The Third Wheel Bride Chapter 04
The call went silent.
I could picture their faces, the shock, the loss of control, maybe a flicker of shame at finally being
caught.
“Bri, wait. Just hear me out.” Caleb’s voice broke through, frantic.
I hung up and turned off my phone.
Outside, the Manhattan skyline was already burning with morning light.
Today was supposed to be the best day of my life.
I stood up and started packing.
The penthouse was still full of us: toothbrushes side by side by the sink, matching mugs on the coffee table, his tie hanging next to my dress in the closet.
Each detail twisted the knife.
I booked the first flight to Boston I could find. Our company had recently opened a Boston office, and Mr. Smith had asked me months ago if I’d be willing to transfer and build out the market.
I’d turned it down because of the wedding.
Now, the timing was perfect.
Before I walked out, I stopped in the doorway and looked back at the penthouse.
I used to think this was where our life would begin. All I could see now was the place where the lies
had lived.
Halfway to the airport, I turned my phone back on.
The screen was flooded with dozens of missed calls from Caleb, from Emma, from both sets of
parents.
I didn’t answer any of them. I sent one text, to my boss.
[Mr. Smith, I’m taking the Boston position. I’ll be on the first flight out this morning.]
His reply came within minutes. [Excellent. We need you here. You’ll lead the new project and we’ll
discuss your compensation package upon arrival.]
I turned off my phone and watched the city blur past the window.
New York had everything: the last decade of my life, all the love I’d ever known.
Now I was going to bury every last piece of it.
My first day in Boston, I threw myself into work. New city, new project. Staying busy was the only thing that kept me numb.
Caleb’s messages kept coming. Apologies at first, then explanations, then accusations when I didn’t
respond.
[You’re throwing everything away over this, Brianna. You belong with me.]
[Ten years. You won’t even let me explain?]
[Emma meant nothing. It was just a distraction.]
[Answer the damn phone. Let me fix this.]
I read every one of them. I didn’t feel a thing.
Ten years. And it all broke that easily.
On the third day, a shared calendar notification popped up on my screen.
It was for that highly exclusive restaurant, the one with a six-month waitlist. Caleb had promised to take me there for our ten-year anniversary.
The reservation was for tonight, a table for two, under Caleb’s name.
I stared at the screen until a laugh broke out of me.
The laugh turned into something else, and the tears came before I could stop them.
You remember, Caleb. Every place you promised to take me, every wish I ever told you.
You’re keeping every promise. Just with someone else.
I wiped my eyes and went back to scrolling through Emma’s account.
There it was. A new post.
[One last stolen night. After tonight, we both walk away.]
