Chapter 3

Chloe pinched the tiny scrap of black lace between her fingers, her expression filled with pure skepticism. "Are you serious? Is this even wearable?"

Wouldn't just pinning him down be faster and more efficient? she thought.

Bella rolled her eyes at Chloe's lack of romantic vision. "What do you know? Men love this 'peek-a-boo' style. It's called keeping the spark alive in a marriage."

Nora, another bridesmaid, added with a gentle smile, "Just trust us on this one, Chloe. You won't regret it."

"Really?" Chloe looked at the flimsy fabric again. A vivid, heated image flashed through her mind, and a soft blush crept up her neck, staining her porcelain cheeks. Tonight, she would finally be Liam Martin's wife.

Suddenly, a wave of commotion erupted from downstairs.

"I'll go check it out," Bella said, heading toward the balcony.

She returned moments later, her face drained of color and heavy with grim news. "Chloe... Liam is leaving."

In an instant, the blood vanished from Chloe's face. Even her expertly applied wedding makeup couldn't hide her deathly pallor. The nightmare... it's coming true?

"The wedding is off."

Those four words, dropped like a bomb by Liam, shattered the peace of the Bishop estate. It hit the guests with such force that it took several long seconds for anyone to process the reality.

The groom was jilting her! He was running away!

As the realization set in, Charles Bishop sprinted out the front door with desperate speed. He threw himself in front of the lead wedding car-a custom open-top supercar-forcing it to a halt. "Liam! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Because the car was open, every detail of Liam's icy demeanor was visible. He looked at Charles with a gaze of pure, sharp steel. "The wedding is canceled. Every promise I made is null and void."

"What are you saying?" Charles's face turned white as a sheet.

Liam's lips curled into a faint, mocking smile. "You should have expected this result the moment you decided to kidnap Sara Jay, shouldn't you?"

A flash of panic flickered in Charles's eyes. His greatest fear had come to pass.

Three months ago, a cornered Marcus Martin-driven to desperation by Liam-had brought Sara Jay to Charles, begging for help to flee the city. That was the first time Charles had even known Sara existed.

To be honest, Sara wasn't a breathtaking beauty; she couldn't even begin to compare to Chloe's radiant looks. However, she possessed an aura that made men instinctively want to protect her. She was fragile, pure, and looked like a broken doll.

Fearing that Sara's reappearance would ruin Chloe's relationship with Liam, Charles had hidden Sara away and immediately began pressuring the two to get married. He had planned to confess everything after the ceremony, but Sara had vanished last night. He had spent the morning praying the wedding would go smoothly without any "surprises."

He had failed.

"Liam, listen to me. I can explain everything," Charles pleaded, his voice cracking. "Today is the biggest day of Chloe's life. Don't do something impulsive that will break her heart."

"I said the wedding is over." Liam showed no mercy. He glared at Charles, his rage boiling over. "Move."

For three months! Charles had kept Sara prisoner for three months while Liam lived in a lie, believing she was dead. He had nearly walked into a marriage based on a deception. Did the Bishops really think I was that big of a fool?

Thinking of the scars on Sara's body, Liam's hatred for Charles burned white-hot. If his men hadn't found her last night, she would have been brutalized by thugs. How could he ever forgive this?

"Liam, be reasonable!" Charles shouted, half-angry and half-terrified. "All our friends and family are here. Chloe is waiting for you inside. Do you really want to make her the laughingstock of the whole city?"

"You brought this on yourselves," Liam retorted. "Let me make this clear, Charles. As of today, I have absolutely no connection to the Bishop family."

As of today, I have absolutely no connection to the Bishop family.

Chloe had just run out of the house when those words hit her. She froze in her tracks, staring at the man in the car. Liam saw her, too. They were only a few yards apart. He could see that her face had turned almost transparently pale.

She had always been a head-turner, but in her full bridal glory, she was breathtaking. The pure white gown accentuated her elegance and high-society grace. For a split second, she stunned him all over again.

Liam realized then that if Chloe had never met him, she would have been the most beautiful, happy bride in the world. But now, those bright, sparkling eyes were turning dim because of him. For a fleeting moment, he felt a pang of guilt. He was truly ruining her.

But compared to what Sara had suffered, Chloe was lucky.

Liam pulled his gaze away and looked back at Charles with cold indifference. He reversed the car a few yards, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "I'm saying it one last time. Move."

Charles thought of Chloe's happy face only moments ago, then looked at the heartless man before him. His heart bled for his daughter. He knew better than anyone how much Chloe loved Liam.

He stood his ground, shouting back, "Liam, if you're so determined to leave, you'll have to drive over my dead body!"

Liam's face darkened. He locked eyes with Charles for a tense, silent beat-then suddenly slammed on the gas, roaring the car straight toward him.

"NO!"

A scream ripped from Chloe's throat. Just as everyone expected Charles to be sent flying, the car swerved at the last millisecond, brushing past him with a screech of tires.

Charles stumbled, then immediately began chasing the car as it sped away. "Come back! You coward, get back here!"

Chloe wanted to scream for her father to stop. If Liam was cruel enough to leave her at the altar, his heart was already gone. What was the point of dragging back a man who didn't want to stay?

But Chloe couldn't make a sound. She could only watch as they moved further and further away.

At the nearby intersection, the wedding car took a sharp turn. A sedan speeding from the other direction had no time to brake. Charles, caught in the middle of the road while chasing Liam, was directly in its path.

CRASH.

"DAD! NO!"

"NO! CHARLES!"

"Mrs. Bishop! Mrs. Bishop, oh my god... she's bleeding! Someone call an ambulance! Hurry!"

Do you know what color the sky is? To Chloe at that moment, it was a suffocating, ashy gray.