Chapter 198 Unable to Say “I Do”

Chapter 198 Unable to Say “I Do”

Ember's POV

I got home and collapsed into bed, completely drained. I had no idea how long I slept, but somewhere in the middle of it, I had a strange nightmare.

In the dream, there was a thick white fog — so dense it was impossible to see through. I stood alone in it, nothing visible in any direction. Then I heard footsteps. They sounded familiar.

Asher walked out of the fog, step by step. He was wearing that dark gray suit with the top two shirt buttons undone — exactly how he'd looked the day I ran into him on that business trip. Except now there was a bloody hole in his chest, and blood was pouring out of it in waves, soaking his white shirt red within seconds.

He just stood there, looking at me. There was a bitter smile on his lips, but his eyes were full of pain.

"Ember." He said my name.

"Why did you become his mate?" Asher looked down at the wound in his chest, then raised his eyes and looked at me with such sadness. "It hurts. It really hurts, right here."

He slowly reached out toward me, his palm covered in blood.

"Come here. Let me hold you. If you hold me, it won't hurt anymore."

I wanted to run to him without a second thought, but my feet felt like they were rooted to the ground. The blood kept spreading, staining the floor beneath him red, and that vivid crimson slowly crept toward me.

"Asher!"

I finally forced his name out with everything I had, and jerked awake.

I sat up gasping, breathing hard. The back of my pajama top was soaked through with cold sweat. I checked my phone on the nightstand — it was the following evening. After that, sleep was gone. I just sat there against the headboard, numb, through the entire night.

In the early morning, my phone rang. It was Penelope.

"Ember, are you up? The makeup artists are here. We need to get to the hotel."

"...Yeah." My voice came out low.

I got up, washed up, and got dressed on autopilot. Penelope was waiting in the car downstairs. The moment she saw my face, she looked alarmed.

"Did you not sleep at all?" she asked, worried.

"I slept," I said, dropping tiredly into the passenger seat. "Just not well."

Penelope opened her mouth, looked at me, and decided not to push it.

We got to the hotel dressing room. I sat in front of the mirror, numb, letting the makeup artists do whatever they wanted to my face.

There was a knock at the door. Zane walked in.

"Ember." He came up behind me and rested his hands gently on my shoulders, looking at my reflection in the mirror. "You look beautiful today."

I lowered my eyes slightly and said nothing.

"I'm so happy today." His voice was soft, almost like he was soothing a child. "I've liked you for so many years. Today I finally get to bring you home. It feels like a dream."

I still didn't say anything. Zane watched my silent profile, and the warmth in his eyes faded, just barely, just for a moment.

"I'm going to get ready." He slowly bent down and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "See you soon, my beautiful bride."

The door clicked shut. Penelope rushed over and grabbed my cold hands. "Ember, if you really don't want to—"

"I made a promise to him. I can't back out now." I cut her off, calm. "No matter what, I'm seeing this through today."

When the wedding march finally swelled through the hall, I was standing stiffly at the end of the aisle, my arm linked through Victor's. At the other end, Zane stood in a white suit, smiling at me from across the room.

With the music playing, Victor walked me forward, step by step, toward Zane. With every step, something in my chest grew heavier. Asher's face kept flashing through my mind. Zane stood at the end of the aisle, his smile soft and warm.

Evelyn was behind me in her little tulle dress, happily scattering flower petals, her eyes curved into crescents with her smile. When we reached Zane, he smiled and held out his hand for mine. I hesitated, then finally laid my hand in his palm. His hand was warm and dry — but it didn't feel the way Asher's did. Asher's hands always had a slight coolness to them. Every time he held my hand, his grip was tight, like he was afraid I might run.

Zane held my hand firmly, a look of pure happiness on his face. He led me to stand before the Elder, and we turned to face him together.

The Elder presiding over the ceremony stood on the platform, holding the Moon Goddess's sacred object, smiling as he looked at us both.

"Dear guests," he began, "we are gathered here today to witness the union of Mr. Zane and Miss Ember. At this sacred moment, I have a question for our couple."

He turned to Zane first. "Mr. Zane, do you accept Ember as your partner? Under the witness of the Moon Goddess, will you protect her and cherish her — in good times and in hardship, in strength and in vulnerability — remaining faithful to her always, sharing this life with your soul and your wolf?"

Zane looked at me without blinking, the depth of feeling in his eyes completely unguarded. "I do."

Then the Elder slowly turned to me. "Miss Ember, do you accept Zane as your partner? Under the witness of the Moon Goddess, will you stand by him and support him — in good times and in hardship, in strength and in vulnerability — remaining faithful to him always, sharing this life with your soul and your wolf?"

The entire room went quiet. Every pair of eyes fell on me.

I instinctively opened my mouth. But in that moment, the nightmare from last night crashed through my mind. Asher standing alone in the thick fog, blood pouring from his chest. His eyes locked on mine, his voice rough and desperate: Why did you become someone else's mate?

In an instant, it felt like an invisible hand had closed around my heart and squeezed. The pain was so sharp I could barely breathe. My throat felt completely blocked — I couldn't make a sound.

"I..."

"Ember?" Zane called my name quietly, carefully.

I looked up at him, something like anguish in my expression, my eyes full of guilt. "I'm sorry, Zane. I..."

His grip on my fingers tightened sharply. "Ember, everyone here today is family, close friends, and business partners. You're not going to embarrass me. Are you?"

I turned and met Zane's eyes — full of hope, full of pleading. I opened my mouth again, but the words I do wouldn't come. Deep inside me, a voice was screaming without stopping: No. I don't. I don't want to be Zane's mate. The person I love is Asher.

And then, just as the whole room hung in that frozen moment, the heavy doors at the back of the banquet hall were shoved open from outside with a loud bang.

"I object."

A low, cold male voice exploded through the entire hall. Everyone turned toward it in shock.