Lahat ng Kabanata ng His Wedding, My Funeral: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 9

I stopped dead in my tracks.My eyes moved across the wall of photographs, which showed Evangeline Caspian from the age of eighteen to twenty-eight.He had carefully written a date beneath each one.[April 18, 2016. You saved my life in the snow. I swore I would spend the rest of my life looking after you.][March 16, 2026. Even if I am not the one you love, I'll remove every obstacle in your way.]Hunter Stormvale had circled "obstacle" in red and written my name beside it.[Juniper Chesterfield.]My ears rang.I had spent six years trying to win his heart, but I never imagined that every kindness he had shown me was all part of a plan.It was so absurd that I started to quiver.I heard someone outside. I put the photo back on the wall and stepped out, pretending I had seen nothing.That was when I ran into Evangeline.Her bright red dress was impossible to miss. She held out an arm to stop me, her beautiful face alight with amusement. "Juniper, I've got good news. Garet

When I first met Hunter, he was still a long way from becoming the casino king of the Sable Isles.He was just a small-time thug who had been caught stealing and thrown out of the gang. They broke his limbs and left him to die in the snow.My mother had lost a power struggle with my father's mistress. They riddled her with bullets and dumped her in the sea to feed the fish. There was not even a body left to bury.That left me at the very bottom of the gang, where anyone could kick me around.I wore hand-me-downs from others and ate spoiled food when I could get any leftovers at all. I was barely better off than a rat in the gutter.When I found Hunter on the verge of death, I could not leave him there.It took all my strength to haul him back to my room. I used the ointment I had been saving to treat his wounds.He lay at death's door for a month before he finally stirred. His fever had not broken. His eyes struggled to focus. As he drifted in and out of consciousness, he kept

My body hit the floor hard, but I had not quite lost consciousness.I heard the wedding coordinator scream. Tables and chairs crashed over, and someone shouted for an ambulance.The clearest sound was Hunter's trembling voice."No. How could it have been you? Stay awake. Please, stay awake!"He tried to reach me, but Gareth blocked his way."Have you lost your mind? She's dying! Do you want her bad luck rubbing off on you?""Out of my way!"I had never heard Hunter speak to Gareth like that.He stumbled to my side. His hands hovered over me, shaking too badly for him to touch me."Juniper, open your eyes. Look at me."I struggled to open my eyes and met his gaze. His eyes were red.How ridiculous. In six years, it was the first time I had seen something real in his eyes.It was guilt."It was you," he said, his voice raw. "Why didn't you tell me?"I tried to laugh, but coughed up blood instead."What good would it have done? Would you have believed me?"He went still.

When I opened my eyes again, I was the only daughter of the richest man in the Sable Isles.I was eighteen, newly home from studying abroad and about to take over the family business.I had a father who adored me and an older brother who always looked out for me. No one in the Sable Isles dared cross me.One evening, my father took me to a party."Sweetheart, there's someone I want you to meet tonight.""Who?""Hunter Stormvale. He's young, but he's built quite an empire. I think you two might hit it off."I stopped walking.Hunter.Hearing his name still hurt."What's wrong?""Nothing." I smiled. "Let's go."The ballroom buzzed with conversation and the clink of glasses.I followed my father through the crowd, smiling and making small talk.Then, he appeared.Hunter wore a black suit. He stood tall. His expression was unreadable.He looked more mature than I remembered.He was thinner and older.His eyes were dull, as if nothing could reach him anymore."Mr. Stormva

After that day, Hunter seemed to disappear.I did not see him again. There were no more flowers. He stopped asking about me.I thought he had finally given up.Three months later, I went on vacation to an island.Sand, sunshine, and clear blue water.I lay beneath a beach umbrella, sipping coconut water and reading a book.It was bliss.Then, I noticed a familiar figure out of the corner of my eye.Hunter stood on a rocky outcrop nearby, his back to me as he looked out to sea.The wind lifted his shirt, exposing a bandage around his waist.Blood seeped through it.I frowned and waved over a resort attendant."What's going on with that man?"The attendant glanced at Hunter and sighed."Mr. Stormvale? He's been staying here for three months. He stands on that rock every day, from morning until night.""What about the bandage?""A few days ago, a guest fell into the water. He jumped in to save them and cut himself badly on the rocks. The doctor told him to stay in bed, but