Chapter 63 64

Chapter 63 64
Chapter Sixty four.

Damien_

The wedding preparations were moving forward with the precision of a well-oiled machine. 

Every detail had been meticulously planned, and by all accounts, tomorrow was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.

All I could think about was Tess. This wedding wasn’t just a mistake…it was a catastrophe waiting to happen. And I was going to stop it.

I sat in my living room, surrounded by the remnants of a day filled with final arrangements. My mind, however, was elsewhere. 

When Helen came over that night, she was her usual composed self, smiling as if everything was exactly as it should be. 

She suggested we share a drink, and I agreed, though my thoughts were miles away. 

We talked, but I barely heard her. My plan was already in motion. Tomorrow, in front of everyone, I would call off the wedding and propose to Tess instead. It was the only way to make things right.

But then Helen’s tone changed. She started talking in circles, dropping hints that felt like jabs to my conscience.

“Funny how life doesn’t always go as planned, isn’t it?” she said, her eyes piercing through me. “Sometimes, we think we have everything under control, only to find out we’ve missed something important. Something… life-changing.”

I stiffened, my mind snapping back to the present. Her words were too pointed to be innocent. 

She knew something. My heart pounded as I wondered just how much she had figured out.

Helen continued, her voice calm, almost too calm. “There are things you can’t ignore, Damien. They follow you, remind you of what’s truly important, even when you try to push them aside.”

Before I could respond, she pulled out a small package and handed it to me. “Just a little something for tomorrow,” she said, her smile faint but inscrutable and malicious.

She left without another word, and I was left staring at the package. My hands shook as I unwrapped it, revealing a tiny pair of baby socks.

The world seemed to tilt around me. Tess. She knew about Tess and the baby. ‘How long had she known?’ Different questions raced in my mind as I tried to process everything that just happened within a split of time.

My plan to propose to Tess at the wedding suddenly felt like a race against time, against Helen’s silent knowledge, against my own mistakes.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Tess’s number, desperate to hear her voice, to tell her that everything was going to be okay, that I was going to fix this. 

The call went straight to voicemail,I panicked. I tried again and again, but every time, I got the same result. She was unreachable.

The night went on, each hour bringing me closer to a wedding I had no intention of going through with. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t think of anything but Tess and the baby. 

The guilt of letting things go this far was crushing, but there was no time to wallow in it. I had to act.

By dawn, I was exhausted, but my resolve had only hardened. Today was supposed to be my wedding day, but instead, it would be the day I finally did the right thing. 

I would end things with Helen, right there in front of everyone. 

And then, I would find Tess, wherever she was, and propose to her instead. She was the one I loved, the one I wanted to spend my life with, and nothing was going to stop me from making that clear.

But first, I had to get through this morning. I had to stand at that altar, look Helen in the eyes, and tell her that I couldn’t marry her. 

It was going to be messy, painful even, but it was the only way to start making things right.

I just prayed that Tess would answer her phone, that she would understand, and that it wasn’t too late for us.

The Next Morning.

The wedding day had finally arrived, and I felt a deep pit in my stomach. I hadn’t been able to sleep the night before, the weight of what I needed to do pressing heavily on my mind. 

I knew I had to end things with Helen. It was wrong to go through with this marriage when I loved someone else….when I loved Tess.

The morning passed in a blur as I went through the motions of getting ready, trying to block out the growing sense of dread. I arrived at the venue early, telling myself that I needed to speak to Helen before the ceremony started. 

I had to tell her that this wedding couldn’t happen. I couldn’t keep lying to her, to myself, and most of all, to Tess.

I made my way to the room where Helen was getting ready, steeling myself for what would likely be an unpleasant conversation. 

As I approached the door, I heard her voice through the crack. She was on the phone, her tone sharp and filled with a cold determination that made me stop in my tracks.

“You need to make sure it’s done today. I don’t care how, just make sure Tess is out of the way before the wedding starts,” Helen was saying. “Damien belongs to me, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way.”

My blood ran cold. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Helen knew about Tess, and she was planning something….something that involved getting rid of Tess. I felt sick to my stomach as I realized just how far she was willing to go to have me to herself.