Chapter 4

I didn't say another word. I stole one last glance at her, then turned and descended the stairs. Back home, I tore through the storage room and hauled out every single thing Thayer had ever given me over the years. That pink crystal bracelet he'd strung with his own hands. That year, for my birthday, he'd scoured half the city for those crystal beads, murmuring, "Pink crystal attracts love, and your love has to be me." The cord had long since snapped. That gold bracelet with an emerald charm he'd won at auction, he'd sworn he handpicked the stone and commissioned a master to craft it, vowing, "It will protect you for a lifetime." The edges were already chipped and cracked. And that oil painting he'd brushed himself, the paint flaking off until the original image blurred into a ghost of what it once was. Every single piece had once been offered to me with tenderness brimming in his eyes. Now, everything was faded, broken, shattered. Just like the heart I'd poured into this across two lifetimes. "Chloe," I said, stuffing everything into a cardboard box, "take this out and donate it." Chloe's eyes were rimmed red as she hugged the box and had just reached the door. Bang! The door flew open from the outside. Colin strode in. He looked at me, then at the box in Chloe's arms, and the storm of emotion he'd been bottling up finally burst free. "You're still that hung up on him? You're still keeping these things hidden away?" I stayed silent. "I'm asking you... does your promise to me still stand?" he asked. Chloe clutched the box, glancing from him to me, utterly torn between staying and leaving. "If you really can't let him go," Colin took a step closer, "I can help you take over the Sandler family business. It's not exactly hard." I finally spoke, my tone flat and even. "Colin, it's just the day before the wedding. Tradition says the bride and groom shouldn't meet. It's not right for you to come barging in here." Colin's brows twisted into a tight knot, and he blurted out, "You can't see the groom, but that doesn't mean you can't see—" He cut himself off mid-sentence, as if a sudden realization had crashed over him. His face went slack, then disbelief, and then a wild, uncontrollable joy surged up. "Say that again." His voice dropped to barely a whisper. I let a small smile tug at the corner of my mouth. "The things in that box are all junk. Chloe was just about to take them out to donate." The gears finally clicked in Colin's head, and his eyes lit up instantly. He crossed the room in two long strides, scooped me up into his arms, and spun me around the living room. "Colin! Put me down!" I giggled. Chloe yelped from the side, "This is against tradition! You two really shouldn't be seeing each other the day before the wedding!" But I just laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck. ***** The next day, Thayer showed up. He stormed in, his face black as thunder, and his words came out blazing. "You promised you'd talk to your father about the postponement! So why are wedding invitations already going out?" I was curled up on the sofa, flipping through a magazine without even lifting my head. "Since when do I have to report to you?" "Aria," he said, his voice tight with restraint, "I never imagined you'd become like this. You want to marry me that badly? Can't you wait a few more years?" I finally lifted my gaze to meet his. "My youth is just a few short years. Why on earth should I wait ten years for you?" His face turned stormy. "I will marry you, but not now," he reminded once again. "I'm flying out to the mining site today to oversee the new phase of gemstone sourcing. There's no way I'll be there for the wedding in seven days. Don't regret it then. If you don't want to humiliate yourself, you'd better go tell your father to cancel it right now." He stood there for a long moment, then stormed out, slamming the door behind him. I kept my eyes lowered and let him slam the door. ***** The night before the wedding. I was in the bedroom trying on the custom-made gown, my fingers wrapped around my phone with Colin's latest message glowing on the screen. I caught sight of that familiar profile picture and couldn't help bursting out laughing. Chloe was beside me, smoothing out the hem of my dress. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, but her smile outshone the sun. "Aria, you look absolutely stunning. Tomorrow, you're going to knock Colin dead." At that exact moment, thousands of miles away at the mining site. Thayer stood outside the work shed, his face carved from ice, listening to his assistant's report. "She still hasn't called it off?" Silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity. Then he gritted his teeth. "Forget it. I can't let her walk down the aisle tomorrow with no groom waiting at the altar. How would she ever show her face again?" He spun around. "Book the tickets! We're flying back tonight!"