Chapter 13
Inside the bridal shop, Zoe gazed at her reflection in the mirror. She was dressed in a pure white wedding dress.
The gown was simple, without excessive details. Around her elegant neck, she wore a string of pearls.
Her entire being looked pure and almost holy.
For a moment, Zoe remembered the first time she had tried on a wedding dress. Back then, she had also stood before a mirror just like this, but her heart had been in an entirely different place.
At the time, all she could think about was her happily ever after. She thought about how, in three years, Walter and she would be living happily together.
She hadn’t expected much of that marriage, but her heart still raced with excitement at the thought of the future.
Back in the present, Zoe let out a bitter laugh. Her younger self could never have imagined that her second wedding would feel like this.
She felt cold and detached, a stark contrast to the radiant bride she was supposed to be.
Around her, the staff members drew in sharp breaths.
“Ms. Quinn, you’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.
“Truly. Whoever’s luckly enough to marry you is blessed.”
Then, Zoe turned away and calmly said, “I’ll take this one.” She was about to return to the fitting room to change when another door opened.
A man in a perfectly tailored black suit stepped out. The bespoke suit clung to his lean, sculpted build while his strikingly dark eyes held a captivating depth.
Zoe realized she had been staring too long, so she coughed awkwardly to pull herself back to reality,
The man’s lips curved into a smile. “Are you planning to run away with me, miss?” he said, his magnetic voice humming with a teasing charge.
At that, Zoe’s eyes widened in disbelief.
A man she had never met was actually suggesting elopement? Whatever faint impression his striking looks had left on her instantly vanished.
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She frowned and said, “No, thank you.”
After leaving the bridal shop, Zoe didn’t head home. Instead, she went to a bar.
She had been holding it in for three whole years. Now, in Frankland, new pressures were already piling on.
All she craved was a way to let it all go.
The bar pulsed with deafening music. Zoe leaned on the counter and tossed back a glass of liquor, the ice–cold burn quelling the restless fire inside her, if only slightly.
“Hey, miss, care to have a drink with me?”
Hearing that, she lazily lifted her half–dazed eyes and saw the same man from the bridal shop. “Are you following me?” she asked.
P
His lips tugged upward, feigning innocence. “Perhaps it’s fate,” he replied.
Warmed by the wine, or perhaps a reckless impulse, Zoe felt a sudden thrill. She leaned against the man unbashedly, catching the clean scent of pine in the air.
“Then, let’s make it a one–night stand.”
The drinks kept coming, glass after glass. The man drank alongside her, but unlike her, his eyes burned with determination.
It was as if he had already claimed victory.
Well past midnight, a dazed Zoe slurred, “So… where to next?”
A flash of something unspoken glimmered in the man’s eyes. Supporting her, he led her into a
car.
Then, he slammed his foot on the accelerator and sped into the night.
Zoe wasn’t sure how long she’d been out when he gently shook her awake. Still half–asleep, she stumbled out of the car, only for her drowsiness to vanish instantly.
They were standing atop the highest mountain in Frankland, with the glittering city sprawled
below them.
Suddenly, the man tilted his head back and shouted into the vast night sky.
The sound released something within her. She drew in a deep breath, gathered her strength, and let out another cry.
A wave of liberation washed over her, lifting her adrift heart.
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Zoe’s eyes gleamed as she looked down at the city lights. Their sparkle twinned with a light perhaps now kindling in her once–dim spirit.
The alcohol surged through her all at once. When the man’s handsome face drew close, she didn’t move away.
Cool lips brushed hers, and soon his tongue slipped past, claiming her completely.
Her mind went blank as heat spread between them, the atmosphere turning heavy with desire. Amid the dizzying blur, she heard his low whisper against her lips.
“This time, I won’t let you leave me.”
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