Chapter 3

When Ethan came home that night, I had already begun separating the papers I would take from those I would leave behind.

Before I could say anything, he pulled me into a tight hug.

"Sienna, I am so sorry," he said. "I handled it badly, I should have spoken to you first."

He looked into my eyes. He was waiting for my answer.

I kept my questions about the guest room to myself and eased his hands away from my face.

I gently pulled his hands away from my face.

"I know," I said quietly. "I know you wanted to help Mia."

Ethan let out a long sigh of relief. He hugged me again, much tighter this time.

He thought I was forgiving him.

For the next few days, Ethan tried everything to make up for his mistake.

He came home early every day. He brought my favorite white roses. He double-checked every detail with our wedding planner.

He truly believed that once we said our vows, everything would go back to normal.

I wanted to believe him.

Perhaps that was my weakness.

Or perhaps I needed one final answer before I walked away from seven years of love.

So six days later, I put on my wedding dress.

I sat in the quiet bridal room in my wedding dress.

Thirty minutes before the ceremony, Ethan walked into my room.

He wore his custom black suit. When he saw me, his eyes lit up.

"Sienna... you look beautiful," he said softly.

He knelt beside my chair and kissed my hand. "Today, it is you and me. I will prove that you are my only choice."

Then, his phone rang.

Chloe’s name appeared on the screen.

Ethan rejected the call.

A second later, she called again.

He frowned and answered it right in front of me.

"Ethan, please come over," Chloe's voice came through the speaker. It was not a medical emergency.

"Mia is crying non-stop. She keeps asking if Uncle Ethan doesn't want us anymore."

Mia believed the real wedding meant Ethan had chosen me and abandoned them.

That fear did not come from nowhere.

Ethan had told her they would be a family.

Now he was facing the result of his own promise.

Ethan's smile faded. He looked at me, then at the phone.

"Sienna," he said, his voice dropping low. "I need to go check on her."

I looked at the clock on the wall.

"You know what day today is, Ethan. You can explain after the wedding."

"I know," he said quickly. He stood up. "I need to calm her down so she can attend the wedding. It may only take half an hour."

I almost smiled.

At the fake wedding, he wanted to ask me to wait until the ceremony ended.

At my real wedding, he asked me to wait while he returned to the other family.

The details were different.

His choice was the same.

"I only need to see her," he said. "Then I’ll come straight back."

Ethan took my silence as permission.

He kissed my forehead and left the bridal room.

His footsteps disappeared down the hall.

That was the answer I had come for.

When both families wanted him, he always asked me to wait.

Again.

I removed my veil.

Then I unzipped the dress.

The wedding planner entered and froze.

I asked her to cancel the ceremony.

After she left, I opened my suitcase and took out my passport.

Then I placed three things on the table.

My wedding ring.

The legal papers ending our shared lease and accounts.

And the confirmation letter for my flight to Paris.

When Ethan returned, the chapel was still full of guests.

But the bridal room was empty.

His bride was already gone.