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I stagger backward. "Don’t you dare call me 'Eva.' And how dare you try to explain? Do you understand what you’ve done? Do you?" Why do I feel grateful for it? And why am I so furious now, realizing he was never right for me, and I never truly wanted to marry him in the first place? "Oh my god, why does everything have to be so complicated?"

"But I have to… I… Please, Eva. Please, let me explain."

"No, absolutely not. I should have known this was all wrong." I gesture to my gown, to him, to the space between us. "I should never have accepted your proposal. In a way, I’m almost glad you ended things. Painful as it was, I feel relieved. You saved me from a huge mistake."

"Eva." His eyes widen. The color drains from his face. He seems stunned, then shakes his head. "No, please don’t say that." His chin trembles. "I… I never meant to hurt you." His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows.

"Are you serious?" I clench my fists at my sides.

He runs his fingers through his styled hair, making it stand on end.

He appears youthful. We may be the same age, but I've always felt a strong urge to look after him. Could that be why I agreed to marry him? Initially, I thought it was to save money, but perhaps it's because I miss caring for someone since my younger sister moved away to ballet school. Helping my father isn't quite the same as having her around. Was I trying to fill the void inside me with his dependency on me? Why didn't these thoughts occur to me before I accepted his proposal?

He must notice the conflicting emotions on my face because his own expression crumples. "I’m so sorry." A tear rolls down his cheek.

"No." I point at him accusingly. "You don’t get to play the victim here. You don’t get to cry."

"Please, Eva, please. Can't we talk, at least?" he pleads, his eyes filled with so much sadness that some of my anger softens, replaced by pity.

Not only was I trying to fill the gap left by Elizabeth, I chose someone I could nurture. I grimace. Great. I should have realized that before rushing into marrying him. I bite my lip.

"There’s no point in hashing out what happened. We never should have planned to marry. Though figuring that out in such a public way"—I gesture at our surroundings—"is not how I imagined this day."

"Me neither." Lawrence drops his gaze. "That's the thing. I thought everything was fine. Then I walked into the church and—"

"You had doubts?" I ask dryly.

He nods solemnly. "I thought it was just the usual nerves before the wedding, until I saw everyone… That’s when I knew I couldn’t go through with it."

"Are you hearing yourself?" I exclaim, throwing my hands up. "That's not an excuse. Couldn't you have thought about this before proposing to me?" I let out a humorless chuckle. "You'd think I could have realized we weren't right for each other before agreeing to marry you."

He hunches his shoulders, looking so frail compared to the stranger.

I glance sideways at the man who decided to make the situation even more ridiculous by proposing to me. Why did he do that? Did he pity me? And am I seriously thinking about accepting his proposal?

My heart jumps into my throat. The blood rushes in my ears so loudly that I can hardly hear myself think. It's politeness and the tightness of my wedding dress that stop me from running down the aisle and leaving this place. Marrying him? Marrying a total stranger? That would be insane... right?

But what's wrong with being a little crazy? I was left at the altar. That's crazy enough. But having a bold, attractive stranger propose to me right after is even crazier. What if I do the craziest thing of all? What if I don’t run away screaming? Instead, what if I say yes? Agree to marry a man I've never met before. A man who's older than me. A man who looks like he knows how to please with his handsome mouth, thick fingers, and the physical assets he possesses.

Lawrence blinks, then follows my gaze to the stranger. His gaze widens as if he’s noticing the stranger for the first time. A weird light flares in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Lawrence's voice carries a mix of surprise and anger as he stares down the older man. "I didn’t expect to see you at my wedding."

They have a history?

"I couldn’t stay away, especially after you pulled that disappearing act," the older man growls, his words edged with bitterness.

Lawrence winces visibly, his expression hardening as he squares his shoulders. "I don’t need to hear this from someone who hasn’t been there for most of my life."

"Father?" I blurt out, shocked as I look at the stranger whose proposal I almost accepted. "You’re his father?"

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