Chapter 24
This is the life.
From the moment I got out of bed, I’ve been pampered.
My old high-school friend, Rachel, is a bridesmaid alongside Mallory and Simone. She stayed last night, so we spent the time reminiscing about our school years to Simone’s entertainment. Mallory spent the night at the hotel with the others and she’s due here any minute.
Mum comes in first. She wrings her hands together before Lucas joins her. Today’s supposed to be a day of celebration and happiness?
Why do they look like someone’s run over their cat?
“What’s going on?” I ask in a shaky voice. My makeup’s just been finished, and I loved the moment my wedding gown was draped over me. I’m surrounded by satin and lace, and I feel like a princess.
“I don’t know how to say this.” Mum’s on the verge of tears.
“What is it? Is it Dad?”
Lucas steps toward me and drops to his knees in front of my chair. “Deacon’s gone, Pip. We don’t know where and we don’t know why, but he’s gone.”
My head swims. “W … what?”
“I don’t think there’s going to be a wedding today.”
Pain and anger swells within me. Is my fairytale over?
“This is your fault,” I hiss.
Lucas’s mouth falls open with surprise as I brace my hands against his chest and push. He falls backward onto the carpet.
“Deacon has trust issues because of you. And now everything is ruined.”
He holds up his palms. “That may be true, but he made a choice to leave. This is on him.”
The door creaks as it opens, and I hold my breath before sighing as Mallory walks in. Great.
“Pippa. Are you okay?”
Hot tears spill down my cheeks. “Deacon left.”
She nods. “I saw him get in a taxi. I tried to stop him and when that failed, I tried to call him, but he rejected my call.”
I swipe away the tears with the palms of my hands. “You should be happy. You didn’t want us together in the first place.”
She shakes her head. “No. Not like this. He loves you. I don’t know what’s going through his head, but in the time I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him as happy as he’s been with you.” She crosses the room, and despite my pain, I let her take my hands in hers. Anger flares in her eyes. “I’ll kill him when I find him.”
“I just don’t understand.” I let out a sob. “What did I do?”
Mallory blinks back tears. “I doubt you did anything. Only last night, when we had drinks, he was telling us how much he loves you. He was so happy and excited about the wedding. We might all be friends, but I think he finally felt like he had a family again.”
She pulls me into her arms, and I close my eyes.
“We were going to be a family. What happened to make him change his mind?”
“I don’t know.” She sighs, and I lean back to look at her. For a moment, she worries her bottom lip with her teeth. “All he said was that you’d know what you did.”
Shaking my head, I wipe my tears away again. “I have no clue.”
Her brows knit. “I’m so sorry, Pippa. There’s no way I thought he would ever …”
“I thought he loved me.”
“He did.” She sighs. “He does. That’s why I really don’t understand what’s happened. He was angry when he left, and that’s such a change from his mood last night. For what it’s worth, he smelled like a brewery. It was like he’d been drinking all night.”
Deacon’s not a big drinker. We have evenings out and the odd drink at home, but neither one of us drink to that point.
What the hell happened last night?
I cradle my head in my hands. How could he do this? This man, who spent months telling me he loved me—telling me that he wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.
He made me feel like a queen.
What a hard fall it is to be dethroned.
“Pippa, your luggage is at the airport. I’ll go and get it.”
My head spins. “My luggage?”
“Deacon took the jet.” Lucas squeezes my shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”
“I guess he’s enjoying our honeymoon on his own.”
Deacon planned the whole honeymoon around everything I always wanted to see. Now he’s swanned off to see the sights while I wallow in self-pity here.
When he left town the first time, I thought I was heartbroken.
But that’s nothing compared to the pain I feel now.