Semua Bab I No Longer Wish to Grow Old With You: Bab 1 - Bab 10

The next day, Hannah Sawyer's parents arranged a family dinner in hopes of putting the uproar over her broken engagement to rest. Yates Grant was expected to keep playing the part of her new boyfriend, and he asked me to come along."You're Hannah's best friend," he said. "If you're there to vouch for us, her parents will believe this relationship is real and not just some way for her to get back at her ex."I looked at him. "And what exactly am I supposed to be to you while I'm vouching for that?"Yates hesitated, then smiled and ruffled my hair."My good friend, obviously. We're only putting on an act. Don't overthink it."At the restaurant, a server set a platter of seafood in front of me. Yates remembered my allergy. Almost instinctively, he moved the dish farther away and replaced it with a bowl of hot soup."Be careful. There might be dried shrimp in that too."The tension in my fingers eased slightly.He hadn't forgotten. He still remembered what I couldn't eat.Then Hannah said

When Hannah's parents found out she'd slept with Yates, they insisted on taking her home.Hannah agreed. Through her tears, she said, "I can't keep hurting Tessa like this."Yates refused to let her go.That evening, my wedding planner called me, sounding flustered."Ms. Xavier, Mr. Grant has asked to use the venue you reserved ahead of schedule. The names on the main screen have also been changed from yours to Yates Grant and Hannah Sawyer."Was this something the two of you agreed on?"Three months earlier, Yates had told me that the most popular wedding venues booked up quickly. He still owed me a proper proposal, but there was no reason we couldn't reserve the wedding we wanted in advance.From the white tulips to the processional music to the crystal floral arch, I'd chosen every detail myself.He'd held me in his arms and said, "Next May, I'm going to make you the happiest bride in the world."By the time I reached the hotel, the ballroom was already lit.And sure enough, my name

By the time my flight landed in Briarford, it was already past midnight.The project manager was waiting for me at arrivals. He took my suitcase and casually asked, "No one came to see you off?"I paused, then shook my head."I don't have anyone."My phone hadn't stopped vibrating. Yates had called from more than a dozen different numbers, and I hadn't answered a single one.His last text read:[Tessa, stop this.][I've already taken Hannah home.][We can talk about the wedding and work something out.]Even now, he still thought I was throwing a tantrum.As if I'd walked away from that proposal simply because Hannah had borrowed my wedding.As if all he had to do was come back, and I would put the dress on again, slip the ring onto my finger, and keep waiting for him to marry me.I turned off my phone and got a new number.Meanwhile, Yates returned to the apartment we'd shared for three years.A mutual friend later told me what happened that night.The moment Yates opened the door, he

I'd thought leaving the city would put everything behind me.It didn't.The livestream followed me all the way to Briarford. Someone recognized me as "the psycho who used seventeen women to test her boyfriend and then lied about her best friend," and before long, a secretly recorded video of me was circulating in the project team's group chat. Even one of our partners quietly suggested that someone else take over my role.Elliot set a printed report on the online backlash in front of me."Do you want the project team to issue a statement for you?"I shook my head. "No. I'll handle it myself."Before, I'd stayed silent because I was leaving anyway. There had been no point fighting to clear my name in a life I was already walking away from.Now their lies were threatening my career.I wasn't going to carry the consequences for them anymore.I gathered everything I had: five years of public posts documenting my relationship with Yates, the full video from Hannah's engagement party, Hanna

By the time my three-year assignment ended, the project I'd led had won the industry's highest honor.The celebration was being held back in the city I'd left behind, and at first, I had no intention of going.Elliot changed my mind."You spent three years earning this," he said. "Don't let people who aren't worth it take your moment away from you too."So in the end, I boarded the flight back.Yates was waiting outside the venue when I left the celebration.Three years had changed him. He was much thinner now, and the easy confidence he used to carry was gone.In his hand was the key to the house we'd once planned to share."Tessa. The house is finished. I had everything done the way you used to like it."Hannah has never lived there."I looked at him. "So?"His eyes slowly reddened."I haven't been with anyone these past three years. Hannah left the city too."I know it's too late for any of this, but I still have to ask."Can you give me one more chance?"I was quiet for a moment."