Not Your Bride Anymore

Chapter 4

My flight home wasn't until the next day, so I took my suitcase to a hotel near the airport.

Exhausted, I fell asleep almost at once. I slept more peacefully than I had in a long time. Even in my dreams, I was finally free of all those bets involving Derek.

I'd just woken up when someone knocked on the door.

It was Megan.

I'd once considered her my best friend. Now I could only frown.

"What are you doing here?"

She smiled a little.

"Claire, I know you're still angry with me. But Derek and I love each other. You know what they say. If he doesn't love you, you're the one standing in the way."

I clenched my fists tighter.

"So you came here to rub it in?"

She shook her head.

"I just want to place another bet, Claire. This time, Derek is the prize. If you lose, you'll let me have him. Okay?"

I had no interest in playing along. Derek and I weren't even together anymore.

But she grabbed my hand and suddenly threw herself backward, a triumphant smile on her face.

"Let's see who Derek believes, Claire."

The words had barely left her mouth when Derek came rushing around the corner. The moment he saw Megan on the floor, he shoved me hard.

"Claire, what have you done?"

My arm slammed into the sharp corner of a cabinet, leaving a long, bloody scrape.

His eyes widened. He reached for me, but just as his hand touched me, Megan looked up from the floor with reddened eyes.

"Derek, it hurts."

He swept her up at once and glared at me.

"What are you standing there for? Drive!"

In the car, Megan moaned in pain. Derek slammed his fist against the steering wheel.

"Claire, look what you've done!"

I answered calmly, "The hotel has security footage. You can check it yourself. I didn't push her."

He scoffed.

"Who else could it have been?"

In the rearview mirror, Megan gave me a smug smile. I could read her lips.

"I won."

I said nothing. Winning or losing meant nothing to me anymore, but Derek kept going.

"Isn't this just you holding a grudge against Megan over that bet? I'll be straight with you—even without that bet, there's no way I'd marry you now!"

He paused, letting his eyes drift over me.

"If I'd known how vicious you were, I'd regret ever going after you."

I'd thought there was nothing left in me that could hurt, but pain still twisted through my chest. So he'd never intended to marry me at all.

I lifted my head and spoke evenly,

"That's fine. I don't intend to marry you, either."

The car stopped outside the hospital. Only after Derek had taken Megan into a room did he remember me. He turned back abruptly, his expression dark.

"Claire, what did you mean by what you said in the car?"

He grabbed my wrist. As he pulled at me, the ring fell out of my pocket and hit the floor with a clatter.

He picked it up, looked at me, and scoffed.

"Claire, don't you get tired of this? You say you're marrying someone else, but this ring is my size."

His gaze was cold.

"Enough. Apologize to Megan when she comes out. Once she finds someone who'll take good care of her, I'll marry you."

I looked at him calmly.

"I won't apologize for something I didn't do. Besides, my wedding date is already set."

He didn't catch the last part. Megan called out in pain from her room, and he could no longer spare me any attention.

As he passed me, he snorted, "Claire, we can talk about getting married when you're ready to apologize to Megan. Let's see how long you can keep being this stubborn!"

He walked away. A passing nurse noticed the blood on my arm and stopped in alarm.

"Are you here alone? That's a nasty injury. Didn't anyone in your family come with you?"

I shook my head and answered quietly, "No."

End of Claire's POV.

*****

After three days, Derek looked at the ring in his hand and sighed.

"Fine. I'll give her a way to back down. We can get engaged first and get married in 3 years."

He was about to call Claire and tell her he was willing to get engaged when his phone rang. It was a close friend.

"Derek, this is so not cool. You're getting married, and you didn't even tell us?"

His fingers tightened around the phone. A terrible suspicion began to form.

"What wedding?"

His friend still hadn't noticed anything was wrong.

"Come on, don't play dumb. Claire posted a wedding invitation on her Status."