cynthia just to go after Joel. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"I looked at Cynthia. She was still wearing the Hoover family bracelet.Joel arrived a little later. Cynthia stood behind him with red-rimmed eyes, as if I were the one who had hurt her.For once, I thought Joel might finally tell everyone the truth. Instead, he pulled me aside."I'll handle it as soon as I can," he said.That evening, Joel came to see me with divorce papers and a public statement.The statement said I had known all along that Joel and Cynthia were in love, but I used Grandma's illness to pressure him into marrying me in secret.It claimed our marriage was only on paper and that we had been living separately for a long time.It also said I had leaked the pro

Chapter 5

By the time my plane landed, it was already dark.I turned off airplane mode, and dozens of missed calls immediately flooded my screen. Most were from Joel, Cynthia, and Amy, along with a few Hoover relatives who had never contacted me before.At the top of my notifications were several messages from Joel."The celebration's over. Where are you staying? Send me the address."Ten minutes later, he texted again. "Don't do this. I told you I'd come find you."Half an hour later, another message came through. "Nicole, why aren't you answering your phone?"His last message had been sent just three minutes ago. "I'm at your place. Where did you go?"I didn't answer. I just blocked his number.A coworker from the branch office was already waiting outside the airport. She was holding a sign with my name on it.She smiled as she took my suitcase. "Ms. Sullivan, welcome back."Hearing the word "back" made me pause.Three years earlier, the company had invited me to join this project,

Chapter 6

My first month on the job was so busy that I barely had time to think about the past.The company handed the project back to me after shelving it for three years. One of my coworkers told me I had been the one who came up with the original concept.After I left, they brought in two different creative leads, but neither managed to make it work.I went through all the project files again and spent more than two weeks in back-to-back meetings with my team.The day our proposal was finally approved, the whole office broke into applause. My manager personally placed a new nameplate on my desk with my title on it."Welcome back, Nicole."I looked down at my name. For the first time in a long while, the hollow feeling in my chest eased a little.Grandma was brought to the new city too. When I saw her again, I couldn't bring myself to look her in the eye.I kept my head down. "I'm sorry, Grandma."She reached up and stroked my hair, just like she used to when I was little."You have

Chapter 7

Once the project entered its public roadshow phase, my name started showing up in the industry press again.At the launch event, our partners invited a large group of reporters.I had just finished my presentation when one of them asked, "Ms. Sullivan, we heard you stepped away from this project three years ago because of your marriage. Now that you're back, do you regret that decision?"The room fell quiet.I held the microphone. "I do, but not because the marriage ended. I regret ever letting someone else decide what I did with my life."After the event, that part of the interview was edited into a short clip. Before long, it was trending in industry circles.Joel spent the entire afternoon replaying it in his office.His assistant reminded him that he had an important meeting, but he kept going back to the part where I said the marriage ending wasn't what I regretted.I didn't look angry or bitter. I looked like I was talking about something I had already left behind.That

Chapter 8

Three days later, the public statement started trending again.I wasn't the one who put it back in the spotlight. The clerk who had handled our marriage paperwork saw the news and came forward with the full timeline.The evidence included our marriage records, Joel's proposal video, the written promise he signed while Grandma was in the hospital, and records showing that we had lived together as husband and wife for three years.Every piece of evidence proved the same thing. I wasn't some other woman clinging to him behind the excuse of a paper marriage. I had been his legal wife for three years, and we had built a life together.Then the hotel where Joel and Cynthia had held their wedding released the full security footage. It showed me getting the call from the hospital and begging Joel to come with me.Instead, he pressed his car keys into my hand, turned back to Cynthia, and slipped the wedding ring onto her finger.Security footage from the hospital hallway surfaced too. In

Chapter 9

After the press conference, Joel told Cynthia he wanted a divorce.She refused. Then she showed up at my office in the same white dress she had worn at the wedding, with Amy and a crowd of reporters behind her.She dropped to her knees in front of me. "Nicole, I'll give Joel back to you. Please, just stop trying to ruin us."Anyone who didn't know what had really happened would've thought I was the one trying to destroy their marriage.One of my coworkers was about to call security, but I stopped them and had someone bring over a projector instead.I pulled up every message Cynthia had sent Joel over the past three years."Your parents like me. You don't have to explain anything yet."Just have her move out for a few days. It won't hurt anything."As long as she agrees to be my bridesmaid, everyone will think I'm the bride."The last message was from the wedding night."Is her grandma really that important? If you had left today, everyone would have thought I stole her husban

Chapter 10

A year later, our project won an international award.As the awards ceremony was wrapping up, Grandma sat in the audience wearing the new outfit I'd bought her. She was smiling so brightly that her eyes crinkled.The host asked who I wanted to thank most.I looked at Grandma. "The person who taught me that even when I had nothing, I never had to put myself last just to be loved."The audience broke into applause.Grandma quietly wiped away a tear.After I got back from overseas, a package arrived for me.Inside was a thick photo album. On the first page was a photo of Joel and me from the day we got married.On the back, he had written, "If I could do it all over again, I'd take you home to meet my family first."The rest of the album was filled with photos I had taken around our home over the past three years. There were pictures of the curtains, the dining table, and our matching mugs.There was even a photo of the bottle of wine that was supposed to be opened at our weddin

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