Chapter 3

Everyone just looked at me with that apologetic face, like they all felt sorry for me.

But honestly, pity was the last thing I needed.

I couldn't take it anymore. I swung the umbrella hard at Kolten, while Delaney let out a panicked cry. I spoke coldly, not even glancing at her.

"Kolten, nobody forced you to marry me, and nobody forced you to love me. If you never wanted this, then why did you insist I stay back then?" I said.

When Kolten was just eighteen and popped the question, I'd only just wrapped up my Doctors Without Borders training and was about to head off to Upagoland for a three-year assignment.

I knew promises made when he was young didn't really mean much, so I decided we should step back and give each other some breathing room.

But when Kolten heard the news, he freaked out. He begged me not to go, and in a reckless moment, he downed an entire bottle of sleeping pills.

By the time I got to the hospital, Kolten had just been wheeled out of the operating room after getting his stomach pumped. His face was so pale it was almost see-through, and he was barely conscious, but he kept mumbling my name over and over.

Even though I was pissed off, seeing him so out of it made my heart soften.

I stayed with him all night. Later, he started burning up with a fever. I called the nurse for something to bring it down, but nothing worked. All I could do was keep wetting towels and laying them on his forehead, hoping it would help.

I kept at it for hours, but his temperature just wouldn't budge.

Finally, I was at my wit's end, with tears in my eyes as I whispered in his ear, "Kolten, I won't leave. If you get better, I'll stay by your side."

Not long after I said that, his fever actually broke.

Exhausted, I collapsed beside his bed and fell asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, Kolten was looking at me with that look full of love and longing, his fingers still laced with mine. The first thing he said was, "You promised. You have to keep your word."

After Kolten got out of the hospital, the very first thing he did was propose to me. He dropped to one knee and said, "Aubree, the only bride I'll ever have in this life is you."

I was so touched that my eyes filled with tears, but I couldn't help teasing him, "But a lifetime is a long time, Mr. Ellison. How can you be so sure?"

Kolten looked up at me, even more serious. "Because, Aubree, you've been the only bride I ever wanted since I was six."

*****

I didn't go back to the Ellison family home.

Instead, I went back to my own place.

It wasn't really a home, just the apartment Kolten and I settled into after we graduated college.

It used to feel so empty, but over the past five years, we slowly filled it with pieces of our lives together.

The pumpkin-shaped stool by the door was something we actually hauled back from Andsey ourselves. The couch in the living room? We tested sofas at four different furniture stores before finally finding the one.

The tree on the balcony was what Kolten helped me sneak out of the lab. And the wall was covered in snapshots from our adventures all over the country.

I sat on the couch, taking in every corner of the place, and it felt like the whole apartment was overflowing with memories of Kolten and me.

But he wasn't coming back.

Snapping out of it, I called a cleaning service.

"Yeah, I need the whole place cleaned. Price isn't an issue. There's a lot of stuff to clear out," I told them.

The Ellison family never announced to anyone that the wedding was off.

Patrick was sure Kolten couldn't handle the tough life and would come running back before long. He even spread the word in the industry. No company was allowed to hire Kolten or Delaney, and no one was allowed to help them either.

Teresa was beside herself with worry, calling me nonstop every day, urging me to go see Kolten, and hinting both openly and subtly that I should try to talk Patrick around.

"Aubree, honestly, it's normal for men to have a couple of women on the side. As long as Kolten comes back, you'll always be Mrs. Ellison. Everything else is just details," Teresa said.

"Aubree, you've always been so sensible. Delaney is just some broke girl from a washed-up family. She's no competition for you," Teresa added.

"Kolten just had surgery not long ago. God, I hope nothing happens to him..." Teresa was practically in tears, wailing, "My poor Kolten..."

Listening to Teresa go on and on, I just felt completely drained.

In the end, I gave in and said I'd go.

*****

Delaney had been working part-time at a brand-name shoe store, and as luck would have it, she was the one on shift when I walked in.

She barely got out a "Welcome" before that customer service smile froze on her lips, and her eyes went all nervous.

I just wanted to pull her aside for a private conversation.

But out of nowhere, her eyes clouded with grievance.

Before I could say anything, the store manager came over, brushed Delaney aside, and greeted me with an overly enthusiastic, fake smile.

"Miss, we've got all kinds of styles here. Feel free to look around and pick whatever you like... Why are you just standing there? Hurry up and bring some shoes for this lady to try on!" the manager snapped.

As she said this, the manager shot Delaney a nasty glare.

Delaney gave me an even more pitiful look, biting her lip before turning away to the display case.

She came back quickly, arms loaded with shoes, and as soon as she reached me, she dropped to her knees right in front of me.

I was so startled that I instinctively took a step back.