Chapter 4Wherever You Go, I Won't

I coldly pushed Charlie's hand away. "There's no point. We aren't having a wedding."

Charlie's expression darkened. "I already apologized. Stop throwing a tantrum—"

"Charlie, the person I'm marrying is—"

All of a sudden, his phone rang. He answered it, and his entire posture stiffened with anxiety.

"Someone called in a lead on Vivian's brother," he said, his voice tense. "They want to meet in person. Vivian is too naive to go alone, and I don't trust her to handle this by herself. Stay home and stop talking about breaking up. You're just making a fool of yourself."

My breaking up with him was a joke to him, yet Vivian hijacking my wedding 17 times was perfectly reasonable.

I hadn't expected Charlie to vanish for three days.

When he finally returned, his face was gaunt, and exhaustion ringed his eyes.

"It was a scam," he muttered. "If I hadn't stepped in and exposed the guy, Vivian would've lost her entire fortune. The poor thing cried for three days straight until she hyperventilated, asking me why people are so cruel. I've been taking care of her the whole time and haven't slept a full night."

He sighed heavily. "I wish she were more independent like you. Without me, she honestly can't survive."

I offered a quiet hum as I pulled the zipper shut on my suitcase. "She really does depend on you."

He walked over unexpectedly and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"What about you?" he asked, his voice thick and raspy.

"I… used to be."

It started when I was 22 and ended when I was 32.

It began the day he jumped in to protect me, beating up a creep who was groping me on a city bus. Then, it ended when he decided to protect Vivian, over and over, at my expense.

It began when he risked his life diving into a raging river to save Callie when she was just a stray, and it ended when he lied to me for Vivian's sake, leaving me to find my cat's lifeless body.

He started by giving me hope, only to leave me broken every single time.

I never doubted that he was fundamentally a good person, and I truly believed he had once loved me. So, for this final day, I wouldn't depend on him anymore.

"You smell like smoke," I said quietly. "Go take a shower."

Embarrassed, Charlie let his hands loosen. "Sure. Tomorrow is our wedding day. I'll make sure I look presentable. I talked to Vivian, and she promised she won't show up this time."

I didn't respond.

The steady rush of running water soon echoed from the bathroom.

Dragging my suitcase to the entryway, I hung my key on the hook by the front door, mirroring the way he used to do it.

The property settlement agreement and every piece of jewelry he ever bought me stayed behind.

"Charlie," I whispered. "I'm leaving."

No one answered.

In the next second, a piercing ringtone shattered the quiet from inside the bathroom.

Even with the glass door muffling his voice, I could hear him erupt into a frantic, chaotic roar. "Are you out of your mind? Stay right there, and wait for me!"

Charlie bolted out of the bathroom and threw on a change of clothes in a rush before offering a panicked explanation.

"Vivian's such a fool. Someone lied to her, saying that her brother was up in Branford, and she drove up there without telling anyone. I'm going to bring her back. I'll definitely be back before tomorrow morning."

I froze. Branford?

I just scrolled past a news alert about that area. The terrain was notoriously dangerous, and there was an active thunderstorm.

A landslide could easily bury the town.

I lunged forward and seized his wrist. "Charlie, can you not leave?"

He knitted his brows together. "Why not?"

"Because…" I opened my mouth, the words catching in my throat. "Because you just promised me that the wedding would go off without a hitch. You can't be late this time."

He stared at me for a long moment before brushing my hand away.

"Is a stupid wedding more important to you than a human life? Would you honestly prefer to see Vivian human trafficked into some backwoods town? When did you become so cruel, Elena?"

He left, and the house fell silent.

Taking a deep breath, I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes, picked up my suitcase, and gently closed the door behind me.

I did everything I could.

I was getting married to someone else now.

Charlie, this was where our story ended.