Chapter 185 The Wedding I Never Wanted

Chapter 185 The Wedding I Never Wanted
Liam’s POV

Dad was awake when I returned to the hospital. Mom sat beside his bed while Glydel stood near the window, and the moment I entered, all three of them looked at me.

“Liam, what happened?” Mom asked.

“Nothing.”

Even to me, my voice sounded wrong, stripped of anything I might have been feeling.

Dad studied me. “Where were you?”

I ignored the question and walked toward the window. The city stretched beyond the glass, thousands of people moving through their lives as though mine hadn’t fallen apart a few hours ago.

“Mia and I are over.”

Silence filled the room. Mom inhaled sharply while Glydel remained quiet, and Dad was the first to speak.

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. Mia ended our relationship.”

Mom’s expression changed, and I hated the relief she couldn’t hide quickly enough.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not, but it’s fine.”

Maybe it was, or maybe I had simply reached the point where I couldn’t feel anything else.

Dad shifted against his pillows. “I know this isn’t the right time, but my condition hasn’t changed. I don’t know how much time I have left, and I still want to see you married before I die.” His gaze moved briefly toward Glydel. “I want you to marry her within the month.”

A week ago, I would have fought him before he could finish. Now, there was no anger left in me, not even the instinct to argue.

Mom approached me. “If you’re willing, I’ll contact the wedding planner immediately. Glydel already has her gown ready, so we don’t need months to arrange everything.”

I looked at Glydel. There had been a time when the thought of marrying her made every part of me rebel because there was only one woman I had ever imagined waiting for me at the end of an aisle.

Mia.

But she had made it clear she didn’t want the future I had been fighting for, and without her, I no longer knew what I was supposed to keep fighting against.

I nodded.

Mom stared at me. “You agree?”

“Yes.”

Dad released a breath while Glydel’s eyes widened slightly. I didn’t stay long enough to hear whatever they wanted to say next. I turned and walked out of the room, ignoring whoever called my name behind me.

The next morning, I canceled every appointment I had for the rest of the week and closed myself inside my office.

Anabel tried to come in, but I stopped her at the door.

“Cancel everything.”

“For the entire week?”

“Yes.”

“What should I tell the board?”

“Whatever you want.”

The silence that followed told me how unlike myself I sounded. I had always cared about the company, the meetings, the negotiations, and every decision that passed through my office, but none of it seemed important anymore.

“I don’t want anyone coming in here.”

“Yes, sir.”

After the door closed, that became my routine. I arrived every morning, locked myself inside, sat behind my desk, and stared through the glass windows until it was late enough to go home.

The hardest part was not calling Mia.

Her number was still in my phone, along with our messages and photographs, and more than once, I found myself staring at the call button. Every time, I stopped because I had promised to let her go. Calling her would only prove that I still didn’t know how to respect what she wanted.

On the fourth day, someone knocked.

“Go away.”

The door opened anyway, and Josh walked inside.

“Apparently, your secretary is terrified of you.”

“Then you should have listened to her.”

“I rarely listen to anyone.”

He sat across from me and studied my face. “You look like shit.”

“Thank you.”

“Mia wouldn’t want you doing this.”

Hearing her name was enough to make my chest tighten.

“Have you talked to her?”

Something in Josh’s expression changed, and I immediately straightened.

“Where is she?”

“Liam—”

“Where is Mia?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re her best friend.”

“I know.”

“Then call her.”

“I already did. She left the city a few days ago.”

I stared at him. “Where did she go?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me.”

“Bullshit.”

“I’m serious.”

I searched his face for any sign that he was lying, but there was none. Mia had left without even telling Josh where she was going.

I knew I could find her if I wanted to. I had people who could locate her within hours through her phone, cards, car, security cameras, or flight records.

“Don’t,” Josh said quietly.

I looked at him.

“You’re already thinking about finding her, and I’m telling you not to. She doesn’t want you following her.”

I lowered my gaze to my phone. “I begged her to stay. I asked her to marry me and told her I would choose her over everything, but she still asked me to let her go.”

Josh remained silent.

“Help me.”

His brows drew together.

“Please, Josh. Talk to her. Tell her we don’t have to get married. I won’t ask her to deal with my family. I’ll give her whatever space she needs. Just convince her not to end this.”

Pain crossed his face. “I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because she already made her decision, and I can’t force her to change it.”

I looked away. “If I find her and show up wherever she is, she’ll only get angry.”

Josh didn’t answer, but his silence told me enough.

“Then I won’t follow her.”

He watched me carefully as I picked up my phone, stared at Mia’s name, and placed it facedown on my desk.

“I’m marrying Glydel.”

Josh went still. “What?”

“Are you out of your fucking mind? You just begged me to convince Mia to come back, and now you’re telling me you’re marrying someone else?”

“What difference does it make? Mia doesn’t want me.”

“That doesn’t mean you marry Glydel.”

“Does it matter anymore?”

“Yes, because you’re going to destroy yourself.”

A humorless smile touched my lips. “That already happened.”

Josh stared at me, but there was nothing he could say that would change what had happened.

The life I wanted had Mia in it. She had asked me to let her go, and this time, I was going to respect that.

In the days after I agreed to marry Glydel, Dad started getting better, and somehow, that made everything harder.

His prognosis hadn’t changed, but his appetite returned, color came back to his face, and soon he was walking without assistance. Mom seemed happier, the tension in the house eased, and every time I visited, Dad looked more at peace.

I should have been relieved. Instead, his improvement made me wonder if Mia had been right.

Once I agreed on a date, Mom threw herself into the preparations. Money made everything move quickly. The wedding planner cleared her schedule, designers and caterers were booked, invitations were sent, and since Glydel already had her gown, there was little left to arrange. Dad wanted the ceremony at my parents’ house, so their garden was transformed for the wedding.

Whenever someone asked for my opinion, I approved whatever they suggested.

I had once imagined planning a wedding with Mia, watching her laugh whenever I tried to control every detail before reminding me that none of it mattered as long as we ended up married.

This wasn’t that wedding.

Less than two weeks after I agreed, everything was ready.

On the morning of my wedding, I stood in front of the mirror in my parents’ house while someone adjusted the collar of my shirt.

“Perfect, sir.”

I stared at my reflection. The suit had been made for me, my hair was neatly styled, and I looked exactly like a man preparing to marry the woman he had chosen.

Except I hadn’t chosen Glydel.

I dismissed everyone and walked toward the window. Below me, rows of chairs faced a flower-covered arch where the judge would conduct the ceremony, and guests were already gathering in the garden.

Soon, I would stand there and promise the rest of my life to someone who wasn’t Mia.

A knock sounded behind me.

“Liam?” Mom called. “It’s time.”

For one irrational moment, I imagined someone rushing upstairs to tell me Mia was outside, that she had come back and changed her mind.

But the hallway remained quiet.

Mia had asked me to let her go. If she wanted to stop this wedding, she wouldn’t have left without telling anyone where she was going.

“Liam?” Mom called again.

“I’m coming.”

I walked downstairs and found Dad waiting near the entrance to the garden. Two weeks ago, someone had needed to stay close whenever he walked, but today he stood on his own.

When he saw me, he smiled. “You look good, son.”

“So do you.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Thank you, Liam.”

I knew what he meant. I had finally agreed to the future he wanted for me, and judging by the smile on his face and the improvement in his health, I had given him the peace he had been asking for.

Maybe that should have made me feel better.

Instead, I could only think about how everyone seemed to have gotten what they wanted. Dad was stronger, Mom was happy, Glydel was getting the wedding she had been preparing for, and Mia had the distance from me she had asked for.

I was the only one who had wanted something different.

Music began playing from the garden, and Dad squeezed my shoulder.

“Ready?”

I wasn’t, but I nodded and stepped outside with him.

Guests turned toward me as I walked to the front. When I reached my place beneath the flower-covered arch, I looked toward the end of the aisle, knowing Glydel would soon appear there.

Instead, my mind returned to the beach and the moment Mia had looked at me while I finally gave her what she had been asking for.

I’m letting you go.

I had kept my promise. I hadn’t called, followed her, or tried to find out where she had gone, and now I was about to make a decision that would leave nothing for either of us to return to.

The music changed, and everyone stood.

For one final, foolish second, I wished Mia would be the woman walking toward me. I wished she had come back to tell me she had changed her mind because, despite everything, I knew I would still choose her without hesitation.

But Mia wasn’t there.

She had chosen to leave, and I had finally stopped chasing her.

Now I had to live with the life I had accepted after letting her go.