All Chapters of She Joked About Runaway Marriage, I Meant It: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

The bridesmaids froze mid-laugh. Guests started whispering.Victoria Langley grabbed my wrist, her face tight. "Spencer was just messing around. Do you really have to do this?"She kept her voice low. "Stop making a scene, okay? This is the wedding you've been looking forward to for so long. Grandma is still waiting to see our wedding video."The night before, my grandmother had one of her rare lucid moments. Her hands trembled as she joined my hand with Victoria's. Victoria knelt at the side of her hospital bed and promised she'd stand by me for the rest of her life.Then she turned around and spent her bachelorette party all over Spencer Calloway.My eyes stung. I raised my voice. "Burying your face in his chest and sleeping in the same bed is just messing around?"The words carried across the entire venue. Every guest swiveled between Victoria and Spencer, gossip written all over their faces.A flash of embarrassed anger crossed Victoria's face. She snatched the microphone ou

I went straight to the gaming room the moment I stepped out of the cab.Victoria had hidden a box in here. I caught her once, carefully tucking photos inside. I tried to get a look, but she just laughed and threw herself into my arms. "It's a surprise for when we get married."So I waited. I kept imagining what might be in that box.The lock was a four-digit combination. I tried Victoria's birthday, our anniversary, and my birthday, but none of them worked.My fingers were shaking when I punched in Spencer's birthday, and it opened.Inside were three thick photo albums, ten sports car keys, and a dark green velvet jewelry case. I opened the first album.Every page was Spencer, from childhood to the present day. On the back of one photo where a younger Spencer stood on a winner's podium, helmet tucked under his arm, Victoria had written a single line."The love of my life. May you always shine."The date was July 5th, 2016, the day my parents died."So you found it." Victoria's

I always kept a strict routine. There was no way I'd still be in bed close to noon without having eaten. She thought maybe losing my job so suddenly had thrown me off.Victoria smiled and shook her head, then headed upstairs to the master bedroom. "Good morning, honey. Get up. We're going to get our license today."She reached the bed, but the covers were smooth and untouched. No one had slept there.Victoria frowned and pushed open the study door next to it, but it was also empty.An uneasy feeling crept into her chest. "Caleb?"Her steps quickened. She searched every room upstairs and down. The house was completely empty."Welcome back, Ms. Langley." Emma arrived at her usual time to make lunch and greeted Victoria at the door.Victoria frowned. "Where's Caleb? Did you tell him to stay off his phone as I asked?""I did, but he got a call yesterday morning and left right after. It doesn't look like he's been back since. He hasn't touched any of the meals I made the past two da

The humid season had settled over Southport, thick and suffocating. Water trickled down the walls of the old apartment building.I held Grandma's urn and made my way up the slick staircase as memories of growing up here with her came flooding back.I had terrible balance as a kid and was always tripping over something. Every time the humidity rolled in, Grandma would go out before me with a mop and carefully dry every step on every floor."Careful, sweetheart. Take it slow. Don't fall.""I'm sorry, Grandma. I think I've taken the biggest fall of my life."I sniffled hard and forced the tears back down. The steps were slippery, and there was no one left to clear the way for me.When I reached the fifth floor, the electronic lock on the front door wouldn't respond no matter what I tried. In the span of three days, I'd lost my only family, the woman I'd loved for eight years, and the career I'd spent four years building.I slid down against the door until I was sitting on the floor

Nora's lawyer friend came down to the station to help sort out the rest.As Nora and I walked out of the station side by side, Victoria's low, hoarse voice came from behind me. "Caleb, I'm sorry."I didn't turn around.On the drive home, Nora didn't ask a single question. When we passed a pharmacy, I spoke up first."Nora, can you pull over? I'm sorry you got hurt because of me."Nora sighed and turned to look at me. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I had no idea you'd been going through so much this whole time."The weight of everything hit me all at once, and the tears came pouring out before I could stop them.Over the following month, Victoria didn't show up again. The only sign of her was a transfer of 70 million dollars into my account as compensation.Slowly, one meal at a time, with Nora there beside me, I started to come back to myself.Nora was an associate professor at Graydon University. With her recommendation, I applied for a math teaching position at Graydon Pr