Wed the Stranger, Break the Lover

Chapter 2

Daisy couldnt stop herself from bending forward , her body trembling as tears spilled down her cheeks .

With stunned strangers whispering around her, Daisy fled home, her steps heavy with shame. But there was no refuge waiting behind the familiar front door, only a storm ready to break.

The moment she stepped inside, her father's palm cracked across her cheek.

"Ah, !"

The sharp sting made her head reel, but it was nothing compared to the fury in her father's eyes... or the crushing disappointment in her mother's.

"Heather slit her wrist because of you," he roared. "Are you proud of yourself?! You knew she had feelings for Desmond, but you still insisted on marrying him. What did you expect her to do? Daisy, you've let us down. You've changed. You're not the daughter we used to know."

A bitter laugh escaped Daisy's lips, thin, shaky, and broken. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at the people who once adored her, now looking at her like she was a stranger.

She wanted to scream, How did this become my life? How did you become like this?

Heather was the one who stole her fiancé. So why was she the one being blamed?

But Daisy knew if she said that out loud, all she'd get in return were blank stares, maybe a deeper look of disappointment, as if she'd lost her mind.

So, she said nothing. And that silence… it settled into her bones.

Her voice was calm. "What do you want me to do? Just give him to her?"

"She's done so much for this family while you were in a coma," her father snapped. "Three years, Daisy. She stayed by our side. You can't just turn your back on her now."

Before Daisy could even respond, the front door opened again, and in walked Desmond and Heather.

Daisy's gaze flicked to their joined hands, and a chill swept over her like a winter wind.

She didn't need to hear another word.

She was done.

The second Heather showed up, her parents dropped their scolding and rushed to her like she was a wounded child.

"Heather, sweetie, are you okay?" her mother fussed. "Why would you do something so reckless? What would we do if something happened to you?"

It was unbearable.

Daisy's heart throbbed with a pain that had no name. She turned away, pressing a trembling hand against her cheek.

She couldn't take it anymore.

But just as she moved to leave, Desmond reached for her hand.

"Daisy, about today…" he began.

"I know what you're going to say," she cut in quietly, facing him. "And I don't want to hear it."

She already knew the script: another half-hearted apology, followed by a promise of an even grander wedding "next time." But after being abandoned at the altar not once, not twice, but three times, what was left to believe?

She wasn't stupid.

"Desmond," she said softly, "hearts aren't made of steel."

She used to love him with everything she had. But now? That love had turned to ashes. There was nothing left but cold indifference.

Desmond stood there, stunned. He had expected yelling, tears, maybe one of her old tantrums. Instead, her calm cut deeper than any scream.

He reached out instinctively, guilt flaring in his chest, but she slipped out of his grasp like smoke, her figure fading down the hallway.

"Daisy…" he called after her, voice cracking.

He made a move to follow, but a sudden cry froze him in place.

"Desmond! Come quick, Heather fainted!"

He hesitated… and then turned back.

Daisy didn't need to watch to know what came next. She knew the choice he'd make.

Still, the bitter irony twisted in her gut as she glanced back to see him rushing toward Heather without a second thought.

Her chest ached.

She stepped out into the garden, the wind brushing against her skin like a stranger's touch, cool and distant. And for a long, heavy moment, everything was still.

Then her phone buzzed.

A message from Heather.

[Sister, look how pathetic you are.

With just one cut, I had them all at my feet, your parents, your fiancé.

And you? You're nothing but a ghost in your own home.]

[But even shadows can be annoying.]

Don't worry. One day, I'll have you crawling out of here like the dog you are.:)

Attached was a video.

In it, Desmond gently fed soup to Heather while her parents looked on, eyes full of warmth and care.

The same kind of warmth Daisy once believed belonged to her.

Now… it was gone.