Chapter 187: Chapter 187

Violet

Elijah walked to where Nate stood and bent down, scanning the floor near Nate's feet.

"Here," he said after a moment, his voice flat. He picked up a small velvet box from where it had apparently fallen beside the dais. "It was on the floor."

"Oh, thank Goddess," Nate said, taking the box with exaggerated relief. "Thanks, man. You're a lifesaver."

Elijah nodded once, already turning to return to his seat when suddenly Nicole spoke unexpectedly.

"Will you really let me go?"

Her voice cut through the ballroom, choked and broken as every head turned to stare at her.

I looked from Nicole to Elijah, confusion flooding through me.

What was happening? What did she mean?

Elijah had frozen mid-step. His back was to her, his shoulders rigid. He pretended to not hear her which only made her try harder.

"Answer me," she said, her voice stronger now despite the tears I could hear in it. "Will you really let me go through with this?"

The guests erupted in whispers. Nate looked between Nicole and Elijah, his expression shifting from confusion to something harder, more knowing.

Elijah turned slowly to face her. When he spoke, his voice was carefully controlled, measured. "It's your wedding, sis. You'll be fine."

He emphasized the word 'sis,' making it clear that it was just a brother supporting his sister on her wedding day.

But Nicole's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

The entire ballroom gasped.

"Is that what I am to you?" Nicole's voice was rising, becoming hysterical. "A sister? Is that really all I am?"

"Nicole, please..." Elijah tried to pull his wrist free, but she held on with surprising strength.

Aurelia stood up abruptly, her face pale beneath her makeup. "Nicole, darling, you're just getting cold feet. Someone get her a tissue"

But Nicole wasn't listening. Tears were streaming down her face now, ruining her perfect makeup, and darkening the veil where it touched her cheeks.

“I can’t do this anymore, can’t see him ignore me anymore.”

Unable to stay still, I stepped forward, ready to call her out for stirring drama yet again.

“Nicole, what are you even…” I began but she cut me off.

"I love him," she sobbed, and her words echoed through the silent ballroom. "I've always loved him. I will always love him."

“What?”

My blood turned to ice and it felt like someone had snatched the ground from under my feet. The world seemed to tilt sideways.

No. No, this couldn't be what it sounded like.

"Nicole, stop," Elijah said, his voice tight with something that might have been panic. "You don't know what you're saying. The stress of the wedding…"

"I know exactly what I'm saying!" Nicole pulled off her veil, throwing it to the ground. Her face was blotchy with tears, her expression wild.

"I'm saying I love you, Elijah Lockwood. I have loved you since we first met. I love you now. And I will love you until the day I die."

The silence that followed was absolute. Even the whispers had stopped. Every single person in the ballroom was frozen, staring at the scene unfolding before them.

I couldn't breathe or think. My brain was failing to process what I was hearing.

"You're confused," Elijah said, but his voice lacked conviction. "The wedding nerves…"

"Don't patronize me!" Nicole screamed. "Don't you dare stand there and pretend this is just nerves or stress or anything other than what it is. You know how I feel about you. You've always known."

Elijah's eyes found mine across the distance. And in them, I saw a mixture of emotions including guilt and fear.

"Tell them," Nicole demanded, still gripping his wrist. "Tell everyone the truth. Tell them we were together. Tell them you loved me too, once."

No, she was clearly stirring drama again. I refused to believe it.

I grabbed her wrist. “Stop with your antics, you have damaged him enough!”

"Nicole…" Nate seemed to find his voice and tried to calm her down but she shook him away, still looking at Elijah.

"TELL THEM!" Her voice broke on a sob. "Tell them about us. Tell them about the engagement. Tell them how you promised me forever and then broke it off because you got scared. Tell them!"

Engagement.

The word hit me like a physical blow. My vision blurred at the edges, narrowing to just Elijah's face, watching the color drain from it.

"That was years ago," Elijah said quietly. "We were young. It didn't work out. You know that."

"It didn't work out because you ran away!" Nicole was fully crying now, mascara streaming down her face in black rivers. "You got scared and you left and you never gave us a real chance!"

"We weren't right for each other," Elijah said, and I heard desperation creeping into his voice. "You know that. You knew it then. That's why you agreed to end it."

"I only agreed because you made me!" Nicole released his wrist finally, but only so she could press both hands to her chest. "You said you didn't love me anymore. You said you needed space. You said it was for the best. And I believed you because I was stupid and young and I thought if I just gave you time, you'd realize you were wrong."

She turned to face the crowd, her wedding dress train pooling around her feet like spilled milk.

"But he never came back," she continued, her voice carrying to every corner of the ballroom. "He stayed away and built a life somewhere else. And when I finally accepted he was gone, when I finally tried to move on with Nate, he came back, started making me jealous by bringing some girl with him." Her eyes landed on me, full of hatred. "And suddenly he started caring again. Suddenly he was paying attention."

I felt like I was going to be sick. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real.

"Nicole, that's not..." Elijah started.

"You used her," Nicole said, her voice dropping to something venomous. "You admitted it to me. Don't you dare stand there and pretend you didn't."

My heart actually stopped beating in my chest.

"What?" The word came out as barely a whisper.

Nicole's smile was cruel and triumphant. "Oh, she doesn't know? You didn't tell her? How interesting."