Part 3I Designed My Fiancé's Wedding… With His Dead Ex

Leah's POV

The cake hit the floor, and the strawberries on top rolled across the floor and got dirty.

Piper immediately darted over, eager to eat the strawberries off the floor, but Holden quickly scooped her up and cooed softly, "Piper, the strawberries will give you an upset stomach. Don't eat those."

Still holding Piper, he looked at me. The gentle expression on his face shifted into a frown. "Weren't you always happy when I bought you things like this before?"

Yeah, I used to be happy. I had told him my preferences countless times, and he always seemed to take them to heart. But he never changed a thing.

Over time, I'd started convincing myself that strawberry cakes looked pretty, that the scent of lilies was actually quite nice, and that flats were really comfortable. But none of those were what I actually liked.

He had been subtly molding me into the person he wanted me to be.

I began to tremble uncontrollably.

Holden seemed surprised. He placed Piper gently into my arms and asked softly, "Leah, what's wrong?"

I shook my head, holding the warm little dog close to draw strength, and said quietly, "Holden, I don't like the decorations we chose for the wedding hall. I want to replace the lilies with roses and sunflowers."

The hand Holden had been running over my back to soothe me came to a stop. He was silent for several seconds before answering coldly, "Leah, getting married isn't a game. We've already confirmed everything. Changing it now will cause the hotel a lot of trouble."

Then, he frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm tired. I'll sleep in the guest room tonight. You should get some rest."

This was his way of shutting down communication.

I watched helplessly as he walked straight into the guest room.

Just like before, whenever we had a minor disagreement, he never argued with me. He would simply ignore what I wanted.

Sleeping in the guest room was his first move toward getting his way. He was waiting for me to give in and tell him, "Forget it. Let's stick with the lilies."

Just like all the times before, when he wanted me to keep my hair long, and when he wanted me to wear the white dresses.

I was always the one to give in first, following the path he had chosen for me. I even gaslit myself into believing this was his way of loving me.

Until today, when the truth came crashing down like a sledgehammer, shattering all my illusions.

I stayed up all night and used the information he'd given me to painstakingly create Summer's model, almost as if I were torturing myself.

When I looked at the person on the screen, my eyes suddenly stung with tears—both for this beautiful young woman, as pure as a lily, who had died too young, and also for my false and sorrowful love.

I sent Holden the model and asked if it was what he wanted.

In less than five minutes, his reply came.

"It's good."

At the same time, a small sob came from the guest room, followed by the sound of running water.

Half an hour later, he came out of the guest room. His eyes were a little red, and water droplets still dripped from his hair.

He held me somewhat excitedly, his voice soft and tender again. "I'm sorry about last night. With the wedding so close, it's not just you who has pre-wedding jitters. I do too. Leah, let's go out for lunch today. I'll ask Delaney to come too."

In the five years we'd been together, this was the first time he had ever apologized first after a disagreement.

I managed a half-hearted smile and pushed him away. Then, under his excited gaze, I shook my head. "No. I didn't sleep at all last night. I need to catch up on sleep in the morning. You and Delaney go ahead."

I didn't sleep well and woke up at 11:00 a.m. When I checked my phone, I found that Delaney had sent me a whole string of voice messages.

"Leah, did that rascal bully you?"

"You need to tell me if he did. You know he can never go against me, right? If he does anything to hurt you, I'll beat him to a pulp!"

"Are you sleeping? If you're hungry when you wake up, come over and join us for lunch. Or if you don't feel like going out, just wait at home. I'll pack some food and bring it over to you."