The Wedding That Never Was Chapter 31

Sarah Jenkins looked a bit more mature than she did two years ago. Her figure was fuller, no longer that thin, fragile look.

I noticed a brand new ring on her finger.

She seemed to know that I wasn't dead. Seeing me, she was only stunned for a moment before whispering an apology and bypassing us to enter Adrian's ward.

Leo and I were about to leave when we heard Sarah's panicked scream.

"Adrian... what are you doing?"

Leo and I exchanged a glance. The hospital room door, which hadn't been closed tightly, slowly swung open.

Adrian was half-kneeling on the floor in a wretched state. The blue and white striped hospital gown made him look incredibly frail.

Sarah was trying to support him, but his gaze pierced through the room, landing straight on me.

Adrian’s lips trembled. His two senseless legs dragged behind him like dead weight, yet he seemed to be trying to prop his body up.

"Ilara..."

Don't go. Please, just stay with me a little longer. Just for a moment.

He didn't speak those words, but I understood them from the look on his face.

Bitterness spread in my heart. After all, he was the man I had loved for fifteen years...

I turned around, wanting to persuade Leo to go back first. But when I looked, Leo had already sat back on the sofa in the ward, looking as casual as ever.

His thoughtfulness made me feel guilty. Only Leo treated me this way...

But I pulled Leo up, acting nonchalant. "Why go back? Didn't we agree to go home?"

I hardened my heart and pulled Leo to leave.

I used to beg Adrian to stay, to stay at home, in the most humble and pathetic way.

But he rejected me mercilessly.

If I stayed now because of Adrian's plea, it would be a betrayal of my past self.

Adrian watched, his heart aching. The words "too late for regrets" seemed carved into his bones.

He couldn't generate the thought of keeping me again. With his current physical condition, he would only be a burden to me.

But Sarah rushed out and blocked our way.

I looked at the girl's unbearable and guilty face and stopped.

"Miss Vaughn, I want to say a few words to you."

"There seems to be nothing to say between us, right?" I was just confused.

"No... I must explain the misunderstanding from back then."

Sarah looked determined and spoke fast, as if afraid I would leave without listening.

I could only stop and listen.

"Adrian and I... we never got engaged back then."

...

After Sarah explained the misunderstandings clearly, I didn't return to the ward with her as she wished.

I felt only a long-lost disgust.

I pulled Leo along, and we left the hospital side by side, ignoring Sarah calling out behind us.

Seeing my tense expression, Leo consciously kept his mouth shut and focused on driving.

I leaned back against the seat, staring blankly at the road ahead.

What Sarah said was something I had never expected.

Anyone with eyes could see this was just a struggle between the father and son of the Hayes family. Yet, they dragged two innocent women into it.

Just because we both loved Adrian. So I became a sacrifice, and Sarah became a trophy for Mr. Hayes to show off his power.

The rumors in the military, the intimate actions intentionally shown in front of me...

They were all pushed to drive me away from Adrian.

Thinking the stimulation wasn't enough, they used a stack of photos to push me off the roof.

And Adrian, even if he didn't know his father's plan, willingly jumped into the trap with his heartlessness and dullness.

These two men almost ruined my entire life.