5
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Chapter 5
Zachary couldn’t believe his eyes. His heart raced wildly as he murmured to himself, “I must be seeing things.”
“My Natalie is on vacation–she couldn’t possibly be here.”
“This has to be a hallucination. I must miss her too much.”
Aria, sitting beside him, looked equally stunned. She stared at me, her mouth opening and closing as if searching for words, but nothing came
out.
In stark contrast to their shock, I remained calm. My expression was neutral, devoid of any emotion. I handed the bouquet over to Aria.
She snapped out of her daze and hesitantly took it, fumbling to pass her bouquet to me in return.
I smiled at her and said, “Congratulations. Wishing you both the best.”
The car window rolled up, and the vehicle began to move again.
The two wedding caravans drove off in opposite directions, heading down completely different paths–just like Zachary and me, destined to
part ways.
As the car pulled away, I thought I heard a desperate, heart–wrenching scream behind me.
Instinctively, I turned my head toward the sound.
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But before I could see anything, Austin, seated next to me, gently placed his hand over my eyes.
His voice, soft but tinged with a hint of frustration, whispered near my ear, “Natalie, you promised. No looking back.”
Was it my imagination, or did he sound… upset?
It seemed impossible. After all, we were practically strangers, only brought together by this arranged marriage. There shouldn’t be any room for emotions like disappointment or frustration between us.
I brushed off the thought, blaming the momentary chaos for my unsettled mind.
Gently removing Austin’s hand, I offered a firm explanation. “Don’t worry. I believe in keeping my word. I agreed to this marriage, and I’ll honor the commitment. There’s no going back.”
Besides, Zachary wasn’t worth it. Not anymore.
In the other car, Zachary sat frozen, his mind racing. Something was horribly wrong.
Ignoring Aria’s protests, he immediately called the airline to check Natalie’s flight details.
The response made his blood run cold: Natalie hadn’t boarded the plane.
His hands trembled as he dialed the travel agency next. “Did the tour guide pick up Natalie yet?”
“No, sir. There’s no record of her joining the group,” came the reply.
It felt like the ground beneath him had collapsed. His voice cracked as he muttered to himself, “The bride in that car–it was Natalie!”
“She lied to me. She never went on the trip. Natalie…”
He rolled down the car window and leaned out, shouting desperately toward my car in the distance. But all he heard in return was the fading hum of the engine and the lingering exhaust fumes.
Beside him, Aria tried to console him. “Zachary, you’re mistaken. It’s impossible. That woman just looked a little like Natalie, that’s all.”
But Zachary wasn’t listening. He was certain it had been me. His voice turned commanding as he barked at the driver: “Turn around! Follow that car. Now!”
The driver hesitated, unsure how to respond to the sudden outburst.
Sensing the driver’s reluctance, Aria leaned forward and snapped, “Don’t turn around! Keep driving!”
She turned to Zachary, her voice softening as she tried to calm him down. “Zachary, even if it was her, it doesn’t matter. She has nothing to do with us anymore. Today is our wedding day. Don’t let someone else ruin it.”
“Whatever it is, we can talk about it after the ceremony, okay?”
But Zachary wasn’t having it. He shoved her aside with a force that shocked even himself. “Get out of my way!”
His eyes burned with fury as he barked at the driver again, his tone deadly serious. “Turn the car around. NOW.”
The driver, intimidated by Zachary’s dark expression and the murderous gleam in his eyes, finally obeyed. The car screeched as it made a sharp U–turn, speeding in the direction of my wedding procession.
Aria’s panic turned to full–blown hysteria. “Zachary, what are you doing? Today is our wedding! The guests are waiting for us! How can you just abandon everything like this?”
“We need to go back! What about our parents? What about everyone waiting for us at the venue?”
But Zachary wasn’t listening. His focus was singular, his mind consumed.
“Then the wedding’s off!” he snapped.
Aria’s face went pale, her voice rising in desperation. “No! You can’t do this, Zachary! You promised you’d take responsibility for me. If you
3:16
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Tears streamed down her face, but her sobs and pleas fell on deaf ears. Zachary didn’t even look at her.
Instead, he glared at her with raw anger and disgust. “Responsibility? Who’s going to take responsibility for me? My girlfriend is about to marry someone else, and I can’t do a damn thing about it! I don’t care about anything else–I just want her back!”
As Zachary urged the driver to go faster, Aria lost what little composure she had left. In a fit of rage and desperation, she lunged forward and tried to grab the steering wheel.
The driver panicked, shouting at both of them to stop. Zachary moved to pull Aria away, and the car erupted into chaos as the three of them struggled.
The blaring sound of car horns filled the air, followed by the deafening crash of metal against metal.
And then, silence.
