Chapter 3
I photographed both documents, picked up my car keys, and left the house.
The old woman had told me to look at home first, then go to the place where Alexander and I had promised to hold our wedding.
Rosemere Estate was less than an hour from the city.
I drove fast.
Only when I reached the estate did I realize how tightly I had been gripping the steering wheel. My fingernails had left several crescent-shaped marks in my palms.
A lavish wedding was already underway.
A sign at the entrance announced a private event, and the parking lot was nearly full. I immediately recognized Alexander's mother's car.
His assistant's SUV was parked beside it.
Several other cars belonged to Vale executives.
I remained behind the wheel, staring at the familiar license plates.
Those people had discussed company projects with me in the group chat yesterday.
Today, they were dressed for my husband's wedding.
I was the only one who hadn't known.
Staff members were checking names at the main entrance, so I followed the outside edge of the garden and entered the ceremony area from behind the terrace.
Every guest was facing the floral arch.
No one noticed me.
Alexander's mother sat in the front row in a silver-gray dress. She was smiling as she dabbed at the corners of her eyes.
Alexander stood beneath the arch.
His black tuxedo fit him perfectly. His head was slightly bowed, his attention fixed on the woman in front of him.
Camille wore a square-neck satin wedding gown.
When she returned to Briar Bay, Alexander had told me they were only in contact because of the partnership between Laurent and Vale.
He said whatever they had shared when they were young had ended long ago.
Apparently, it hadn't.
She now stood in the wedding venue I had chosen, moments away from becoming his wife. Alexander's mother, his assistant, and Vale's senior executives were seated below, waiting to applaud them.
I stood at the back like a stranger who had wandered into the wrong wedding.
The officiant announced that it was time to exchange rings.
A staff member brought forward a ring box, and the screens on either side of the terrace switched to a close-up of their hands.
Alexander lifted a diamond ring from the box.
The moment I saw the setting, I forgot how to breathe.
Two bands of metal curved toward the center, forming a wave that never fully closed.
I had designed that ring.
Seven years ago, I had drawn it for my own wedding. Alexander had taken the sketch and promised he would have it made one day.
Now he had.
Soft sounds of admiration rose around me.
All I could hear was my own ragged breathing.
Someone passed in front of me and briefly blocked my view. For that single second, I had the absurd hope that when the person moved away, everything beneath the arch would be gone.
But the guests were still there.
Camille was still there.
So was Alexander.
The officiant invited the groom to place the ring on his bride's finger.
Alexander lifted Camille's left hand and slowly slid the wedding ring I had designed over her knuckle.
It fit perfectly.