Love Ends Before Dawn

Her eyes were filled with a triumphant smirk as she casually handed me a bouquet of black flowers. The meaning was clear.

David gestured with his chin and said, "These were personally picked by Claire. If it weren’t for her fear of light, I would’ve had her be your bridesmaid."

At that moment, I was so furious that I couldn’t stop trembling and I completely lost control of my emotions. I raised my hand and knocked the flowers out of her grasp.

"Photophobia? Just because of this made-up illness, my wedding has been completely ruined. Who does she think she is that I have to accommodate her like this?"

With a sharp slap, David hit me hard across the face. The surroundings fell into instant silence and the onlookers widened their eyes in shock.

"Kneel down and pick up the flowers!" David's commanding voice rang out.

I fought back the humiliation, glaring at him with reddened eyes. "What if I don’t?"

David narrowed his eyes, letting out a cold, disdainful laugh.

"Noria, Claire just wanted to attend our wedding and offer her blessings. Why are you pushing her like this? Today, either you kneel down and pick up the flowers, or we get a divorce!"

At that moment, my heart turned completely cold and it felt as though the blood in my veins was flowing backward.

Watching David protect Claire so fiercely, I couldn’t help but question everything. What exactly did my eight years with him mean?

Suddenly, Claire put on a pitiful, tearful expression.

"David, I know I'm afraid of the light and Noria has never liked me!" she whimpered. "But today, whatever she wants, I'll do my best to overcome it. I’ll take off my clothes right now to make her happy!"

She knelt in front of me, removing her black outer robe.

At that moment, someone unexpectedly turned on all the lights. Instantly, the venue was as bright as daylight. Claire screamed in agony, clutching her head as if she were being burned by the light.

"Claire!" David shouted, immediately stripping off his suit jacket to wrap the frantic Claire in it.

As soon as he stood up, he viciously kicked my abdomen. I collapsed to the ground, feeling excruciating pain and a warm flow slowly seeped from my lower body.

"If anything happens to her, I'll make you pay for it!" he shouted, storming out of the banquet hall with Claire in his arms, right in front of everyone.

"Noria, you're bleeding! Quick, take her to the hospital!"

A buzzing sound filled my ears as my consciousness slowly faded.

When I woke up, I learned that I had miscarried. I hadn't even known I was pregnant.

The relatives who had taken me to the hospital looked at me with a mix of gossip and pity in their eyes.

There was no greater sorrow than a heart that had died. Strangely, I felt a calmness.

After leaving the hospital, I quickly listed our marital home for sale through a real estate agent. Immediately, I bought a ticket to Nimblewood.

Just before boarding the plane, I received a call from David. “I'm at the hospital. Hurry up and come apologize to Claire; she'll forgive you.”

I calmly replied, “David, the wedding is canceled. We're breaking up.”

He was silent for a moment before angrily responding, “What? Canceled? Are you joking?”

“I'm not joking. The house is already listed with the agency. I'll send you the divorce agreement—sign it as soon as possible.”

I sent him the link to the property listing.

Only then did David realize the seriousness of the situation and his tone softened. "Noria, calm down. I know you're jealous, but marriage isn't a joke. Once I finish taking care of Claire, the wedding will go on as planned."

In the past, I would have softened at his attempts to placate me. But now, I looked up and thought, the sunlight outside was really beautiful.

I said, "I've left the divorce agreement on your desk. If you don't agree with the division of assets, I can leave without taking anything."

He raised his voice in disbelief. "Noria, are you crazy? You'd rather walk away with nothing than stay with me?"

I only gave a self-deprecating smile.

"Mr. Weston, your love is just too cold. I can't bear it anymore. I just want to be close to the warmth of the sun."