Chapter 3

Nancy's father, Jordan Stone, called her. He didn't ask how she felt. Instead, he blamed her coldly for not keeping her groom under control and making a fool of herself at the wedding multiple times. Now they had to waste time doing damage control.

Finally, he said, "This mess is mainly the Carter family's fault. I already talked to them and we need to pick a new date fast and get you married as soon as possible. That's the only way to shut down the rumors."

Nancy dug her nails into her palms and tried to steady her shaking voice. She gathered her courage and said, "Dad, Edward doesn't like me. Can I—"

Jordan cut her off coldly and said, "No. This marriage between our families is set in stone. I don't care if he doesn't like you. Even if it's a death trap, you're going through with it."

He added, "If you can't even keep a man interested, what good are you?"

He hung up. Nancy lowered her eyes and stared at her pale fingertips. The hospital room was so quiet that she could hear her own heart going numb bit by bit.

On the third day in the hospital, Edward finally seemed to remember his publicly jilted fiancée. He walked into her room, slamming a care package down on the table.

He must have been chewed out by someone because he was still fuming, but when his eyes swept over her bandaged wounds, he visibly froze and reached to pull at her collar. "Let me see. Is it that bad?"

Nancy pulled away from his hand, and her voice was still hoarse when she asked, "What do you want?"

Edward frowned and said, "So the wedding didn't happen. Why are you throwing a fit? I came all the way here to check on you and this is the attitude I get?"

He had abandoned her at the altar three times, accused her of being petty in front of all the guests and reporters, and left her half-dressed. At the same time, rumors spread everywhere, turning her into the laughingstock of the entire city.

And to him, all of that was her throwing a fit?

When she didn't respond, Edward's expression darkened, and he said, "We can always have another wedding. Your injuries aren't even that serious. You'll heal up in no time. Besides, if you hadn't kept pushing things that day, would it have gotten this bad?"

He continued, "My family is already picking a new wedding date, and I've been getting chewed out nonstop because of you. And because of your friends—"

"Because of me?"

Seeing that he was about to blame Amber, Nancy cut him off coldly and said, "What, did I make you run out on our wedding? Did I want to become the laughingstock of the city?"

Edward snapped at her. "Nancy, can you talk nicely? Lily's pregnant and I have to deal with it. Stop throwing tantrums like a child."

"I'm not a child anymore," Nancy said, forcing a bitter smile. "And I didn't mysteriously get knocked up without knowing who the father is."

A loud crash echoed through the room as Edward kicked the table.

His eyes went red, and he roared at her. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? I warned you never to bring that up again."

Nancy's gaze swept across the mess scattered on the floor and landed on Edward's furious face. She froze.

His anger had pulled his collar open, exposing a bright red hickey on his collarbone.

It sat there like a taunt, glaring and obvious.

She stared at it and couldn't hear anything else. Amber's words flooded her mind, and suddenly everything made sense.

The blood drained from her face, and her breathing became rapid and shallow. Edward stopped mid-rage and seemed to finally notice something was wrong. He reached out to touch her forehead, but she jerked away.

"Don't touch me," she said sharply.

In the past, Edward would've stormed out after being rejected like that. But this time, he stood frozen for a long moment before pulling over a chair and sitting down. His voice came out muffled. "I admit I was wrong this time. I shouldn't have abandoned you."

He continued, "Nancy, I raised Lily since she was a kid. She came from nothing and never had anyone who cared about her. It took me years to get her on her feet, and now she's pregnant. I can't just leave her."

Edward paused. "I said things that hurt you that day and I'm sorry. But just wait a little longer. Once Lily has the baby abroad, we'll have the wedding. I promise it'll be bigger and better than the one we planned."

He stopped again. "We can put the child under your name and raise it together. What do you say?"