Home / The Bride They Left to Die / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of The Bride They Left to Die: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

A hotel employee knocked and stepped inside, politely reminding me that I had to check out by 2 p.m. I braced a hand against the wall and forced myself to stand as my vision blurred and darkened around the edges.Before I could answer, a woman from the bridal shop came in. I had just finished packing my ID and medical records into my overnight bag."Ms. Cobb, Mr. Bradford ordered the dress, but he only paid the deposit," she said awkwardly. "He just told us you'd be covering the remaining balance. It's ten thousand dollars."My phone rang before I could respond. Curtis Bradford's voice sounded as gentle as ever. "Leslie, did you finish watching the livestream?""I did.""Good. Then you understand why I had to change brides at the last minute."He used the same gentle voice he'd used when we were kids, cleaning up my scraped knees, and later when he listened to me complain about work.After a short pause, he added, "The dress looks good on you. I already paid part of it, so a

Chapter 2

My overnight bag slipped from my hand, and the folder with my medical records slid halfway out. Mom bent down, picked it up, and shoved it under the shoe rack without looking inside."More tests for your headaches? Deal with that later. Today's supposed to be a happy day."The photographer had already set up in the living room. Curtis walked over and smoothed my collar. "Stop acting like you're the one being wronged. Once Shannon's happy, I'm still going home with you tonight."Shannon dropped a white dress at my feet. It was the cheapest bridesmaid dress from the shop. "Put it on. Don't keep everyone waiting."Still smiling, she opened the master bedroom door. Wedding photos of Curtis and me covered the walls, except my face had been cut out of every picture and replaced with Shannon's.A check-in slip sat beneath one of the frames. It had Curtis and Shannon's names on it, dated the same night he proposed to me.That night, Curtis said something urgent came up at work and le

Chapter 3

Those were strong preion painkillers, and the hospital only gave me a limited amount because of my condition. I couldn't just walk into a pharmacy and replace them."Curtis," I said, "I might not make it another three days."The living room went quiet for a couple of seconds before Richard laughed. "You're really pretending you're dying just to get out of taking a family photo?""Leslie, don't say things like that just to scare everyone." Mom smoothed the hem of my dress, talking to me like I was a child throwing a tantrum. "You used to fake stomachaches whenever things didn't go your way with Shannon. You're still pulling this?""Mom," I insisted, "I'm not faking.""Alright, you're not." She gave a distracted nod. "We'll take you to the hospital after the pictures, okay?"The photographer snapped the photo.Shannon stood in the middle with Curtis's arm around her waist, while Mom, Dad, and Richard crowded around them. I stood at the very edge in my cheap white dress, pushed

Chapter 4

By the time dinner started, I could barely stand. Curtis helped me into a chair and tucked a cushion behind my back. "See? I'm not ignoring you." In front of everyone, he served me a bowl of soup. "Leslie just gets in her own head sometimes. She'll feel better after she gets some rest."Chopped parsley floated on top of the soup.I was severely allergic to parsley. In all seven years we were together, Curtis always remembered to tell servers whenever we ate out.Today, he forgot. Or maybe with Shannon sitting beside him, he just didn't have any attention left for what I could and couldn't eat."Curtis, Leslie doesn't want it. Give it to me."Curtis immediately slid the bowl over to Shannon. "Careful. It's hot."The relatives laughed. "Those two were so close when they were little. Now Shannon's finally back, and Leslie's jealous.""Leslie's been spoiled for too long. She needs to cut Shannon some slack."Richard walked over with a glass of wine. "You hear that? Nobody here th

Chapter 5

My spirit hovered just below the ceiling. The pain was gone, and so was the resentment. Looking down at the five people gathered around the bed, I saw them so clearly now that they almost felt like strangers."Leslie?" Curtis touched my nose again. "Wake up. You're scaring me."Richard shoved him aside. "She's faked passing out before just to scare us. She's probably doing it again."He slapped me hard across the face, but my body only rolled limply to one side.Mom's lips started to tremble. "Leslie, I know you're upset. Open your eyes, and we'll talk about the house tomorrow."Shannon pressed closer to Curtis. "Is she doing this just to get back at me? It's my wedding day, and she still had to pull something like this."Sweat beaded on Curtis's forehead, but instead of calling for help, he pulled out his phone and started a timer. "Give her five minutes. She can't hold her breath that long."Three minutes passed, and I still wasn't breathing.Dad finally reached for my

Chapter 6

After the medical examiner took my body away, police sealed off the apartment and started collecting evidence. In the master bedroom, they found my medical records buried under a pile of wedding supplies.My brain scans, pathology report, medication records, and the doctor's warning that my condition was critical were all there.From behind the glass in the interrogation room, Curtis watched an officer seal everything into evidence bags."She really had stomach cancer?" His voice shook so badly that he could barely get the words out.The detective didn't answer. "She told you more than once that she was in severe pain. Why did you stop her from getting medical help?""I thought she was faking.""She told you herself that she might only have three days left.""She used to pretend she was sick whenever she wanted to get out of apologizing," Curtis said quickly. "I thought she was doing the same thing again."In another interrogation room, Richard gave almost the same explanatio

Chapter 7

Shannon was actually found seven months after she disappeared ten years ago. Police located her at a shelter in a nearby city. Mom, Dad, and Richard all went to bring her home while I stayed behind.Mom told me the girl they found wasn't my sister and warned me not to get my hopes up. The truth was, Shannon refused to see me.She said back then, "She lost me. Why should she still get to be my sister? I want her to know what it's like to spend every day waiting for her family to come find her."She was only 13.A psychologist recommended rebuilding our relationship slowly, but my parents decided to send Shannon to live with our aunt instead. To everyone else, they kept pretending she was still missing."Seeing Leslie upsets Shannon. We'll keep them apart for a few years and let them reconnect when they're older."A few years turned into ten.Richard visited Shannon in the next city every month. Curtis knew the truth, too. Seven years ago, before he ever started pursuing me, h

Chapter 8

When the surveillance footage ended, Mom covered her face and broke down. "I only stepped away for a few minutes… I didn't know Shannon was going to wander off."Back then, Mom hid the fact that she had been gone for almost an hour because she was afraid everyone would blame her. The mall's security system malfunctioned, so police couldn't get the footage right away. By the time they finally recovered it, Shannon was already back.Dad found out what really happened, but he chose to let everyone keep blaming me. "Leslie already thinks it's her fault. If we tell her that her mother was the one who left them, it'll tear this family apart."So they let me carry the blame.Shannon never told the truth, either. Instead of blaming Mom, she resented me even more because I was the one who got to go home."Why did I have to end up in a shelter while Leslie got to sleep in her own bed?"From then on, the whole family worked together to keep the lie going.Curtis broke down after watc

Chapter 9

Wendy handled my funeral and buried me beside Grandma. No one got the old house. The court ruled that the transfer agreement was signed under coercion, so the house stayed part of my estate. According to the will I made after my diagnosis, it was sold, and every dollar went to a fund that helped patients who couldn't afford treatment.After my family and Curtis served their sentences, none of them ever got their old lives back.Mom and Dad sold their house to pay my funeral costs and court-ordered compensation. Once the relatives read the trial records, almost no one wanted anything to do with them.Every year, Mom and Dad spent an entire day at my grave."Leslie, I brought your favorite fruit cake." Mom sat in front of the headstone, holding the cake I had loved as a child. "Open your eyes and look at me."No one answered.Even when the rain soaked the cake until it fell apart, she refused to take it away.Dad always stood a few steps back, as if he couldn't bring himse

Chapter 10

By the time Shannon got out of prison, no one was waiting for her.Mom and Dad were dead. Richard was gone, and Curtis had died far from home.She thought taking everything from me would somehow make up for the ten years she lost. In the end, none of it was really hers.The pink diamond was seized and sold at auction. The new house Curtis bought was taken to pay off his debts.Even the relatives who once doted on Shannon wanted nothing to do with her anymore. Whenever they saw her, they crossed the street to avoid her.When she went back to the hotel where the wedding took place, the lobby looked completely different. No one there remembered the wedding from more than a decade ago.A staff member stopped her near the ballroom. "Ma'am, you can't go in without a reservation.""I'm the bride!" Shannon pointed toward the empty ballroom. "Curtis is waiting for me."Security was called, but before anyone reached her, Shannon caught sight of herself in the mirrored wall.She rushed o

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