Second chance in love

I was so happy—I had everything I ever wanted: my dream life, my dream man, my dream dress. My wedding was tomorrow, and I was about to marry the man of my dreams. Leo had scheduled a last-minute fitting with my dream designer, and both he and his mother were supposed to meet me there. I arrived twenty minutes late… but neither of them was anywhere to be seen. I was an orphan, so his mom had suggested she would accompany me for my fittings. Now, she was gone. I tried calling her, but her phone was switched off. I called Leo—it went straight to voicemail. I looked down at my dog, Elena, and whispered, “I guess it’s just you and me today.” I was trying on my dress when my phone buzzed. A notification: the venue hall booking had been canceled. My heart skipped a beat. How could this happen? I tried calling Leo again—straight to voicemail. Panic gripped me. My hands started shaking, my chest tightened, and the fitting room suddenly felt too small, suffocating me. Elena rubbed against my legs, trying to comfort me, but it wasn’t enough. A lady appeared at the door, concern written all over her face. “Are you okay?” she asked gently. She led me outside, letting me take a few shaky breaths, but the unease in my chest refused to leave. I took shaky breaths, trying to calm the storm in my chest. Elena pressed against my leg, her little warmth the only comfort in a day that suddenly felt like a nightmare. My mind raced—how could the venue be canceled? Why wasn’t Leo answering? The lady who had brought me outside looked at me with gentle concern. “Are you alone?” she asked softly. I nodded, unable to find my voice. She gave me a reassuring smile. “Sometimes, it helps to just sit for a moment.” I sank onto a bench, my hands clutching the folds of my dress. The world around me blurred as anxiety tightened its grip. Every sound—the faint rustle of fabric, the ticking of a distant clock, even Elena’s soft panting—felt amplified, suffocating. Then my phone buzzed again. My hands trembled as I picked it up. A message from Leo flashed on the screen: “Sophia… I’m so sorry. I’ll explain everything. Please… trust me, just wait until tomorrow.” I stared at the words, disbelief and frustration battling with the love I still felt for him. Trust him? My entire wedding was unraveling before my eyes. I pressed the phone to my chest, letting out a shaky breath, trying to hold myself together. Elena nudged my hand again, sensing my unease. I whispered, “I just need to make it through today… just today. Later that day I dialed Leo’s friend Edward to ask if he and Leo were together. “He said he had something to do,” Edward replied. “He left his apartment about an hour ago.” I couldn’t wrap my head around what was happening. My fingers trembled as I messaged Leo: Can we meet up?—seen, but no reply. I decided to go to his apartment myself. When I arrived, I stopped at the door to greet the butler. He always looked at me with a kind of pity I didn’t understand, but I chalked it up to my nerves and kept walking. I already knew the pin to the apartment, so I went in. Clothes were scattered around—Leo’s usual mess. I sighed, deciding today I’d clean up, just like I always did. I tidied the living room, washed the dishes, and finally headed to his bedroom. That’s when I saw it. On the bed sat a red box, a Coach bag I’d wanted when we last went shopping, and a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. My heart skipped a beat. He… had bought these for me? I reached for the card inside the box, expecting a sweet note from him. But my blood ran cold when I read the words: “For my dearest Amber.” I froze. My hands trembled as the box slipped slightly from my grip. Elena whimpered, sensing my distress, rubbing against my legs. Betrayal, confusion, and disbelief washed over me all at once. How could he? Who was Amber? And why—why hadn’t he answered any of my calls? Everything felt like it was crumbling. My dream wedding, my dream man… suddenly it all seemed like a lie. My hands shook as I set the box back on the bed. I couldn’t breathe. . I sank to the edge of the bed, staring at the card, the bag, the shoes. Everything felt surreal, like I had stepped into someone else’s nightmare. I tried calling Leo again. Straight to voicemail. My chest tightened, and a wave of panic threatened to drown me. I wanted to scream, to demand answers, to confront him—but the words wouldn’t come. I glanced around the apartment, every familiar object now feeling foreign. The life I thought I knew—the wedding tomorrow, the man I loved—was suddenly filled with doubt. I waited and waited, but he never came back to his apartment. By 5:00, my phone alarm rang. I woke up, disoriented, on the other side of the bed—I had been on the floor earlier, but I couldn’t remember when I’d climbed onto it. A faint scent of Leo’s cologne filled the room. Relief and panic hit me at the same time. He was back. I got up and walked to the sitting room. There he was, hunched over his laptop, typing furiously, sighing every now and then. I let out a shaky breath. “Hey, Leo,” I said. He glanced up briefly, emotionless. “Hey, Sophie,” he muttered, then returned to his laptop. I stepped closer and rested my neck on his shoulder. “Today’s our wedding day… are you excited?” I whispered. He just mumbled, “Yhh.” Something inside me snapped. The lack of excitement, the coldness—it hurt more than I expected. I pushed myself off him and stared into his eyes. “Is there anything you want to tell me?” I demanded, my voice trembling with a mix of anger and fear I pushed myself off him, my chest tight with anger and confusion. “Why did you cancel the venue reservations last minute? Where were you yesterday, Leo?” I demanded, my voice trembling with hurt and frustration. He didn’t look up immediately, fingers still on the keyboard. Finally, he met my eyes, his expression cold. “It’s my money I used to book the hall, not yours,” he grumbled. “So why do you freaking care?” I froze, my heart pounding. What? Did he just say that? “Not care?” I repeated, my voice rising. “Not care? Leo, it’s our wedding! Our day! Do you even realize what you’ve put me through? Yesterday, I had no idea where you were. I couldn’t reach you. I was panicking!” He shrugged, looking back at the laptop as if I wasn’t even there. “Well, maybe you should chill. I said it’s fine. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.” Something inside me snapped. I stepped back, glaring at him. “A mountain? Leo, you’ve been cold, distant, and now dismissive. Today is supposed to be the happiest day of my life—and you’re acting like none of it matters!” I looked at him, my hands trembling, my chest tight. “Leo… I’m tired of this,” I said, my voice barely holding back tears and anger. He looked straight at me, his eyes cold and unflinching. “You know what?” he said slowly, his tone cutting like a knife. “I’m tired of you.” For a moment, the world stopped. The words hit me like ice water. My heart lurched, disbelief and hurt smashing together. What did he just say? I stepped back, my hands clutching the edge of the bed. “You… what?” My voice cracked, barely audible. Leo didn’t answer. He turned back to his laptop, as if the conversation had never happened. I felt Elena press against my leg, sensing my panic. My eyes stung with tears. The man I was supposed to marry tomorrow—the man I loved—had just told me he was tired of me. Everything I thought I knew about today, about us, shattered in an instant. I muttered, my voice shaking but firm, “Then… end it. Let’s stop hurting each other.”