Chapter 3
“I haven’t been following you,” I said calmly. “The hospital you took her to is the same one I’ve been to for my uterine treatment.”
His anger faded a little: “You... you went for a follow-up?”
“Mm, I told you, but you forgot.” I answered.
He sneered: “Seems like you’re doing just fine without me.”
So tough. Or she should’ve died when we first met at the church.
Hearing his inner thoughts again, I was already used to it, and kept a calm expression.
“Yeah,” I said calmly, “I’m not that fragile.”
He suddenly exploded, pointing at me and shouting harshly:
“What do you want? After my father passed away, Rory’s only family is me. She’s sick, so I took care of her, what’s wrong with that? She’s just my stepmother. You’re about to become the Donna of the Jones family, yet you’re jealous of my stepmother. How can I trust you to manage the family business with me?”
I lowered my head and smiled bitterly: “In this family, I’m just as helpless as you are.”
I was the pawn of the family, and his wife.
I gave everything for him, hoping he would be the one to give me happiness.
But now I know, this man only wanted my life.
I was just a hindrance to his relationship with his stepmother.
His expression stiffened, and he muttered: “You’re different, you have me...”
At that moment, his phone rang. Rory’s voice came from the receiver, crying.
Joey’s anger instantly disappeared, replaced by full concern and anxiety:
“Don’t cry, what’s wrong?”
“The power went out, I’m scared...”
“Don’t be afraid, I’ll come right over.” He said hurriedly.
He grabbed his coat, slammed open the door, paused for a moment, looked back at me, and said:
“If you do anything to Rory out of jealousy, don’t blame me for being rude to you.”
With that, he turned and left without looking back.
I had no time to argue with Rory.
I looked at the countdown on the screen; only three days remained until the wedding.
I sent a message to Nate and carefully checked every detail. Everything was proceeding according to plan.
Three days later, the night at the church would be even more exciting than today.
The next day, Joey and I drove to the bridal shop to pick out a wedding dress. The entire ride was silent.
At a red light, Joey lightly tapped the steering wheel, glanced at me, then quickly looked away.
I kept my head turned, staring out the window.
Finally, he broke the silence: “I’ve already arranged the church. You’ll definitely love it.”
I stayed silent for a moment, then turned my head to look at him: “Is there anything else you want to say?”
This was my last chance for him to be honest, my last chance to let him confess.
His fingers tightened on the steering wheel: “Nothing. I’ve always been careful with my arrangements; you can trust me.”
A chill rose in my chest. He still wouldn’t speak, afraid I’d ruin the perfect murder.
From this moment on, nothing he said mattered.
When we arrived at the bridal shop, I went straight to the dress racks.
Joey walked beside me, constantly repeating: “The wedding is well arranged. You really don’t need to worry.”
At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind my shoulder:
“Joey, are you helping Elara pick out a wedding dress?”
Rory walked over, her eyes filled with surprise: “What a coincidence! Elara, you’re here too.”
A staff member quickly walked over with a smile: “Miss, are you here to pick out a dress?”
Rory raised her chin: “Joey has already hired a top designer to make a custom dress for me. It’s one of a kind, with sapphires as the centerpiece.”
Joey cleared his throat, signaling Rory to stop talking.
The sapphire was supposed to be a promise he made to me after the gunman ambush, a lifetime of devotion.
But now, it was just an ornament on Rory’s dress.
I already knew, in Joey’s eyes, my life wasn’t worth much.
I pretended not to hear, picked up a simple dress from the rack, and handed it to the staff: “This one, please wrap it up.”
“Would you like to try it on?” She asked.
“No, I have another appointment.”
Rory immediately pretended to be innocent: “Did I upset you by being here? I can leave.”
Joey grabbed her wrist: “No! Don’t go!”
Then he turned to me: “Can’t you stop being so petty? You’re about to be my wife. Can’t you stop giving my mother that look?”
He called her mother, but held her shoulder like declaring she belonged to him.
“I’ve been busy with family matters all day, and still need to deal with your moods when I get home. You’re not the sun, no one must revolve around you!”
Rory softly said: “Joey, don’t like that. Elara is still recovering. She can’t get angry, it’ll affect her recovery.”
He didn’t think twice before saying harshly: “That’s her own fault!”
In Joey’s eyes, I would never be better than Rory.
Even though I had been taking countless pills to treat my infertility, the side effects of the medicine made me feel like there were countless ants gnawing at my body.
He still treated my pain as something trivial, leaving me and going to comfort Rory who claimed to have a headache.
Every time I rejected his requests, he argued I wasn’t worthy of being his wife.
He even turned our engagement ring into an accessory on Rory’s dress.
On my birthday, I was still making a wish when he left, just to fix Rory’s plumbing.
He forgot our anniversary, then bought plane tickets and took Rory to the beach.
All these things flashed clearly in my mind.
Even without hearing his thoughts, I should have let go long ago.
When I left the bridal shop, I heard him belittle me from behind: “She’s ridiculous! Rory, don’t stoop to her level.”
That night, he sent me a text message.
“Elara, don’t be angry. You’re about to become the new Donna of the Jones family. Try to be more rational.”
I stared at the screen for a long time.
Fine, I would be rational. Since he didn’t want me in his life, I’d make it easy for him.
On the day of the wedding, I put on the wedding dress — but not the one I randomly picked from the shop.
Before I left, Joey called me: “Rory forgot her bracelet, I’m taking her home to get it. You go to the venue first.” His tone was anxious.
“Okay.” I replied calmly.
My calmness made him hesitate: “Aren’t you upset?”
“No.”
Although he felt conflicted, his mind was still on Rory, so he didn’t ask more questions and hung up.
