Chapter 10 (Author’s POV)
It was nearly dawn when Ryder finally came home.
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He tossed his jacket on the couch, yawned as he looked around the empty living room, and asked the housekeeper:
“Why was everyone calling me yesterday?”
The housekeeper was cleaning and answered respectfully.
“Your parents invited the Sullivan family for dinner. Yesterday they-” Ryder, still angry, cut her off as soon as he heard the name “Sullivan.”
“That’s enough. Don’t tell me anything about the Sullivans anymore.” With that, he went upstairs to his bedroom.
When he woke up, it was already noon the next day.
As he came downstairs, his parents were having lunch and waved him over. “Ryder, call Autumn and ask if they’ve arrived—”
He sat down at the table and coldly refused.
“I need to check out the wedding venue. No time.”
His mother didn’t push it and made a video call herself.
Just as the call connected, Elle called Ryder.
His face immediately softened into a gentle smile as he put on his earbuds. “You’re up early today? I’ll come pick you up for breakfast.”
As Ryder spoke, he stood up to leave. Passing by his mother, he glanced at her
screen.
He saw Autumn’s face with a slight smile, with what looked like a hotel room in the background.
Why wasn’t she at home at this hour?
Suspicion rose in his mind. He was about to ask when he heard Elle ordering breakfast.
“I want crab noodles. Come over and we’ll go together.”
He didn’t linger, walking to the door to change his shoes, vaguely hearing his
mother’s voice from the living room.
“Autumn, have you arrived? How’s the weather there?”
Arrived where?
Were the Sullivans on vacation?
That was the only explanation Ryder could think of.
But he didn’t dwell on it, hurrying out the door.
For the next month, Ryder was busy with wedding preparations, leaving early and
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returning late each day.
Time gradually dulled his anger.
Slowly, he even let go of the incident at the bar, thinking that if Autumn came to apologize, he’d pretend it never happened.
But Autumn seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth, with no news or trace of her.
Ryder wasn’t worried at all.
After all, no matter where she’d gone, given the close relationship between their families, the Sullivans would definitely attend his wedding.
When that happened, Autumn would be forced to attend too, no matter how reluctant she might be.
He was completely confident, relaxed, even imagining the reconciliation scene and planning what he’d say to give her a way to save face.
But even the day before the wedding, when he drove past the Sullivan house, the entire mansion remained dark.
He deliberately stopped the car and rang the doorbell, waiting for a long time, but no one answered.
Looking at the dark house, Ryder felt an unexplainable sense of unease.
He took out his phone and opened his chat with Autumn.
The most recent message was still the electronic invitation he’d sent for his birthday.
He couldn’t help typing a new message:
“Just letting you know, my wedding is tomorrow.‘
His finger hovered over the send button for a long time, but Ryder ultimately didn’t press it.
In his relationship with Autumn, he was used to being in control.
He didn’t want to be the first one to back down.
But all night, he was restless and barely slept.
The next day, he was up at 3 or 4 in the morning to start getting ready.
After the traditional ceremonies, he brought Elle to the wedding venue.
He’d visited this hotel countless times before, always filled with anticipation for his dream coming true.
But today, for some reason, as he looked at the dreamy, romantic decorations in the hall, Ryder felt strangely disconnected.
Was he really getting married?
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Was he really making Elle his wife?
The moment he’d dreamed of for so long was now here. Yet he didn’t feel as certain as he once had..
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