Chapter 2
The wedding just fell apart. It was total chaos.
My parents and Jonathan's parents were completely lost, trying to figure out what was happening.
Eric looked panicked, his eyes darting everywhere as he tried to explain.
"One of Mr. Reed's assistants... She's in trouble," he stammered. "She has... She has important lab data with her. Mr. Reed just had to go check on it. I'm sure he'll be right back."
Eric had worked for Jonathan for eight years.
In all that time, he'd always been so nice to me, always smiling and respectful.
But now, he couldn't even look me in the eye.
I suddenly wondered how many secrets he'd kept. What was really going on between Jonathan and Claire?
A sharp, stabbing pain spread through my chest.
It finally sank in. Jonathan had betrayed me.
My parents gripped my hands, their faces pale with panic.
"This is insane," my mom hissed. "Who on earth is more important than his own bride? He just leaves Nina standing here and runs off without a second thought."
Jonathan's parents, Logan and Cathy Reed, looked sick with guilt. Logan was frantically making calls while Cathy tried to comfort me.
"Nina, honey, don't you worry," Cathy said. "We're going to get that brat back here and make sure he apologizes to you."
I clutched the diamond ring in my fist so hard that the prongs dug into my palm.
It drew blood.
For three whole hours, Jonathan didn't answer a single call from any of us.
He just ran off to save Claire, ignoring everything and everyone else.
He left me there alone, in my wedding dress, a sideshow for all our guests to stare at and whisper about.
It was all too much—the shock, the humiliation. I passed out.
After I woke up, the doctor gently said, "You're carrying a little one now, so try not to get too stressed. Take care of yourself."
My heart sank. I looked over at my parents and Jonathan's parents, who all looked relieved.
I tried to smile, but I was sure it looked bitter and ugly.
My eyes started to blur with tears.
I had no idea how to break it to my parents that the relationship I'd cherished for ten years was crumbling.
Jonathan showed up a little while later.
He looked pale, almost sick, and had this guilty look on his face.
As my parents filed out, they shot him a look that said, "You'd better fix this."
The room was heavy with silence.
Jonathan took my cold hand in his, but he didn't say anything.
When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse. "Nina... In the ten years we've been together, have I ever once asked you for anything? We've... We've always been so good to each other.
"But just this one time. I'm begging you. Please, just keep this between us. It'll destroy Claire. Please?"
I just stared at how desperate he looked, and my heart felt like it was being crushed. It was hard to breathe.
He shouldn't have been begging me for a favor. He should have been apologizing.
His reaction at the wedding said everything.
He hadn't spent a single second thinking about how humiliated I must have felt, left alone at the altar.
He wasn't worried about me. He never even asked why I was in the hospital.
The very first thing he wanted to talk about was Claire.
I couldn't hold them back anymore. Tears just streamed down my face and dripped onto the blue hospital sheets.
The fabric turned dark where the tears hit.
I barely managed to choke out one word. "Okay."
He visibly relaxed, letting out a long sigh.
He kept going, "Claire found out I was getting married. She's... She's not handling it well. At all.
"I want to stay at the hospital with her for a few days... Just to talk her through this. Can we just wait? Maybe six months. Just six months. And we'll get married then, okay?"
His voice was shaky. He was terrified of my answer.
Six months?
I had waited ten years for this wedding.
After that long, what was another six months?
But he didn't have to lie. This wasn't about six months. He just didn't love me anymore.
I could take it.
But there was a heavy, suffocating pressure in my chest, like my lungs were on fire.
I had a baby growing inside me—a life that depended on me.
I thought for a long, long time. All I could see was Claire's smile from those pictures. And then I pictured Jonathan's face and the soft, loving way he must have looked at her to take them.
The burning in my chest slowly went cold.
And in that second, I was just done. I was done waiting.
I pulled my hand out of his and said softly, "Jonathan.
"I've never been the smartest girl. I fell in love with you when I was eighteen. That was ten years ago.
"I still remember the first time you tried to ask me out... You were so nervous that you were physically shaking. I thought it was hilarious... And kinda wonderful.
"I remember when I said yes, you grabbed me and hugged me and just cried. It was the first time I ever felt that kind of deep, family kind of love from someone I wasn't even related to.
"All these years, you gave me everything. You kept every promise. You did every single thing you said you would.
"For ten years, I honestly believed... I believed you loved me with your whole heart."
I looked up at him, and the tears just spilled over.
"But today," I choked out, "I don't think you love me anymore."
Saying he didn't love me out loud was enough to break me.
For ten years, we built a life full of laughter, love, and memories.
Jonathan's eyes filled with tears, and one slipped silently down his cheek.
"But, Nina," he whispered. "Claire... She needs me right now."
It was like he'd thrown ice water on me.
In that one second, everything was crystal clear.
I didn't beg. I didn't argue. I just watched him walk out of my hospital room.