All Chapters of No Future in the Seams: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

"The groom has to be joking. He must be planning some special surprise for Audrey."Come on, stop hiding them and bring out the bridal shoes you stitched."After a brief silence, my aunt, who had come to see me off, tried to ease the awkwardness.I studied Cole Bennett's face, a faint spark of hope stirring inside me.Under everyone's strange looks, Cole turned to me with open impatience."This is the only pair. There aren't any others."Besides, you've already been through this six times. Aren't you used to it by now?"My breath caught."So you really did halfheartedly go through all seven wedding send-offs?"Then what did that make me, happily putting on my wedding dress and waiting for him every single time? A joke?Piper Dawson pouted in displeasure."Who says Cole didn't put in any effort?"He stitched a pair every time. I liked them so much that he gave them to me."As she spoke, she lifted the hem of her dress and revealed the hand-stitched shoes on her feet.I dug

Chapter 2

Once it became clear the wedding had been canceled, several guests began muttering complaints."I've lived a long time, and I've never seen seven wedding send-offs fail. The ancestors themselves must disapprove of her.""Let's stay away from Audrey. She's bad luck."Before I could respond, Cole frowned."Audrey, this wedding is between the two of us. Don't take your resentment out on everyone else."He instinctively stepped in front of Piper, watching me warily.He was afraid those remarks would upset me enough to lash out at her again, as I had the last time.The sixth pair of bridal shoes had been too small. No matter how hard I tried, I could not squeeze my feet into them.When Piper saw sweat beading on my forehead, she said I was so unlucky that even Pine Hollow's ancestors refused to let me marry Cole.Furious, I pulled off one of the shoes and threw it at her.Cole picked it up and hurled it straight back at me."Audrey Mercer, what is wrong with you? If you bully Pip

Chapter 3

He stiffened, then gave a cold laugh."Everyone in Pine Hollow still remembers what you did for me back then. Do you honestly think any man would dare marry you?"My fingertips trembled.I remembered the winter when he was caught in an avalanche during a ski trip.Three people in his group were killed instantly, and Cole went missing.Terrified that something had happened to him, I gathered relatives and neighbors to help search.I dug through the snow until my hands bled, only to uncover a body dressed exactly like him.I clung to that body and screamed his name, sobbing like a madwoman in the snow."Audrey!"Only when he emerged with someone supporting him and called my name did I realize the dead man was not Cole.Afterward, the story became a joke throughout Pine Hollow.Everyone said I was hopeless, that not even death could make me let go of Cole Bennett.It felt as though a stone were lodged in my chest, crushing the air from my lungs.At last, I understood.My unc

Chapter 4

The shoes arrived ahead of time, and every pair fit perfectly.Ten pairs represented Pine Hollow's highest wedding honor, a tradition dating back more than a century.They symbolized that the bride was flawless and beyond reproach.I gathered everything in the house that had anything to do with Cole.Whether it was a once-sweet photograph of us or something he had made for me by hand, I threw it all in the trash.Afterward, I went to sleep.For once, I did not dream of wearing a wedding dress and chasing after Cole.When I woke again, it was already ten. I had just finished dressing when Cole shoved open my bedroom door.Piper stood behind him with red-rimmed eyes."You went after Piper and drove her to run away from home."Do you realize that if I hadn't reached her in time, she would have been bitten by a rattlesnake?"I looked at Cole's furious face, then fixed my eyes on Piper."Tell me when I came to see you and what exactly I said that made you run away."The woman w

Chapter 5

Cole wondered whether he had heard correctly. His pupils contracted, and his heart leaped into his throat."Aunt Helen, what... what did you just say?"What do you mean Audrey married into the Prescott family in Seabridge?"Aunt Helen had already been furious with Cole for turning so many wedding ceremonies into a farce.He had also made it impossible for Audrey to return home for seven years.She had no patience left for him."It means exactly what I said. Audrey is married. She doesn't need you pretending to come for her now."Leave. Don't get in the way while we load Audrey's wedding things."Aunt Helen waved them off impatiently, making no effort to be polite.The color drained from Cole's face. Audrey had gotten married, but the groom was not him?He refused to believe it.He stepped in front of her, his voice shaking beyond his control."That's impossible. Audrey loves me. How could she marry someone else? You and Audrey are putting on an act to fool me, aren't you?"

Chapter 6

His heart hurt so badly that even breathing caused pain.His mind kept dragging up all the details he had ignored.One after another.At last, he understood why Audrey had only asked one stunned question after Piper revealed the truth during the seventh send-off.After that, she had not made another scene.By then, she had already known that the alliance marriage was unavoidable.Arguing would have changed nothing.That was why she had gone quiet and stopped fighting.Even when Piper wore the last nightgown Audrey's mother had left her, Audrey did not cause a scene.She had even told him clearly that she was marrying someone else.But he had not believed her.Relying on her love, he had hurt her without restraint, blind to the sorrow and disappointment in her eyes.He had treated her honest words as lies.Even when he saw her preparing to leave as a bride, he assumed she was pressuring him to marry her.The cruelest part was that he was the one who had pushed her to that

Chapter 7

Piper stared at him with a wounded expression."I've been beside you for so many years. Have you truly never felt anything for me?"Cole looked at her coldly."I have never had feelings for you. Audrey is the only woman I have ever loved."The only reason I treated you well was because I pitied you."Stop entertaining ideas you should never have had, or don't blame me for what happens next."With that, he ignored Piper's sobs and turned away.He boarded his flight just before the gate closed.He had to bring Audrey back as soon as possible.Light rain was falling when I stepped off the plane.I stood in an unfamiliar city, uncertain where to go, when an umbrella opened above my head.I turned and found myself looking into a pair of deep, steady eyes.My eyes widened slightly. "Nathan Prescott?"I was genuinely startled.The man chosen for my alliance marriage was my childhood friend?A classmate from another department in college.Nathan looked at me with a gentle smile

Chapter 8

The Prescott family took my marriage to Nathan extremely seriously.Mrs. Prescott personally handled the arrangements and gave us a magnificent wedding.The day before the ceremony, I was too nervous to sit still.This would be my eighth wedding.I was terrified that, like the previous seven, something would go wrong and force us to cancel.Nathan noticed my anxiety and comforted me gently."Don't worry. I promise tomorrow's wedding will go smoothly."He kept his word. Not a single thing went wrong throughout the ceremony.The moment he slipped the wedding ring onto my finger,I could not stop my tears from falling.Nathan gave me the wedding Cole had refused to give me.During the reception, I noticed a friend Cole and I shared.After the wedding, he approached me. "Did you know Cole has spent the past month searching for you? He's nearly lost his mind."I looked at him in amusement. "What does his sanity have to do with me?"He said nothing more.But the next day, I fo

Chapter 9

"No!" Cole's face turned white."Audrey, I can't live without you." His voice trembled."You are the only woman I have ever loved and the only one I want beside me for the rest of my life."I gave a scornful laugh. "And what does that change?"If you truly love me, you should let me be happy instead of standing in my way and disturbing my life."He froze.I did not look at him again. I turned and went inside.Only when I entered the living room did I notice Nathan standing by the window with a coffee cup.Had he watched our entire conversation?"I made everything clear to Cole just now."I won't have anything to do with him again."I knew Nathan was straightforward and secure enough not to imagine the worst.Still, a marriage had to be cared for, and I wanted to explain myself.I did not want any misunderstanding between us later.Nathan gently pinched my cheek. "I know. I wasn't worried."I was only deciding whether I should beat Cole up for you before sending him away.

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