Page 90 of Venomous Vows

A soft knock sounds from the door and Marcella urges them inside, where the wedding planner pops her head in.

“We’re ready for you, honey,” she beams. “Whenever you want to start.”

I rise and inhale deeply, giving her a curt nod and running my sweaty palms down over the material of my dress.

She disappears and closes the door while Marcella rises to her feet and stands in front of me.

“I’m proud to be able to walk you down the aisle.” She grabs my hands and gives them a tight squeeze.

“Me too,” I reply with a grin. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Elena,” my sister chides lightly with a chuckle. “Oh my God…”

“I hate being the center of attention.”

“It’s your wedding day.”

“I wanted a courthouse wedding.” Marcella perks a brow because that sounds like her worst nightmare. “Obviously, Adrian shot that down for appearances.”

“Obviously.”

She guides me to the door and out into the hallway, where I find Zane bee-lining toward us in a navy blue suit and looking hella handsome.

“Hey,” I greet as he approaches. “You didn’t need to come get me. The wedding planner?—”

“Can we talk for a minute?”

“Sure.” I look at my sister, silently asking if she could give us a moment.

“She can stay,” Zane inserts. “You’re gonna need her for this.”

My brows knit. “What’s going on?” Dread creeps up my spine and my breathing slows. “Did he leave me at the aisle already?”

“Not exactly,” he mutters. “And youhaveto keep this on the DL, Elena. I’m serious.Please.”

“Of course.” A look of distress washes over Zane’s face then, and I step forward to clutch his forearm. “Hey, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

“He’s not here,” he recites evenly, holding my stare with one of strength that’s barely holding on by a thread. “He never arrived.”

“Did…his car break down or?—”

“He never flew backin,” Zane clarifies. “Adrian flew to New York to get your ring. It was custom-made, all that shit. He wanted to make sure it was perfect for today…but…”

I search his face for a clue to what he’s about to tell me, but I find nothing. “But what? Where is he?”

“I…dunno, Elena. We think…” He swallows, then lifts his chin higher. “We think it fuckin’ crashed.”

28

ELENA

“It was always supposedto be like this. You never wanted me anyway.”

I stare at Adrian, tears blurring my eyes that make him glassy in my vision as he looks back at me without any remorse.

Without any real answers.

I’ve been asking him what happened, but all he does is look away or shrug his shoulders at me. It’s as though this was all an act and he never wanted to marry me in the first place.

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