My Wedding Dress For The Other Woman? His Regret After I Canceled Chapter 09
His face fell apart.
“Vivian, please. I’ve had so much time to think. I know what I did. I know I was horrible. But I love you. I’ve always loved you. If you just give me another chance—”
“The woman you loved never existed, Kaelan. You loved the version of me that couldn’t fight back. The one who stayed quiet and cooked your dinners and let you feel powerful.”
I leaned closer to the glass.
“That woman is dead.”
He pressed his palm against the divider like he could reach through it. “Then give me a chance to love the real you.”
“You had five years.” I stood up. “You chose Serena.”
I hung up the phone.
He was still talking. Still begging. His lips moved fast, desperate, spilling words I couldn’t hear through the glass.
I turned and walked out.
…
Six months later, I stood in front of the bridal shop mirror again.
But this time, the wedding dress was mine.
Ethan stood behind me, watching the seamstress pin the hem. He hadn’t said much all morning.
Just kept staring at me all the time.
“You’re beautiful.” He saidf.
I rolled my eyes. “You have to say that. You’re the groom.”
He walked over and stood behind me, his hands resting on my shoulders. Then he kissed the top of my head.
“I’m not saying it because I have to. I’m saying it because I can’t believe you said yes.”
I looked at our reflection.
Ethan Crane. The man everyone feared. He begged me for years to leave Kaelan, waited in the shadows while I chased some fantasy, and showed up in the rain.
He had loved me for so many years.
…
The wedding was small. Private. Just close friends and a few family members who’d flown in from overseas.
Summer was my maid of honor. She cried through the whole ceremony.
Ethan didn’t cry. But his hands shook when he slipped the ring onto my finger.
“You’re stuck with me now,” he whispered.
“Good,” I whispered back.
Two years later, I had a daughter.
In the room, Ethan was rocking our daughter—six months old, with his dark hair and my stubborn chin—and singing something soft under his breath.
“Isn’t she asleep yet?” I asked, leaning against the doorframe.
“our princess won’t sleep,” he said. “She gets it from you.”
I laughed and took the baby from his arms. She blinked up at me with those big gray eyes and made a sound like a tiny bird.
“Your dad is very dramatic,” I told her.
“I’m not dramatic. I’m honest.”
“Same thing.”
He wrapped his arms around both of us.
I closed my eyes.
The rain was gone. The cold was gone. Kaelan Cross was a story I used to tell myself about who I was before I knew better.
This was my real life.