Chapter 2

The silence in the church was absolute.

You could have heard a pin drop. Every eye was on me. My father' s face was a mask of confusion. The guests murmured in shock. The priest looked completely lost.

Liam' s hand shot out and grabbed my arm. His grip was tight, his fingers digging into my skin.

"Ava, stop this nonsense," he whispered harshly, his eyes blazing with a controlled fury. "What game are you playing now?"

"It' s not a game, Liam," I said, my voice quiet but firm. I tried to pull my arm away, but his grip was like iron.

He softened his expression, a tactic I knew all too well. He thought he could manage me, control me, just like he always had. His voice became a gentle, condescending murmur.

"Ava, darling, we can talk about whatever is bothering you after the ceremony. Don' t do this here. Let' s not embarrass our families."

Before I could answer, a choked sob came from the pews.

Sarah Johnson stood up, her face streaked with tears. She looked at Liam with utter heartbreak.

"Liam... is this because of me?" she cried, her voice carrying through the church. "I told you I could accept it. I told you I would go away and never bother you again! Why is she still doing this to me?"

The whispers from the crowd grew louder, now directed at me with open hostility.

"See? She' s just a cruel bully."

"She' s not happy unless everyone else is miserable."

Liam' s attention was immediately drawn to Sarah, his expression softening with pity and guilt. That look was so familiar. It was the look that had haunted my entire marriage.

I finally wrenched my arm from his grasp. The sudden freedom felt intoxicating.

I took the heavy veil from my head, the lace scratching against my skin. I walked over to the edge of the dais and held it out, along with my bouquet of white roses.

I looked directly at Sarah.

"You' re right, Sarah," I said, my voice calm. "He should be with you."

I placed the veil and the flowers into her trembling hands.

"I was wrong. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness."

Sarah stared at the bouquet as if it were a snake, her face a comical picture of shock. The victim act had vanished, replaced by pure, unfiltered confusion.

I turned back to Liam. His face was a thundercloud. He was radiating an anger so intense it was almost a physical force.

"Ava Miller. Have you lost your mind?" he bit out, each word sharp and cold.

"No, Liam," I said, looking him straight in the eye. "I think I' ve finally found it."

His next words were meant to hurt, and they did, but only as a faint echo of a pain I no longer had to live with.

"Don' t think for a second this changes anything. You wanted this, you forced this, and you will marry me. Stop this pathetic attempt for attention."

The disgust in his voice was a familiar sting. For ten years, I had craved his affection, and for ten years, he had given me nothing but this.

I took a deep breath, pushing down the last dregs of old sorrow. I had to end this, completely and forever.

I looked up at him, letting him see the tears welling in my eyes, but I did not let them fall.

"I' m sorry, Liam," I said, and the apology was for everything. For my past life' s obsession, for my manipulations, for the pain I caused him and the pain I caused myself. "I' m sorry for everything. From now on, we' re just brother and sister. Nothing more."

I gave him a small, formal bow, just like a younger sister would to her older brother.

Then, without another word, I turned my back on him, on Sarah, on the shocked gasps of the guests, and walked down the aisle.

The heavy train of my wedding dress trailed behind me, a weight I was finally leaving behind.

I didn' t look back. I walked out of the church doors and into the bright sunlight, a free woman.

Once I was safely in the back of the limousine my father had rented, the tears I' d been holding back finally came. They weren' t tears of sadness or regret, but of pure, unadulterated relief. A flood of emotion washing away a decade of misery.

My hands trembled as I pulled out my phone and dialed my father' s number.

He picked up on the first ring, his voice frantic with worry. "Ava! What' s going on? Where are you?"

"Dad," I sobbed, my voice thick with tears. "I' m okay. I' m so sorry for the mess."

"Don' t you worry about the mess, sweetie. Are you alright? What happened?"

"I just... I can' t marry him, Dad. I can' t do it."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then his voice came back, full of nothing but warmth and support. "Okay, sweetie. Okay. You don' t have to do anything you don' t want to do. Just tell me where you are."

A sense of peace settled over me. He was my rock. He had always been my rock. I had just been too blind to see it.

"Dad," I said, a new resolve hardening my voice. "I don' t want to study art anymore. I want to go to business school. I want to learn how to run the company. I want to help you."

Another pause, this one filled with surprise and then, immense pride.

"Ava," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "I would love that."

As the limo pulled away from the curb, I looked out the window. My new life was just beginning.