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The Bride Who Said Goodbye
Novelix
Completed
"A week before the wedding, my fiancé Ethan's friends invited us on a camping trip and said we'd draw lots for the tents. I drew the single tent. Ethan drew the same one as Chloe, his childhood best friend. I looked at Ethan, waiting for him to offer to switch. Instead, he said: ""It's just one night with Chloe. Don't read too much into it. I've already agreed to marry you—are you really going to make a fuss about this too?"" So now, as the bride-to-be, even minding my fiancé spending the night with another woman made me ungrateful. Then, in the middle of the night, my tent started leaking. I went to the car for a dry towel. Through the half-open car door, I heard Chloe's voice from inside. ""If I hadn't left that year, would you have ended up with her?"" Ethan was silent for a long time. His voice, when it came, was low and hoarse. ""Why couldn't you have come back sooner?"" My hand froze on its way to the door handle. I almost thought I'd misheard. The next second, my phone buzzed. A message popped up in the camping group chat and was immediately retracted. But I'd already seen it clearly. *She's been sitting in Chloe's spot for way too long. A little rain will do her good.* The sender was Ethan's best friend. I tightened my grip on the phone and glanced again at the half-open car door. So in their eyes, I—the woman about to marry him—was the one who didn't belong. ..."
Chapters (4)
第1章
A week before the wedding, my fiancé Ethan's friends invited us on a camping trip and said we'd draw lots for the tents.
I drew the single tent. Ethan drew the same one as Chloe, his childhood best friend.
I looked at Ethan, waiting for him to offer to switch. Instead, he said:
"It's just one night with Chloe. Don't read too much into it. I've already agreed to marry you—are you really going to make a fuss about this too?"
So now, as the bride-to-be, even minding my fiancé spending the night with another woman made me ungrateful.
Then, in the middle of the night, my tent started leaking. I went to the car for a dry towel.
Through the half-open car door, I heard Chloe's voice from inside.
"If I hadn't left that year, would you have ended up with her?"
Ethan was silent for a long time. His voice, when it came, was low and hoarse.
"Why couldn't you have come back sooner?"
My hand froze on its way to the door handle. I almost thought I'd misheard.
The next second, my phone buzzed.
A message popped up in the camping group chat and was immediately retracted.
But I'd already seen it clearly.
*She's been sitting in Chloe's spot for way too long. A little rain will do her good.*
The sender was Ethan's best friend.
I tightened my grip on the phone and glanced again at the half-open car door.
So in their eyes, I—the woman about to marry him—was the one who didn't belong.
...
"What are you doing out there?"
The door cracked open. Ethan's voice drifted out through the rain.
I was clutching the dry towel I'd just pulled from the trunk.
"The tent's leaking. I came to get a towel."
Two seconds of silence inside the car.
"Get back quick, then. Don't stand out there in the wind."
Ethan's tone was steady.
"Chloe just fell asleep. Don't wake her."
I bowed my head and tugged at the corner of my mouth.
"Sure."
As I turned, I heard Chloe Whitmore roll over in the car.
She mumbled something.
Ethan's voice went instantly tender.
"It's okay. I'm right here."
The rain came down harder. My single tent was pitched at the farthest edge of the campsite, and the zipper was half-broken.
Water seeped in through the gap. My sleeping bag was already soaked through.
I sat on the groundsheet and toweled off my hair.
My phone screen was still on the group chat. The message now read: *This message has been deleted.*
I didn't cry. I didn't rage.
I just felt a little cold.
I opened the private campsite's reservation app and found my order page.
I checked off the remaining four days of supplies, equipment rentals, and campsite booking, confirmed the cancellation fee, and tapped *Cancel Order*.
The system responded: *Upon cancellation, the campsite will retrieve all rental equipment by 2:00 PM today. This booking will be terminated.*
The rain didn't stop all night.
It wasn't until daybreak that it finally began to taper off.
The campsite started stirring.
Ethan's friends Ryan Brooks and Jason Miller were the first to crawl out of their tents.
"Hey, Emily, you're up early."
Ryan stretched, his eyes landing on my soaked pant legs.
"Rain was pretty rough last night. Your tent hold up okay?"
"It was fine."
I stood up and rolled up the sodden sleeping bag.
Ethan and Chloe climbed out of the car.
Chloe was draped in Ethan's black shell jacket.
Catching a few gossipy glances, Chloe cleared her throat.
"The tent was too cold last night. Ethan said the car heater was nice and warm."
"So we just moved into the car for the night."
Then she finally noticed me.
Seeing my soaked pants, her face went wide with surprise.
"Emily, why didn't you come squeeze into the car with us last night?"
Ethan walked over and handed me a freshly poured cup of hot coffee, his brow slightly furrowed.
"Didn't you grab a towel last night? How did you still end up like this?"
I ignored him and turned to pack up the groundsheet.
Ethan set the coffee on the folding table, his tone edged with resignation.
"The drawing was everyone's decision. You pulled the single tent—there wasn't anything I could do."
第2章
Right. Nothing he could do.
Chloe was cold, so she got to go sit in a warm car.
I slept in a leaking tent because I had to follow the "rules of the game."
Absolutely laughable.
Seeing my expression, Ethan took a step closer and softened his voice.
"When we get back, I'll take you to buy that jewelry set you've been eyeing. Call it an apology."
That was always his pattern.
Hurt me first, then placate me with a gift.
But I didn't want it anymore.
I zipped up my backpack and shook my head. "No thanks."
Ethan watched me, something probing in his gaze.
He probably thought I was reacting too calmly.
"Alright, have some breakfast first. We're hiking into Deer Creek Valley after we eat."
Ryan called out from the side.
"Emily, where's the hot milk? Chloe wants some this morning."
I pointed flatly at the storage crate beside me.
"Get it yourself."
"Why'd you buy this brand?"
Logan Hayes took a sip and frowned.
I sat on a folding stool by the campfire, scrolling through the cancellation confirmation on my phone.
Didn't react, start to finish.
Ryan pulled a face and set his cup down on the table.
"Emily, next time can you buy the Organic Valley whole milk?"
"Chloe only drinks that brand, and she wants it heated."
I turned off my phone screen and looked up at him.
"I like this one."
Ryan blinked.
In the past, to fit in with them, I'd always memorized everyone's preferences like some obliging little hostess.
I'd been the perfect lifestyle assistant, trying to win Ethan's friends over through the small details.
But in the end, they just saw it as my duty.
Ethan came out of the tent holding Chloe's thermos.
Sensing the shift in mood, he frowned. "What's going on?"
Ryan let out a snide laugh. "Emily says the milk is what *she* likes to drink. So I guess what the rest of us like doesn't matter."
Ethan looked at me, his brow knitting. "It's just a cup of milk. Do you really need to make a face over it?"
I met his eyes. "I'm just stating a fact."
The air turned cold.
Then Chloe came swaying over.
"Ethan, my shoelace came undone."
He immediately turned away and crouched down in front of her, his movements easy and intimate.
He'd never done anything like that for me.
I turned my head and gave a bitter twist of my lips.
Fine. It didn't matter anymore.
Let him dote on whoever he wanted. It had nothing to do with me now.
Shoelace tied, Ethan clapped his hands. "Pack up. We're heading to Deer Creek Valley."
Everyone started gathering their packs.
Jason shoved a backpack toward me and said, as if it were obvious:
"Emily, you take the cooler bag with the sandwiches and fruit. We'll handle the tarp and the stove."
I looked at the bag—easily ten pounds—and curled my lip. "I can't carry it."
Jason stared at me.
第3章
"Weren't you the one who always carried it?"
I looked at him coldly. "I don't feel like carrying it today. Is that a problem?"
Ethan came over and dropped his voice.
"Everyone's pitching in. You really have to pick now to throw a tantrum?"
Me? Throw a tantrum?
I almost laughed.
I'd been playing housekeeper to this crowd, and that was supposed to be *normal*? Just expected?
Me refusing was *throwing a tantrum*?
I looked the man in front of me dead in the eye and said, one word at a time, "Ethan. I got rained on last night. I have a fever."
And he, my fiancé, didn't offer a single word of concern.
Ethan stared at me for a few seconds, then sighed.
"God, you're being so precious about this."
"Fine. I'll carry it. You walk empty-handed. Happy?"
He turned, slung the pack over his shoulder, and then took the small water bottle out of Chloe's hand.
"Chloe, stick with me. The trail's rough."
Chloe smiled sweetly. "Thanks, Ethan."
The group started heading up the mountain.
I walked at the back, watching the six of them laughing and chatting ahead.
They were an impenetrable little clique.
And I was just the clown who kept trying to squeeze in, getting bloodied against the walls each time.
I'd been a fool.
At least I was awake now.
My phone buzzed.
A message from the campsite manager.
*Ms. Emily Carter, your refund (after cancellation fees) has been processed and will return to your original payment account.*
*We'll collect the tents, rental vehicle, and other rented items by 2 PM. Any personal belongings will be held at the front desk.*
When we stopped halfway up for a break, Ethan and the others huddled together, passing out sandwiches.
From start to finish, no one thought of me.
"Ethan, look at that tree."
Jason suddenly pointed at an old oak not far off.
I followed his finger.
It was a thick, sturdy oak, its trunk furred with moss.
"Can't believe it's been this many years and the carving's still there."
Ryan walked over and brushed aside the vines on the trunk.
I stood up and slowly drew closer.
On the shaded side of the trunk, a line of letters had been carved with a knife.
Ethan's name. And Chloe's.
The cuts were deep. The edges had softened with time, but the names were still clearly legible.
I stood in front of that tree and stared at the carving for a long moment.
The group fell silent.
The childhood friends seemed to realize they'd let something slip. They exchanged awkward looks.
Ethan walked over and planted himself between me and the tree.
"Don't look at it. Just a stupid thing from way back."
Chloe came up behind him, smiling at me.
"Emily, we carved that when we were eighteen, on a camping trip."
"Back then Ethan even said he'd marry me someday. It was just a joke, obviously. You don't mind, do you?"
第4章
Eighteen.
I'd met Ethan in the second semester of my freshman year.
I chased him for three years. He stayed cold, distant.
Then, in senior year, he suddenly agreed to be my boyfriend officially.
I thought it was my persistence that had finally won him over.
Only now did I understand.
Senior year was exactly when Chloe moved to London for grad school.
He hadn't been moved by me. He'd just picked up a docile stand-in.
I tugged at the corner of my lip. "You said yourself it was a joke. What would I mind?"
Ethan seemed to relax. He reached out, took my wrist, and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"No point dredging up the past."
I looked down at his hand.
Long, warm fingers. The temperature I'd once craved more than anything.
Now, it just made my stomach turn.
I pulled my wrist free, little by little.
"I'm going to wash my hands."
Ethan's hand closed on empty air again.
Irritated, he kicked at a pebble on the ground.
"I already explained. What more do you want from me?"
I didn't answer. I just crouched by the stream and scrubbed at my wrist, over and over.
Ryan came over and offered me a tissue.
"Emily, Ethan's just like that. He really does care about you."
"Chloe grew up with us. We're all just used to looking out for her."
"Cut him some slack."
Slack?
That was the word I'd heard most in the last three years.
Give Ethan slack for being cold.
Give his friends slack for giving me a hard time.
Give him slack for bending every rule the moment Chloe appeared.
I wadded the soaked tissue into a ball, expressionless, and tossed it in the trash bag.
"I've given plenty of slack. That's why I've given all my time to them."
This relationship I'd been shut out of—I was done.
Ryan didn't catch my meaning. He laughed and clapped my shoulder.
The sky had darkened at some point. The wind in the valley was picking up.
My phone pinged with a weather alert.
*Severe thunderstorm expected in the Blue Ridge area within the next hour. Hikers should leave exposed areas and seek shelter immediately.*
Dark clouds were rolling in from the ridgeline. The wind had the leaves thrashing.
"It's about to pour." Jason looked up, his expression tightening.
Ethan made the call quickly.
"There's a cave up ahead. We'll take shelter there, wait for the rain to let up, then head back to camp."
Everyone started moving toward the cave.
Chloe, walking beside Ethan, suddenly shivered.
"Ethan, the wind's so strong. I'm freezing."
Ethan stopped and glanced at her thin windbreaker.
Then he turned to me. "Head back to camp."
"Grab Chloe's red windbreaker. It's in her tent."
He pointed down the slope.
"She can't handle the cold. My jacket alone isn't enough."
I looked up at the churning black clouds and clenched my fist in my pocket.
"The storm's about to hit."
Ethan frowned. "The campsite's only ten minutes from here. Walk fast, you won't get wet."
Ryan chimed in from the side.
"Yeah, Emily, just make the run."
I looked at the five men in front of me.
Every single one of them was wearing a windbreaker.
And yet they wanted *me*—the one who'd been soaked last night, the one running a fever right now—to go racing down the mountain in a storm warning for a jacket.
In their eyes, Chloe was porcelain that needed careful handling.
And I was a weed that could stand a little rain.
I swallowed my own bitterness, drew in a breath, and said, "Fine. I'll go."
