Chapter 12
Every word felt like hot oil pouring over Ryder’s skin.
The thought of possibly never seeing Autumn again made his hands shake
uncontrollably.
Even after the wedding officiant called for him a third time, he still made no move toward the ceremony. Instead, he tried calling her back.
A recording informed him the phone was turned off, frustrating him even more. He tried Autumn’s number again.
This time, instead of being off, it went straight to voicemail–she’d blocked him. Realizing this, the vein in his forehead pulsed as he opened his messaging app and sent several desperate “hey” texts.
The cascade of “Message Failed to Send” notifications and red exclamation marks crushed any remaining hope he had.
He turned to leave but found Elle standing in the doorway in her wedding dress. She stared at him, her eyes filled with confusion and urgency.
“The officiant has called you three times, Ryder. Why aren’t you coming to the altar?”
Faced with her questioning, Ryder could barely string a sentence together.
“I… I need to take care of something. Can we… can we postpone the wedding for a few days?”
Elle’s face instantly darkened.
She let go of her dress, her eyes turning cold.
“Postpone? For no reason? Are you trying to back out of marrying me?”
Before Ryder could answer, his father jumped in.
“That’s not it, Elle. Ryder just found out Autumn has moved abroad and he’s having trouble processing it. Give him a moment–he’ll be fine.”
Hearing this, Elle immediately understood what was happening.
The anger she’d been holding back erupted as she lost her composure and shouted: “You want to postpone our wedding because of AUTUMN? Have you lost your fucking mind, Ryder? I’m telling you right now–if you walk out of this hotel today, we’re DONE!”
340
