He Was Just A Chapter

Chapter 3

Hazel’s pov

He smiled. “Good. I like this version of you.”

“Thanks dad”, I smiled.

He stared at me for a beat too long as he kept smiling.

“Funny timing,” he said.

I raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Sold that app I’ve been working on. You know, the one for precision crop tracking? Signed the deal this morning. Big tech company. I made millions.”

I blinked. “You…you’re rich?”

“Yes dear, we’re rich. Seth Brown and Hazel Brown are now wealthy”, my dad grinned widely.

Wait so if I hadn’t told my dad about what Holden said, I never would’ve known he was rich. He probably would’ve hidden it forever, I was the only one he wanted to share it with and I let him down.

Now that I have confessed that Holden tried to uninvite him from the wedding and I didn’t listen, everything changed.

“I have a plan,” I told Dad, folding my arms together like it might hold my sanity. “A good one. I’m going to ruin Holden.”

Dad gave me a look. “You sure about that?”

I nodded. “Holden isn’t right for me.” I had endured a lot even before the marriage. How clueless I was, I had to die to realize everything.

My phone buzzed.

Group Chat: Wedding Party

“Reminder: Rehearsal at the venue in five hours. Don’t be late, people. Chloe will hunt you down.”

Chloe.

I blinked at the screen. My heart skipped. Then it dropped. Then it flew.

Chloe.

I read the name again, like my brain had short-circuited. Chloe Beaumont, my best friend. Chloe is alive, breathing and typing.

I felt my heart beating heavily.

In my past life, Chloe died two months after my wedding, hit by a drunk driver. She’d been bleeding out, and by the time we found someone with her rare blood type, AB negative, it was too late.

I was never the same again. Never stopped seeing her body on that stretcher. Her wrist still wearing the bracelet I gave her. Her lips pale and her voice forever gone.

But now…she was here and this time I will be prepared.

I stood up quickly from the bale and left.

“Where are you going?” my dad asked.

I whirled around. “Dad, I need you to come to the rehearsal dinner. Please.”

He smiled. “Sure thing, I will be there.”

“I need to see Chloe,” I said, rushing out the door before he could speak.

The venue was already buzzing when I arrived. I spotted her instantly. Chloe glided across the space in a sleek emerald-colored gown, clipboard in one hand, phone pressed to her ear, and an expression that could kill roses at twenty feet.

“Seriously, tulips in May?” she screamed into her phone.

I didn’t walk. I ran.

“Chloe!”

She turned mid-sentence, catching sight of me. Her eyes widened. “Jesus, Hazel! What? Did Holden mess up the cake order again? Did your lashes fall off? Is your period early? Did your dress fall in a puddle?”

And then I crashed into her.

I threw my arms around her, hugging her tightly.

She stiffened. “Whoa-okay. You’re crying on satin. I repeat, satin.”

“Yes,” I choked out. Laughing and sobbing at the same time.

She huffed dramatically. “Damn, I’m good. Haven’t even started the ceremony and you’re already crying.”

I pulled back, my hands cradling her cheeks like a porcelain doll. “You’re really here.”

Chloe blinked. “Um… Should I not be?”

I just shook my head, tears spilling. “No. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

She gave me a weird look, then smiled. “You’re acting like I crawled out of a grave. But —”

“Don’t ever say that,” I cut her off, still crying.

“Okay, I won’t,” she raised her hands up in defense. “I like sentimental Hazel. Now go rehearse your wedding.”

I stood at the front with Holden, pretending this whole thing didn’t make my stomach hurt. He adjusted his cufflinks.

“Okay,” he said casually before we started the rehearsal. “Your dad should come.”

I blinked. “Sorry, what?”

He glanced at me, looking slightly annoyed. “I know you wanted him here. So… he can walk you down the aisle.”

“Wow, thank you.” I said, my voice even. But something inside me snapped.

Not because of what he said but because of why he was saying it.

Holden didn't care about me. Not really. He cared about what he would gain from marrying me. It was quite obvious.

He thought he was using me.

But now, I am steps ahead of him.

We finished the first practice.

We started the ceremony again and ran through it. Over and over. Holden kept whispering jokes to Zora behind me, his hand resting a little long on her back when they hugged for photos. Her laugh was high and breathy. She wore white. White. To my rehearsal.

I caught it all.

The looks, the touches, the way they lit up around each other, like I was just the light switch. Back then I didn’t notice; I was so in love.

And still, I smiled. Practiced my lines and played my part.

Until Mom cornered me while we were preparing for our last practice...

She didn’t lower her voice. “Try not to embarrass us tomorrow. You’re lucky Holden even stuck around a loser like you. You do not deserve a man like him.”

I stared at her. Holden didn’t stop her.

My mom, the woman who left my father for Zora’s dad. A man slightly richer at the time, but twice as arrogant, After he inherited half a million and opened his stylish downtown restaurant, the whole family acted like they ran the stock market.

Meanwhile, my dad was planting carrots and struggling with his software engineering career. He tried quietly and patiently for years and now one of his apps blew up. He has made hundreds of millions. I still can’t believe it. The man they called “barn boy,” like it was an insult, was a multi-millionaire.

Speak of the devil.

Because just then, my dad walked in.

He wore a dark tailored suit, crisp shirt, and leather shoes that looked expensive but subtle. Discreet, just like him.

The room shifted. A few blinked, surprised, while others scoffed.

“Did you rent that from a costume store?” Zora’s dad muttered.

My father ignored them. He just walked straight toward me without a care in the world.

“Ready, sweetheart?” he said, holding out his arm.

I took it.

We walked down the aisle and moments later we were done with the rehearsal dinner.

***

Two days had passed and just like that, the wedding was scheduled for noon.

By 11:59 am, the venue was packed with a perfect blend of friends, strangers, extended relatives, and social climbers. The aisle was decorated with petals. Every chair had a little gold name card. Every angle had a camera.

The string quartet began playing the familiar bridal chorus, and the perfectly dressed guests stood, turning their heads to get the first look at the blushing bride.

Holden stood at the altar, looking smug in his custom tux. His hair neat, and he was smirking like he had won the lottery.

He kept glancing at the entrance; he had no idea what I had planned for him.

I took a sip of the champagne and turned the laptop a little toward Chloe.

“Are you seriously live-streaming your own wedding while eating pizza rolls in a robe?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I am,” I said, chewing. “And I’ve never been happier.”