As the minutes dragged on, the guests began to murmur amongst themselves, their whispers filling the chapel like arising tide. Katie could feel their eyes on her, could sense the pity and judgment in their gazes. She felt exposed and vulnerable, a spectacle for them to observe and gossip about.
Leah and Daphne moved closer, their presence a small comfort in the overwhelming sea of emotions.
“We’re here for you, Katie,” Leah whispered, squeezing her hand. “Whatever happens, we’re here.”
Katie nodded, grateful for their support, but the magnitude of her fear and sadness was overbearing. She kept glancing toward the chapel doors, willing Aiden to appear, to come back and make everything right. But as the sun disappeared completely, leaving the chapel bathed in the soft glow of candlelight, her hope dwindled to a mere flicker.
Griselda’s voice broke through the tense silence once more, this time tinged with desperation and fury. “Oliver, I swear, if ye dinnae find him, I’ll…” Her voice cracked, and she took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “Please, I pray that ye find him,” she muttered weakly to herself, her anger giving way to bone-deep worry.
Katie’s heart ached at the sight of Griselda’s distress. It wasn’t just her wedding day that was falling apart, it was also Griselda’s day and her family’s happiness that had been affected by Aiden’s behavior. Katie had come to love them and see them as her own family. And now, as the reality of Aiden’s absence settled over them all, she felt like she was losing everything she had grown to care about.
As they stood waiting in the dark, quiet chapel, Katie still clung to the faint possibility that Aiden would return, that he would walk through those doors and take her in his arms. But as the hours ticked slowly by, that hope grew fainter and fainter, until all that was left was a deep, aching numbness.
Aiden, my Aiden, where have you gone?
As the last of the guests exited the chapel, leaving only a heavy silence in the wake of their departure, Katie remained frozen where she stood. What should have been the happiest day of her life had collapsed into ruins and dust. Her wedding dress, once a symbol of her hopes and dreams, now felt like an anchor dragging her down and suffocating her in a sea of misery. Each stitch and every delicate piece of lace had become a painful reminder of the joy that had slipped through her fingers.
Her father approached her with a softness in his eyes that nearly broke her. He reached out and took her hands in his, giving them a gentle squeeze. “Katie, my dear,” he began, his voice warm and tender. “You can always come back home. We’ll welcome you with open arms, no matter what.”
Katie nodded, her throat too tight to speak. She leaned into his embrace, and the smell of him, a comforting mix of pine and old leather, made her eyes sting with unshed tears.
“Thank you, Father,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I don’t know what I’ll do yet, but thank you.”
Theodosia stood off to the side, her face pinched with disapproval. “You’ll never find a good match now,” she declared sharply, her words like shards of glass piercing Katie’s already fragile heart. “You’ve been ruined, and I can’t take the stress or the gossip that will spread because of this. What were you thinking, trusting a man like that?”
Lord Crawford turned to his wife, his expression hardening. “Theodosia, I said that’s enough,” he said firmly. “She doesn’t deserve your scorn. She needs our help.” He looked back at Katie, his gaze softening again. “We’re retiring for the night. Please, take care of yourself, Katie. We’ll talk more in the morning.”
Katie hugged her father one last time, feeling the warmth of his love and support envelop her like a protective shield. She barely acknowledged her mother, whose cold words had cut deeper than any blade. As they left the chapel alongside Griselda, who had been showered with apologies and sympathy by the departing guests, Katie felt the full weight of her new and unfathomable situation press down upon her.
Now, only Daphne, Leah, and Katie remained in the chapel. The three of them stood in silence, the darkened chapel casting long shadows on the floor as the last of the candles flickered and died. Katie stayed rooted to the spot, unable to move, unable to think beyond the pain that throbbed in her chest like a living thing.
“I’m returning to England,” Katie finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. The words hung in the air, heavy and final. “I can be a happy spinster.”
She tried to force a smile but failed, and the tears she had been holding back finally broke free.
Leah was beside her in an instant, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her close. “Oh, Katie,” she murmured, stroking her hair as if she was a child in need of comfort. “I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve this.”
Katie buried her face in Leah’s shoulder, her body shaking with the force of her sobs. “I thought he cared for me,” she choked out. “I thought… How could he do this? How could he just leave me like this?”
Daphne, standing on Katie’s other side, reached out and gently rubbed her back. “I swear, if I ever see him again, I’ll kill him with my bare hands,” she said, her voice low and filled with anger. “Or better yet, I’ll have Oskar or Magnus do it. They’ll make sure he pays for what he’s done.”
Leah, still holding Katie, nodded in agreement. “I’ll do it myself if I have to,” she added, her tone fierce. “No one hurts our Katie and gets away with it.”
Katie shook her head, and a bitter laugh escaped her lips. “What good would it do? Killing him won’t change what’s happened. It won’t take away my pain.” She pulled back from Leah’s embrace, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “I was such a fool to think I could have a life filled with love. Now I’ll have nothing… nothing but this emptiness.”
The tears flowed freely now, and Katie didn’t bother to stop them. She felt broken, shattered into pieces that she didn’t know how to put back together again. The man she had trusted, the man she had imagined spending the rest of her life with, had abandoned her without a word or a sign, leaving her to face the humiliation and heartache alone.
“I was so certain,” Katie continued, her voice trembling. “I was so sure he wanted me, that we would be happy together. But now… now I see that I was just a fool. I let myself believe in something that was never real, and now I’m paying the price.”
Daphne and Leah exchanged a worried glance, their hearts breaking for their friend.
“Katie, don’t say such things,” Daphne urged gently. “You’re no fool. You believed in love, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Leah nodded in agreement. “You have every right to be angry and to feel hurt, but please don’t give up on happiness. You deserve so much more than this, and we’ll help you find it, whatever it takes.”
Katie looked at her friends, her vision blurred by tears. Their love and support were like a balm to her wounded soul, but it couldn’t completely take away the pain. Still, she knew they were right. She couldn’t let this destroy her, no matter how much it hurt.
“I don’t know what I’ll do,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “Maybe I will go back to England, or perhaps I’ll goon a tour of the Continent to get away from all of this… from the gossip and the distressing memories.”
