I Stumble Upon My Girlfriend’s Wedding Chapter 08
Jeremy’s POV
By the time I heard about everything that had happened, I had already settled down in a small town.
The day I jumped into the river, I’d actually climbed out on the opposite bank. But as far as everyone else was concerned, I was dead. That was the only way to make Madeleine seek revenge on my behalf.
I snapped my SIM card in half, got a new phone number, and started a new life. No one cared about the gossip online in a small town like this, and I soon found a job at a small company.
Whenever I had a bit of free time, I’d look up news about Madeleine and the others.
“Morris Group Stock Plummets as Wayne Morris Comes Under Investigation in Bribery Case.”
“Beale Group Declares Bankruptcy: Former Wealthy Heir Now Buried Under Mountain of Debt.”
My name would pop up in the comments section of every article. Strangers kept speaking up for me, but none of it made me feel any better.
I quietly turned my phone off and stopped following the news altogether.
Time in this little town moved slowly.
After work, I’d sit on a bench in the park to soak up the sun watching stray cats chase each other around and the young couple running the neighboring fruit stall argue and make up.
Sometimes, I’d feel like this was what life was supposed to look like. There were no wealthy families plotting behind the scenes, no childhood friends backstabbing me, and no suffocating relationship drama.
I thought that these peaceful days would last forever. That was, until one evening, when I ran into someone completely unexpected.
Madeleine.
Overwhelmed by emotion, she rushed forward and wrapped me in a tight embrace.
As her familiar scent enveloped my senses, my entire body trembled. I thought I’d moved on. I thought that, by leaving the city and starting afresh, everything that had happened in the past could be erased.
But the dull ache in my chest told me otherwise. The wounds had merely scabbed over. One slight touch, and it’d still bring the pain back.
Ishoved her away and stepped back to put some distance between us.
retend I’m dead.”
ry, Jer,” she apologized, stumbling over her words. “I didn’t know Richard was doing all of that to you. ready divorced him. I never loved him. I was forced into the marriage. I’ll make everything up to you.”
he woman standing before me had bloodshot eyes and disheveled hair. Madeleine had always been impeccably put together. Even during the years when we’d been utterly broke, she’d always been neat and presentable. Seeing her in this state, she really did seem desperate.
But I no longer dared to get any closer to her.
She took a step forward, reaching for my hand. “Jer, I know I’ve made a mistake. There hasn’t been a single day these past few months when I haven’t thought about you. Come back with me. I can give you the best of
everything. I can give you lots of money.”
I took another step back, avoiding her touch.
“Do you have trouble understanding simple sentences?”
She froze. She probably never imagined I’d speak to her that way. The old me never would have.
“I know you hate me, Jer, but my feelings for you are genuine,” she said. “I gave you everything except a marriage certificate.”
