Melody
Chapter fifty-four
Your best friend walking in on your stepbrother groping you through your wedding dress opens the door to many reactions: disbelief, anger, and worst of all, disappointment.
Kodi has been giving me an earful since we left the boutique, and I’ve sat here quietly, taking every verbal blow as if I’m indestructible.
I’m not.
I want to cry. Scream. Maybe even puke.
But I don’t. I bear it because she’s right. I should have said something to Kaden. I shouldn’t have let him sweep right through and touch me while I’m still with Dylan. It isn’t right.
What a wonderful time for me to have morals. Kaden has touched me more over the last few days than my fiancé has in months. It’s all so confusing, and I don’t know what to do…
Kodi breathes deeply as she finishes her rant, resting her head back against her seat as Mom follows behind us in her car. A thick silence blankets us.
“I fucked up,” I admit.
“Yeah,” Kodi sighs. “But I still love you. It’s totally your choice in the end, and I’ll support you no matter what you choose. But Kaden?”
I chuckle. “I never said I picked him.”
“Well, of course,” she nods. “But he’s just so…brutal. That’s the only nice way I can put it.”
I rest my elbow on the windowseal, looking out at the blurring scenery. “It’s just different with him. I feel like he sees me and not just a wife to flaunt in front of CEOs. Kaden knows me, while I feel like I’m just existing with Dylan.”
My friend’s features soften. “I’m just worried…”
“I know you are,” I say thickly as I take her hand in mine. “Thank you for worrying over me, but I can’t keep this back and forth up. Something has to give. Even if it’s me stepping away from both of them.”
Kodi squeezes my hand as she pulls up to the front gate of my home. “And I’ll be there every step of the way. I still have space on my couch—”
We both freeze at the sight that greets us. There are flowers, roses, scattered throughout the whole front entrance of the mansion. Cars and trucks we haven’t seen before overcrowd the driveway, parked close together and resting idle.
I slowly turn to Kodi, and she holds her hands up. “Don’t look at me. I have no idea what the fuck is going on.”
We park further out as Mom pulls behind us. When she gets out, the questions are already flowing.
“What’s all this?” She asks.
“I have no idea,” I answer as a bad feeling tugs in my gut.
I swallow past my apprehension, walking up to the front door before it’s ripped open and a crowd of people, some I recognize as Dylan’s family and friends, and a few close relatives, clap loudly and cheer.
There’s a delicately crafted welcome sign in the foyer with swelling cursive spelling out “Mr. and Mrs. Callahan.” A balloon arch is stationed near the kitchen with white and golden globes of different sizes.
Floral arrangements have overtaken everything, heavily wrapping around the counters and making the blooms pop.
I’m stunned, blinking as I remain frozen in place.
“Fuck,” Kodi whispers tightly.
Dylan is at the head of the crowd, a beautiful bouquet in his hands as he smiles past his bruised, swollen cheek. His suit is crisp and clean as if he just got off the plane, and he holds it out to me as he glides closer and kisses me deeply.
My head rears as I scowl and break his greeting peck. “What’s going on? What is this?”
His eyes crease as his jovial mood stays perfectly intact. “Your bridal shower.”
I glance around, taking note of my bridesmaids lingering as they mingle with the partygoers. Everything rushes back to me as I shake my head in disbelief. “We just set a date, Dylan.”
“I know,” he agrees with a shake of his head, “but I’ve been thinking about things. About us.”
I frown. “Us?”
“Yes,” he smiles hopefully. “I’ve been thinking about you since I left.”
I roll my tongue along my teeth, sucking. “Uh, huh. So the ten unanswered messages were your way of thinking about me?”
He closes his eyes, pursing his lips as if he just realized he never responded to me.
“Yes. In a way. Listen, Mel,” he takes my shoulders gently as he lowers his voice, “I screwed up. I know that. But it made me stop and think about what we’re doing.
We’ve been engaged for four years. I don’t want to wait any longer. ”
I blink, my brain buffering. This is a mental overload. “You don’t want to wait? What are you talking about?”
He sucks in a breath. “Okay, you’re going to be a little mad at me—”
“Dylan,” I warn with a glare.
“I moved up our wedding date,” he winces.
My eyes widen. “You moved up our wedding date?!”
He shushes me, looking over his shoulder as people side-eye us. He quickly pulls me away from the party, tucking us in the corner of the dining room where no one can hear.
“I know you’re mad—”
“Mad?!” I ask incredulously. “I’m furious! You fucking leave in the middle of the night, say some hateful, awful things to me, and pop back up out of nowhere to declare that our wedding date has been moved because you don’t want to wait anymore?! Are you on rock?!”
His brow furrows. “What the hell is rock?”
I wave a hand. “Doesn’t matter! You didn’t communicate this with me!”
Dylan peers over at the party, his mind elsewhere as his eyes gloss over the investors and family members waiting to congratulate us. Always calculating his next move. Never paying attention to what’s in front of him.
“Dylan!” I snap.
He whips around, grabbing my bicep before leaning down. I try to pull back, but he doesn’t relent as something nasty and frightening grips me at the look in his eyes.
He looks like he’s on the verge of crashing out right here, but he quickly shields it with a firm set of his lips. “You’re going to smile and talk. Our wedding is in a month now. Don’t fucking embarrass me or your shop will be sold before we leave this afternoon, Melody.”
No.
I can’t lose that shop. It’s the only dream I held tight to with trembling hands. He’s using it against me…
I don’t recognize this man anymore. He isn’t the same person I fell in love with four years ago. He’s colder and lacks the compassion he once had, burning like a torch at his center. That fire is now snuffed out and replaced with hard, heavy coals, creating someone entirely new.
I yank my arm out of his grasp, my features lacing with hurt. “Okay…”
He blinks, that mask slipping back on as he softens. “I’m sorry, baby.”
I bite back my tears, pulling on a tight, forced smile. “Let’s just get through the party, and we’ll discuss it later.”
Dylan nods as he wraps an arm around my waist. My skin pricks unpleasantly at his touch, and I have to keep up my act all through the evening.
As people gush over our upcoming nuptials and throw questions at Dylan left and right, I’m not in my body anymore.
My thoughts swarm like locusts, buzzing uncomfortably against my skull.
The atmosphere is so thick, yet no one even notices my obvious discomfort.
Except Kodi.
She sticks close to me, offering a reassuring hand whenever she isn’t being pulled away to discuss her duties as my maid of honor. I’m thankful for her strength right now, because I need something to keep me from crumbling into a heap.
“Where’s your ring?” Dylan whispers as he leans in close to me.
I blink, pulling myself into the present. “Upstairs.”
I put it on my dresser so I wouldn’t lose it, but now the thought of wearing it feels heavy and confining.
“Why is it upstairs?” He hisses unpleasantly.
I turn to him, my face hard. “Because I didn’t want to lose it while I tried on dresses.”
His features gentle before he motions with a hand. “Go get it.”
I sneer, tucking my head as I comply and retrieve it.
As I hold the ring up, the concept of it seems shallow and empty.
The gesture was once brimming with hope and love, but now it feels sterile as I slide it onto my finger.
I make my way back downstairs, every step haunting me with an echo as I rejoin the party.
Mom and Dad are having a wonderful time, talking excitedly to Dylan’s parents in the corner of the living room. I’m glad someone is enjoying this.
“Are your things packed?” Dylan asks as I step beside him.
My lips twist. “We’re supposed to stay until Christmas Eve.”
He sighs, running a hand over his mouth. “You’ll live with one less day here.”
I put space between us, denying his arm as it reaches out for my waist. “What’s gotten into you?”
His jaw flexes as his eyes sear into me. “Forgive me if I don’t want my fiancé staying in the same home as her stepbrother, who obviously has feelings for her. The sooner we leave, the better.”
Pain stabs at me, refreshing my wounds and gouging at them as my face slips. The tears are too strong, making my eyes water as I gaze at Dylan like he’s a total stranger to me. “Why are you doing this?”
He doesn’t soften this time. There is no compassion or love in his eyes as he regards me with stern distaste.
“Because I’m done pretending I don’t see it, and I’m done competing with a man who already shares the same family as you.
You can either do as I say, or I’ll tell everyone here why Kaden actually came back into the picture. The choice is yours.”
My breath leaves me in a slow, trembling exhale. The room feels smaller, like the walls are closing in with every passing second. “You wouldn’t,” I whisper.
“Don’t test me,” he steps closer, blocking me in as everything continues around us.
The threat hangs there, ugly and heavy. I search his face for the man who once kissed my knuckles like they were sacred, who promised to protect me from every haunting nightmare that ended in tear-stained cheeks and trembling fingers. All I see now is pride and fear tangled together.
“Kaden didn’t come back for me,” I say, though the words lack conviction. “You’re twisting this.”
“I’m not twisting anything.” His jaw tightens, then loosens as he runs a hand through his hair. “I see the way he looks at you.”
“That’s not—”