He Gave Her The Best So I Left Him With Nothing Chapter 07
I looked at Cormac, at the satisfied, I-knew-you’d-be-reasonable expression on his face.
I’d seen that look a thousand times.
I suddenly remembered years ago, when I won a gold medal in a national craft competition, the first one I’d ever entered. I had rushed backstage, my heart hammering with excitement, only to find the seats reserved for my family empty.
My parents, and Cormac too, had all gone next door to watch Marguerite’s piano recital.
That day, I stood alone on the awards stage.
After all these years, nothing had changed. I was still alone.
A wedding with no bride — what did it matter whether it happened in the morning or at night?
That night, Cormac came home dead drunk, staggering into the room and dragging the noise of the party in with him.
As I helped him out of his jacket, I asked quietly, “Are you looking forward to our wedding?”
He made a noncommittal sound, not really answering.
I stopped what I was doing and sat on the edge of the bed. It was time to ask the question that had weighed on me for years.
“Cormac… why did you propose to me?”
I already knew the answer. I just needed to hear him say it, so I could finally let go.
Maybe it was the alcohol that made him honest. He let out a short, bitter laugh.
“Because I couldn’t have the one I really wanted.”
His drunken gaze settled on my face, but he was looking through me, at someone else.
“But you look like her. Back then, I told myself that would be enough.”
Tears welled in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
Then he added one more thing, his voice edged with cold calculation.
“And you’re her sister. If I married you, I would never lose contact with her.”
The moment he said it, the tears in my eyes dried up.
The truth was so much uglier than I had ever imagined.
