He Gave Her an Hour, I Chose Another Groom in Seconds Chapter 05
Silas exploded, shouting into the phone. “You’re lying!”
But the words died in his throat. He remembered our earlier phone call, when I’d told him we were breaking up. Panic made his heart pound against his ribs.
He fumbled for his phone and opened my Instagram page. My profile was blank.
His voice turned shaky as he spoke to his friend. “Chloe blocked me after our fight. Send me the screenshot you saw.”
His friend didn’t hesitate. Two photos popped into the chat.
Silas zoomed in. The date printed on the license matched today. It was real.
A high-pitched ringing filled his ears. His friend kept talking, asking if he was okay, demanding to know what had happened, but Silas couldn’t process a single word.
He sat rigid, his phone slipping from his numb fingers and clattering onto the seat.
Willa yelped when the device hit her. She lifted her head with an exaggerated wince and leaned toward Silas. “Silas… what’s wrong? Is Chloe still upset?”
Silas couldn’t spare her a single thought. He grabbed his phone again, fingers shaking as he typed frantically into our chat.
[What does your Instagram post mean?]
—
A bright red exclamation mark appeared next to his message. She’d removed him as a friend.
Silas’s mind went blank. He dialed my number urgently.
“We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off.”
Inside the car, the automated message played over and over. A cold chill spread from his fingertips all the way to his heart.
Willa whined beside him, rubbing her forehead. “You hit me with your phone just now. Can you take me home? My head hurts, I want to sleep.”
“Get out.” Silas’s voice was ice cold.
Willa stared, stunned. “What did you say, Silas?”
“I said get out of my car!” Silas spun toward her and bellowed.
Willa flinched backward, shocked. Before she could react, Silas leaned across the center console, yanked her out of the passenger seat, and shoved her toward the open door.
“Ahh!” Willa cried out as she tumbled onto the pavement.
Silas didn’t spare her a glance. He slammed the car door, floored the accelerator, and left Willa sitting stunned on the sidewalk.
He blew through lights without slowing down. Less than twenty minutes later, he screeched to a stop outside my apartment building.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, he slammed his thumb against my doorbell repeatedly.
—
My mom opened the door.
Silas leaned forward urgently. “Mom, where’s Chloe? She won’t reply to my texts or pick up my calls.”
Mom let out a scoff. “Don’t call me Mom. My daughter’s gone to try on wedding dresses with her husband. She dumped you. Don’t knock on our door again.”
Silas shook his head in disbelief. “Husband? Broken off? Everything was fine between Chloe and me. How could she suddenly marry someone else?”
Mom couldn’t hold back anymore. She pushed him hard enough to make him stumble backward.
“Fine? You call this fine? My daughter woke up early, did her hair and makeup, booked the first city hall slot so she could be the first bride of the day. And what did you do? Showed up an hour late, and dragged Willa along to ruin everything!”
“You waited for her every time she needed the restroom, prioritized video games over your wedding license, and defended her when I spoke up!”
“Tell me, how exactly is that ‘fine’?”