Chapter 2

The drive to Gabriel's apartment felt like traveling through a tunnel—everything blurred except my destination. My hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. Three days before our wedding, and I was about to confront the man I thought I knew.

I didn't bother knocking when I arrived. The doorman recognized me and waved me up without question. Ten years together had made me practically a resident here.

Gabriel was lounging on his leather sofa when I entered, scrolling through his phone with casual indifference. He looked up, surprise flickering across his face.

"Isabelle? I thought you were helping your grandmother with last-minute details."

"Last-minute details," I repeated, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. "Like how the venue changed without my knowledge?"

He set his phone down with deliberate slowness. "You found the invitations."

"Yes." I pulled one from my purse and tossed it onto the coffee table between us. "A Spanish castle? Really?"

Gabriel sighed, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair. "I thought you'd be pleased. It's much more impressive than your grandmother's run-down estate."

"Run-down?" The word hit me like a physical blow. "That estate has been in my family for generations. It's where my mother got married, where I've dreamed of getting married since I was a little girl."

"You're being overly sentimental about old buildings," he said dismissively. "The castle is more romantic, more impressive for our guests."

"Our guests?" I stepped closer, anger building inside me. "Or for Dakota?"

His expression shifted subtly. "What does Dakota have to do with this?"

"She's been wanting to get married at that castle since college," I said, remembering conversations from years ago. "And suddenly, three weeks before our wedding, that's where we're going?"

Gabriel stood, his posture stiffening. "She deserves something special after her heartbreak. She's been through so much."

"And I haven't?" I demanded. "I've been planning our wedding at my grandmother's estate for two years!"

"This isn't about you or your grandmother's estate!" Gabriel's voice rose. "This is about giving someone who's suffered a chance to see something beautiful!"

I felt something crack inside me—the last remnant of hope that there was an explanation that would make sense.

"And my grandmother's jewelry?" I asked quietly. "The bracelet and ring you took from her?"

Gabriel's eyes narrowed. "What about them?"

"Those were family heirlooms, Gabriel. Priceless to me."

"They were just sitting in a box," he said coldly. "Dakota will actually wear them, appreciate them."

"Give them back," I demanded, my voice steadier than I felt.

"No." His refusal was immediate, final. "Dakota needs something beautiful to help her heal. You should understand the importance of friendship loyalty."

"Over attachment to old trinkets?" I finished, echoing his earlier words.

"Isabelle, don't be childish."

I stared at him, this stranger wearing my fiancé's face. "I want my grandmother's jewelry back."

"Forget it," he snapped. "They're gone now. Redesigned. You can't undo that."

Something inside me shattered completely.

---

Two hours later, I sat in a small coffee shop near my grandmother's estate, hands wrapped around a cup I hadn't touched. The tears had finally stopped, leaving me hollow and exhausted.

"Isabelle?"

I looked up to find Van Carter standing beside my table, concern etched across his features.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the empty chair across from me.

I nodded numbly.

Van sat down, studying me with those kind eyes that always seemed to see too much. "I heard about the wedding venue," he said softly.

"News travels fast," I murmured.

"Not just that," he said. "I know about Gabriel taking your grandmother's jewelry."

Something in his gentle tone broke through my numbness. The tears started again, hot and relentless.

"He gave them to Dakota," I whispered. "Had them redesigned into something she wanted."

Van reached across the table and covered my hand with his. "Tell me everything," he said simply.

And I did. The words poured out of me—the venue change, Gabriel's cruel words at the dinner party, the jewelry, the realization that the man I'd loved for ten years had never truly seen me at all.

When I finally fell silent, Van's eyes held mine with an intensity that made my breath catch.

"Isabelle," he said, his voice low and earnest. "I've watched you give everything to someone who doesn't deserve you for years now."

My heart stuttered. "Van—"

"I've loved you since college," he continued, the words tumbling out as if he couldn't contain them any longer. "I've stayed silent because I respected your choices. But I can't stay silent anymore."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.

"Marry me," he said softly. "At your grandmother's estate. Let me give you the wedding you've always wanted—one that honors your family's legacy and your heart."

I stared at him, unable to process what was happening. "Van, I—"

"You don't have to answer now," he said quickly. "Just know that I'm here. I've always been here."

The coffee shop suddenly felt too small, too bright, as if the world had shifted on its axis. In the midst of my devastation, a new possibility had appeared—one I'd never considered before.