All Chapters of He Chose Her, So I Canceled Our Wedding: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The next morning, I went to the bridal atelier alone.I had spent two years designing that gown, choosing everything from the cut of the neckline to the embroidery along the train. Although I no longer intended to walk down the aisle, I wanted to see myself wearing it once before I walked away.As the designer removed the gown from its garment bag and spread the ivory skirt across the fitting platform, she glanced toward the door.“This is going to look beautiful on you, Miss Russo. Will Mr. Valenti be joining us?”“He’ll be here,” I answered after a brief hesitation.It was the last time I spoke about Damian with that kind of certainty.At ten thirty, his assistant texted to say that an emergency might prevent him from attending. I called Damian and heard hospital carts and paging announcements in the background.“You’re still at the hospital?”“Sienna had an allergic reaction to the brooch. The swelling around her neck got worse this morning, so the doctor wants to keep her under ob

My suitcase was already packed.All I needed was my mother’s sapphire comb. Once Damian returned it, I would leave the apartment and never come back.The lock finally turned at one in the morning.Damian entered smelling faintly of hospital disinfectant. When he saw me sitting in the living room with the ceremony book and an empty jewelry case on the table, he frowned.“You’re still awake?”“Where is my mother’s comb?”His hand stopped on his tie. “Sienna has another video shoot in the morning, so the stylist left it with her overnight.”I stood. “Have it brought back now.”"I'll have it back by morning."He said it like a concession, not an apology."But you can't stand that she borrowed it for one night. At some point, you need to admit that you're asking for too much."I stared at him.I was asking for the return of the only wedding heirloom my mother had left me, yet Damian looked at me as though I were greedy for refusing to share it with Sienna.Before I could answer, Luca called

When the event director informed me that Damian had reached the hotel, I had just returned to the car outside my family's cemetery in Queens.Before heading to the airport, I asked the driver to change our route and wait for forty minutes. I followed the wet stone path toward my mother's grave with the ceremony book inside my bag.The vows I had revised countless times were tucked between its pages. Now the hotel staff were dismantling the ceremony, and those promises would never be spoken.Rain began falling as I reached the grave. Evelyn still looked young in the photograph set into the stone. I wiped the water from its edge, opened the ceremony book, and placed my vows beneath her picture.“The comb is missing,” I said quietly.“I left it in the hotel safe because I thought it would be protected. Damian allowed the stylists to use it on Sienna, and now no one knows where it is.”I held the paper in place when the wind lifted one corner.“The wedding is canceled. I am not marrying hi

When Luca reached Alessandra's apartment building, the manager was removing her access from the resident system.“Miss Russo left before dawn with one suitcase and her personal files,” he said. “She revoked the visitor permissions issued to you and Mr. Valenti. Her attorney will arrange for the remaining property.”Damian gave Luca the backup code to the apartment.The rooms still looked ready for a wedding. The ivory satin wedding shoes Damian had sent remained inside their cream-colored box on the dining table beside the apartment keys, while unopened gifts lined the wall. Half the bedroom closet was empty, but Alessandra had left the expensive jewelry behind. She had taken only what she needed to begin somewhere else.Standing in the quiet apartment, Luca understood that she had departed without expecting either man to follow.Alessandra rarely asked anyone to care for her. She managed her career and handled the strain between two powerful families without complaint. After Sienna e

When the elevator reached the top floor, Martin had already sent the board documents into the conference room.I locked the sapphire comb inside my mother's old desk and took my place at the head of the table. Twelve directors were waiting for my decision on the company's next acquisition.I rejected my father's plan to sell the company and approved the lakefront hotel renovation my mother had begun developing. When the final transfer document reached me, I signed without hesitation.Martin collected the papers. “Evelyn always believed you would return.”“She never pressured me.”“She wanted you to choose the time yourself.”Over the following weeks, I moved into a company apartment and learned the Chicago properties and clients. My mother's team treated my arrival cautiously, but no one questioned my judgment because my wedding had been canceled.Clara, the operations director, reminded me to eat between meetings. She never demanded an explanation for my departure from New York or mad