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Chapter 3

Author: Lumelt
The deadline for high school seniors to commit to colleges fell on the same day as Adrian's thirtieth-birthday gala at Cedarhaven's most exclusive private club.

He had commissioned a couture gown for me and led me through the ballroom by the hand.

He introduced me to everyone as his fiancee.

I played my part as the perfect partner.

I smiled politely and made conversation with the various socialites.

Inside, I counted down the days until my flight to Port Sterling.

Three days.

The party was at its height when Celeste appeared.

She wore a white gown that looked almost identical to mine.

Her eyes were red, and she hovered timidly near the edge of the room.

Adrian noticed her at once.

He released my hand and hurried over to ask what was wrong.

Women nearby began to whisper.

They watched me standing alone with equal parts pity and amusement.

"So what if she's the official fiancee? One tear from the former sister-in-law and she disappears."

"Those matching dresses are interesting. I wonder which woman is the original and which one is the substitute."

Their mockery stirred nothing in me.

If anything, I was bored.

Then the evening turned violent.

Adrian's older brother, Marcus Hawthorne, stormed into the ballroom.

He reeked of alcohol, and rage filled his eyes.

Celeste had divorced Marcus because of his affairs, drinking, and physical abuse.

To protect the family name, the Hawthornes had told the public that the marriage ended peacefully over irreconcilable differences.

Marcus spotted Celeste and laughed bitterly.

"You've got some nerve. You divorce me and immediately attach yourself to my brother?"

Celeste went pale and hid behind Adrian.

Adrian stepped in front of her, his expression hardening.

"Marcus, this is my birthday. Don't start anything."

The warning enraged him. He smashed the glass in his hand.

"I'm starting something? She's my ex-wife! You protect her so fiercely that you neglect your own girlfriend, and you still call yourself my brother?"

A shocked murmur swept through the ballroom.

Standing in the crowd, I finally understood.

Adrian always claimed Celeste was fragile because the divorce was so recent.

It was not simply because she had nowhere else to turn.

He believed the Hawthorne family owed her for what Marcus had done.

Marcus suddenly shoved through the guests toward Celeste.

The broken stem of his glass flashed in his hand.

"You ruined me, and now you're trying to ruin my brother?"

Adrian instinctively pulled Celeste into his arms.

When he twisted to shield her, his elbow slammed into my shoulder.

The jostling crowd sent me stumbling forward.

I fell directly into the path of Marcus's swinging hand.

Broken glass tore through my sleeve and into my arm.

Blood spread across my white gown.

Club security tackled Marcus within seconds.

Still shaken, Adrian loosened his hold on the unharmed Celeste.

Her knees buckled from fright.

Adrian swept her into his arms and shouted in panic.

"Call an ambulance! Celeste fainted!"

He carried her toward the exit.

I sat on the floor clutching my arm while blood ran between my fingers.

Adrian passed close enough to touch me, but he never slowed.

He saw the blood on the floor and the color drained from my face.

He chose Celeste anyway.

As he disappeared through the doors, my tears finally fell.

I remembered the night three years earlier when men cornered us in an alley.

Adrian had fought his way in front of me and said,

"No one touches my girl."

The promise remained in my memory, but the man who made it had just walked past me.
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  • After the Sunflowers   Chapter 10

    I looked at the ring. The diamond still shone brilliantly.I did not take it.I reached out and gently moved the disordered hair from Adrian's forehead.My touch was light.Hope flashed in his eyes.He thought I had forgiven him.He raised a hand toward my face.I stepped back, and his hand froze between us.Only the steady beeping of the monitors disturbed the silence.I looked at him."Adrian, thank you for saving me."I'll cover every medical expense and arrange professional care throughout your recovery."But tomorrow I'm returning to Cedarhaven to marry Julian."The color slowly drained from Adrian's face."What did you say?"I repeated myself."I'm getting married tomorrow."When the meaning finally reached him, his eyes became frighteningly red."I almost died, and you still don't want me?"Clara, I was willing to give my life for you."Why can't you forgive me once?"I felt only exhaustion as I watched him."Adrian, you didn't throw away your life for me.

  • After the Sunflowers   Chapter 9

    After Adrian was hospitalized, everything was quiet for several days.I thought the absurd pursuit had finally ended.One week later, he appeared outside my studio again.He looked worse than before.He was gaunt, and his lips had lost all color.Nina said he came every day but no longer brought flowers or gifts.He stood at a distance.He did not approach or speak.Julian asked me once,"Should we call the police?"I shook my head."Not yet."It was not because I felt sorry for Adrian.I simply wanted no further connection to him.A report, an interview, or another argument would create one more thread between us.Then came the late night that changed everything.Julian was away on business in Briar Glen, and I stayed at the studio to finish a design package.The streets were empty when I finally left.Port Sterling's winter air was wet and bitter, and yellow streetlights turned the alley ahead into a crack without an end.I knew something was wrong as soon as I ste

  • After the Sunflowers   Chapter 8

    When Adrian reached me, the noise around us softened.He looked at me, and his eyes slowly reddened."Clara."The name sounded almost absurd coming from him now.I did not answer.I offered my right hand and gave him a polite, professional smile."Mr. Hawthorne, I'm Clara Abernathy, this year's award recipient."There's no need to revisit events from three years ago. Thank you to Hawthorne Group for sponsoring the competition."His face went white.The hand he had lifted toward me stopped in midair."Do you have to speak to me like this?"I lowered my hand."How would you prefer that I address you, Mr. Hawthorne?"His throat moved, and his voice came out rough."I sent Celeste away."She'll never appear in front of you again."I removed Marcus from Hawthorne Group too."Clara, I got rid of everyone who stood between us."I watched him in silence."Adrian, you still don't understand."Celeste was never the person standing between us."You were."His eyes shook.I

  • After the Sunflowers   Chapter 7

    My first year in Port Sterling was messy and difficult.I had imagined that everything would improve once I left Adrian.Reality was not that kind.I knew no one in the city's design circles, my style was dismissed as impractical, and one submission after another came back rejected.At my poorest, I had twenty-seven dollars left in my account.I bought discounted bread at a corner market and sat on the studio floor, eating while revising my work.Rain streaked the windows.I remembered what Adrian used to tell me in Cedarhaven."Clara, you don't need to work this hard. I'll buy you anything you want."I once mistook that promise for love.Later, I understood it was a gilded cage.He was willing to give me diamonds, a penthouse, and the name Mrs. Hawthorne.He was not willing to give me respect or the right to choose.I swallowed the last bite of bread and returned to my drawings.At three in the morning, Julian opened the studio door.He had just returned from a business

  • After the Sunflowers   Chapter 6

    As the plane climbed through the clouds, the lights of Cedarhaven slowly disappeared beneath us.I silenced my phone and deleted Adrian's number.When the screen went dark, the breath I had held for years finally escaped.Julian sat beside me and offered a cup of warm water."Does your arm still hurt?"I looked down at the bandage.The struggle at the airport had reopened the wound, and blood had seeped through the gauze.I shook my head."Not anymore."The pain that mattered had ended long before.We landed in Port Sterling before dawn.Cold air slipped beneath my collar as I stood outside the unfamiliar terminal with my suitcase, almost unable to believe the moment was real.I had truly left.I had given Adrian no opening through which he could pull me back.Julian had a car waiting.Beyond the window, Port Sterling's wet morning streets were quiet beneath old-fashioned streetlamps.He studied my pale face and spoke softly."Rest at the apartment first. I've already

  • After the Sunflowers   Chapter 5

    Adrian rushed forward and seized my wrist."Who gave you permission to leave?"You disappeared without saying a word. Clara, even a tantrum has limits."He struggled for breath and watched me, waiting for the familiar moment when I lowered my head and obeyed.I looked at his hand locked around my wrist."Let go."Adrian, we're over."His entire body went rigid, as though the words had not reached him.He grabbed for my suitcase with sudden panic."Stop this, Clara. This isn't funny."Are you angry because I missed tonight? Celeste nearly died. I swear it was the last time."I'll charter a plane and take you to see the sunrise right now. Come home with me."Home.The word sounded absurd in his mouth."Home? You mean the place filled with memories of you and Celeste?"I pried his fingers from my wrist."I saw July second engraved on your watch. I saw the same date on Celeste's lock screen."His face turned white."I sold the sapphire bracelet and the necklace."I don't

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