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Todos los capítulos de Your Dream Girl Can Have You: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

14 Capítulos

Chapter 1

"It's too dark for Chloe to take a cab alone. I'll drive her home."Without a glance at me, Hiram took Chloe's hand and led her to the passenger seat.She glanced back with a sweet smile. "Sorry, Emma. You'll have to find your own ride."I nodded. "It's fine. Go ahead."The door shut, the engine started, and the taillights vanished into the night.The wind stung my face. I pulled my coat tighter and waited by the road for fifteen minutes before finally getting a cab.The driver noticed me shivering. "Why didn't your boyfriend drive you home? It's freezing out.""He was taking someone else home," I said calmly.He paused, then dropped it.Back at the apartment, I sat by the door, changed my shoes, and called the hotel."Thank you for calling The Wren.""This is Emma Erven. My wedding's booked for next week. I'd like to cancel the ceremony and reception."A brief silence. "Ms. Erven, with only a week to go, your deposit is nonrefundable.""I know. Keep it. Just cancel everyt

Chapter 2

"You're coming to Chloe's welcome-home dinner tonight."Hiram stood in the bedroom doorway, fastening his cuff links. It wasn't a question.I kept working on my design. "I have drawings to finish.""How's it going to look if you don't show?" He walked over and shut my laptop. "What am I supposed to tell people?""That I'm working late."He frowned. "Can you drop it already? The ring thing is over. You're my fiancée. You need to show up for stuff like this."I looked at him, suddenly tired of it all. "Fine. I'll go."Seven or eight people, including Tyler Grant, were already in the private dining room.Chloe wore a white dress and sat next to the head of the table.She stood when she saw us. "Hiram, Emma! You're here."Hiram pulled out her chair, then mine, three seats away.When the server brought menus, I ordered my usual seafood soup.Chloe leaned over to check the menu, then clapped a hand over her mouth."What's wrong?" Hiram looked worried.Chloe blinked. "My skin's

Chapter 3

At eleven that night, a sharp pain in my stomach woke me.I was drenched in cold sweat, too weak to move.Hiram was supposed to be home resting, but he was gone.I called an ambulance."I have a stomach bug. It hurts too much to move. Oakwood Place, Building 3, Apartment 802."The ambulance came quickly. Two paramedics carried me downstairs on a stretcher.The ER lights were blinding.A nurse checked my blood pressure. "Is anyone here with you? Family?""I'll call someone."Hiram answered after six rings. "Do you know what time it is? Why are you calling?" he snapped."I'm in the ER with a stomach bug. Can you come?"A brief silence. Then Chloe's voice. "Hiram, if we don't fix that pipe, the living room's going to flood."His voice softened, suddenly urgent. "I'm coming."Then, to me, "A pipe burst at Chloe's. I need to help her first. You'll have to handle it yourself. I'll send you some money.""Hiram, I'm in the hospital.""There are nurses. It's nothing serious. You

Chapter 4

Three days before the wedding, Hiram opened the closet for a shirt and paused."Where are your clothes? Why's this side half empty?"I kept sketching in the living room. "At the dry cleaner's."He grabbed a jacket without another thought, then turned back on his way out."Oh, give Chloe a shout-out in your wedding speech. She just got back and barely knows anyone. Make her feel welcome."I put down my pen and looked at him. "Why would I give her a special shout-out at our wedding?"Hiram turned, annoyed. "She's my friend. Can't you be nice?""You chased her for four years and never got over her. I'm your fiancée. Why should our wedding be about her?"His voice went cold. "Emma Erven, this again? How many times do I have to say it? I don't feel that way about Chloe. She's just a friend.""Then tell her not to come.""I already invited her. How am I supposed to uninvite her?"He checked his watch. "I don't have time for this. Chloe's art show opens the day after tomorrow. I ne

Chapter 5

Hiram froze. He read the document again and again, his face draining of color."That's impossible. She never told me."The manager shifted. "Mr. Lanford, we held the venue for today, but the cancellation means there's no event service or reception."Guests started whispering.Hiram tossed the document onto a table and ran out.He sped back to Oakwood Place, opened the door, and froze in the entryway.The living room, bedroom, and study were bare.Only his clothes, shoes, toothbrush, and towel remained.The drawers were empty. Their photos were gone from the walls. Even his favorite yogurt was missing from the fridge.The apartment was a hollow shell.Two things sat on the dining table: a blank wedding invitation and the custom size-six diamond ring.He picked up the ring and turned it over. Tiny letters lined the inside.[Hiram & Chloe, Forever in Love.]That was wrong. It was supposed to say [Hiram & Emma].Clutching the ring, he called Emma again and again.The call we

Chapter 6

Three days after the canceled wedding, Tyler texted again.[Hiram's really lost it.]I swiped it away without replying.Bits and pieces still reached me.Hiram asked Oakwood Place's management for security footage. It showed I'd started moving out a week earlier, a few things at a time.That night, he drove to my parents' house. Dad answered."Mr. Erven, I'm here to take Emma home."Dad stood in the doorway, giving him a cold stare. "Emma doesn't want to see you. Don't come back."Hiram wouldn't leave. "The wedding was my fault. We can have another one."Mom came out and pressed an envelope into his hand. "Emma spent $37,800 on you in five years. It's all itemized in there. See for yourself."Hiram stared at it without a word.Dad pointed in his face. "My daughter gave you five years. What was she to you?"You wasted five years of her life. Now she's finally come to her senses, and you show up acting like you care?"He slammed the door in Hiram's face.Hiram stood there f

Chapter 7

Emma's POVThree weeks into my new job in Bayport, I landed my first major project.The client, the area's biggest commercial real estate group, wanted a senior designer. As a new hire, I couldn't even submit a proposal.Our design director, Rachel Morgan, asked me for two backup concepts. Four all-nighters later, I gave her five.At the presentation, the client rep pointed to the third. "That one. Who designed it?"Rachel paused, then pointed at me. "Emma Erven. She's been here less than a month."We celebrated at the restaurant above our office, over twenty teammates packed around one table.A few rounds in, Derek Smith from marketing came over with his glass. "Emma, you've gotta drink to this. You made us proud."I raised my water. "I'm allergic to alcohol. I'll toast with this.""One beer. You'll be fine."Before I could refuse again, someone reached out to stop his glass."She said she's allergic. Don't push it."I turned. The man beside me wore a dark gray shirt. He s

Chapter 8

Three days after security escorted Hiram out, he came back.This time, he waited at an intersection on my way home.I spotted him by the curb outside the office, clutching a small box.As I approached, he took a deep breath and dropped to one knee on the sidewalk."Emma, give me another chance."He opened the box. The same diamond ring, resized."I searched all over the city for a jeweler to resize it. Size seven. Your size."People stopped. Some took out their phones to record.He looked up, his eyes red. "I was wrong. About your size. About taking you for granted."The ring fits now. I won't mess up again."I looked down at it and felt nothing."Get up.""Not until you say yes."His stubborn stare wore me out. "The ring fits now. You don't."His hand froze. His lips trembled. "What do you mean?""You can resize a ring. You can't change who you are."I turned and walked away. He didn't follow.A black Maybach waited at the intersection, its window halfway down.Jared

Chapter 9

Jared moved faster than I'd expected.The next morning, an email confirmed the client had released the final payment.Rachel rushed over. "Lanford Group pulled out. They're calling it a strategy change."I nodded, unsurprised.It didn't end there.That afternoon, Lanford Group's stock dropped four percent. Haven Capital also blocked Lanford Group's core real estate business from bidding on two key parcels of land.Word spread that Hiram had crossed the wrong person.I stayed out of it until the third night, when an unknown number called."Emma, it's me." Hiram sounded so hoarse I barely recognized his voice. "Tell Jared to back off. I can't take much more."I leaned against the headboard, unmoved. "Wrong person, Mr. Lanford.""I know you hate me, but do you have to ruin me?"I laughed a little. "You froze the payment, targeted my company's project, and tried to get me fired. What would you call that?"Silence."Hiram, I'm not here to listen to you beg. Consider this a warn

Chapter 10

Chloe bailed.Tyler sounded a little too pleased when he told me.While Hiram was in the hospital, she'd quietly listed the apartment he'd bought for her.It was in his name, but she had his signed power of attorney to sell it. He'd signed it drunk the year before without reading it.The listing triggered an automated text to Hiram.He pulled out his IV and took a cab straight there.Chloe was packing in the living room. Two suitcases lay open, and property documents and the agent's agreement covered the coffee table.Hiram stood in the doorway, furious. "What are you doing?"Chloe paused, then composed herself."It's your apartment. I can't stay anymore. Can't I move out?""Then why's it listed for sale?"She went quiet.He picked up the agreement. The asking price was $650,000, well below market value. A buyer had already put down a deposit."You were going to sell it, too?"Chloe jumped up, her eyes reddening. "Your company's in trouble. You can barely save yourself. W

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