The news of our two families‘ union spread throughout Washington that very night and even made it to the trending topics. Theodore, who was far away in Europe, naturally saw the news as well, In the photos, Chloe was intimately embracing Alexander, One looked down while the other looked up, their gazes meeting with what seemed like sparks flying between them. He suddenly sat up, pushing away Isla who had been nestled against his chest. Isla asked, “What are you doing? Why are you being so rough?”
Theodore said, “I’m going back home.”
Isla’s eyes instantly filled with tears. “Didn’t you say you’d stay with me a few more days? Are you that eager to walk into the prison of marriage?”
“If I don’t go back now, my wife is going to be married off to someone else.” Theodore began packing his luggage without looking up. “This kind of relationship between us should probably end anyway.”
Isla scoffed coldly, “The news says she’s already engaged, which shows she doesn’t love you that much. How can you be sure that when you go back, she won’t marry someone else?”
Theodore didn’t want to explain much to her. “What do you know? She only loves me.”
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48 Bonus
lete was better at pleasing him than Chloe, completely submissive to him, suitable for fun and excitement, but not for marriage. “I’m going back home with you,” Isla said, “Don’t worry, I’m not trying to ding to you. I’ve gained millions of followers recently. There’s a dating reality show back home that invited me, I might become a big, star.”
She emphasized the words “dating reality show,” hoping to stir up certain emotions in Theodore, However, Theodore wasn’t paying attention and simply said, “Okay, that’s great.”
He hurriedly packed his luggage, bought a plane ticket, and rushed to the airport. On the way, he figured something out. He thought, “Chloe must think I’m dead, so she accepted her family’s arrangement.”
Thinking of this, Theodore felt much more relaxed. When talking to Gabriel on the phone, he said, “Why are you in such a rush? If she knew I was still alive, she’d abandon this union in a second,”
“Really, Theodore?” Gabriel asked. Theodore didn’t answer, but instead said, “I’ve disliked Alexander since high school. When Chloe and I were dating, I could see him staring at me with that feminine energy several times. Tell me, if I went to steal Chloe on their wedding day, wouldn’t I make him the laughingstock of Washington?”
But he ultimately couldn’t wait until their wedding day. As soon as the plane landed, he eagerly dialed Chloe’s phone number.
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Theodore thought, “As soon as she hears my voice, she’ll definitely choose to call off the wedding without hesitation.”
He said, “Hello, Chloe.”
However, what came from the other end was a cold female voice: “The number you have dialed is not in service.”
+8 Bonus
This electronic prompt suddenly made his heart panic. The news of Chloe and Alexander’s union had spread throughout Washington, but information about their wedding venue was kept very confidential. Theodore searched the entire internet but couldn’t find where they were holding their wedding. Finally, on the morning of the wedding day, Theodore used his connections to find out the exact location. On his way there, Theodore kept rehearsing in his mind the lines he would use to steal Chloe away. Thinking that he might trend on social media and be discussed by netizens nationwide, his heart couldn’t stop pounding. Theodore thought, “If the buzz is high enough, I might even be able to do live streaming sales.”
The live comments were full of mockery. [The scene in Theodore’s mind: He pushed open the church doors, and under the gaze of numerous Washington celebrities, disregarding social conventions, he took Chloe’s hand and asked, “Will you come with me?” Then Chloe took his hand and resolutely abandoned Alexander to leave with him.]
[The actual situation: There was more security at the entrance than he could have imagined. He couldn’t even get close to the
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church doors.]
Theodore, blocked at the entrance by security, shamelessly shouted, “I’m Chloe’s fiancé!”
“Let me in.”
+8 Bonus.
Upon hearing this, the security guard, who had been wearing a serious expression, couldn’t help but laugh mockingly. “Everyone here knows today is Mr. Thompson and Ms. Brooks‘ wedding. You show up claiming to be Ms. Brooks‘ fiancé–which mental hospital did you escape from?”
The crowd burst into laughter. Theodore’s face flushed red. He crouched by the roadside under the blazing sun, feeling anxious and agitated.
Finally, the wedding ceremony ended. The church doors
opened, and Chloe emerged in her white wedding dress, looking even more beautiful than he had imagined. However, the man beside her was an eyesore. Theodore felt that he should be the one standing next to her.
Because of the distance, he waved frantically to get her attention: “Chloe! Chloe!”
However, the noisy crowd instantly drowned out his shouts. Finally, before getting into the car, Chloe turned around and looked in Theodore’s direction. Theodore thought: “As long as she sees me, I’m certain she’ll abandon everything and come
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with me.”
But her gaze merely swept over him indifferently before she got into the car. Theodore thought: “She must not have seen me. Besides, even if she’s married, she can still get divorced. It doesn’t matter—a loveless arranged marriage partner doesn’t stand a chance against a resurrected lover.”
With these thoughts, he returned home. Naomi rushed over and hugged him, crying: “Did you see that news? That bitch Chloe married someone else. Didn’t I tell you long ago that she wasn’t a decent woman?”
Theodore shouted: “She doesn’t know I’m still alive. If she knew, she would divorce him for me.”
After saying this, he irritably shook off Naomi’s hand: “Put away all my memorial photos in the living room. They’re so unlucky.”
Opening the bedroom door, Theodore was startled by the scene before him. The room was in complete disarray, and the glass of the picture frame containing Chloe’s favorite photo was shattered all over the floor. On the bedroom photo wall, all their pictures together had been torn in half.
Theodore angrily called Naomi upstairs and roared: “Mom, are you sick? If you don’t like Chloe, you could have just scolded her until she moved out. How could you destroy all our photos like this?”
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“I didn’t do it. That bitch did it herself. Do I have time for such childish destruction?” Naomi retorted.
Theodore said: “You’re still making excuses! Look at these photos–you blacked out all her faces. How could she possibly deface herself like that? Can’t you change your nasty temper?”
Growing angrier, he continued: “You should go back to your hometown. I never should have brought you here. If you hadn’t driven her away, she wouldn’t have been pressured by her family into an arranged marriage so quickly.”
Naomi collapsed weakly to the floor.
[I love watching this kind of infighting–so satisfying!]
[Isn’t he overthinking this? Chloe blacked out her face because she didn’t want to leave any trace of herself here. He’s imagining things again.]
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