He Said Caring For Girl Best Friend Was Duty, So I left Chapter 02

He Said Caring For Girl Best Friend Was Duty, So I left Chapter 02

Early the next morning, I pulled out a suitcase and started packing.

If he didn’t want to marry me, someone else would.

When Derek came downstairs, he caught me folding the last coat into my suitcase.

He frowned. “What are you doing?”

Without looking up, I answered, “Packing.”

Bellamy was sitting nearby, chewing on a piece of toast.

The second she heard that, she laughed.

“Wren, you don’t seriously think a few words yesterday were enough to scare Derek, do you?”

“Go ahead and leave. I bet you’ll come crawling back by tonight.”

I ignored her.

Derek’s face fell. “Wren, enough.”

“Weren’t we supposed to be at City Hall by eight?”

“Who exactly are you putting on this show for?”

I looked up at him.

Then I smiled. “Right. Aren’t we getting married today? Let’s go.”

This time, Derek was the one who froze.

He’d clearly expected me to argue, to get angry, to make things difficult.

What he hadn’t expected was for me to calmly take his words and move on.

Half an hour later, the car pulled over.

Derek rummaged through the storage compartment. His expression grew darker by the second.

“I can’t find the documents.”

I stared out the window, my voice was casual.

“I know. They burned last night.”

Silence filled the car.

Derek whipped his head around. “You knew?”

I pulled a folder from my bag and dropped it onto his lap.

“I figured you might back out today, so last night I had replacement paperwork drawn up.”

“These are all we need to get it done.”

Derek stared at the folder. For once, I caught a flicker of panic in his eyes.

Then Bellamy suddenly spoke from the back seat.

“We still can’t go.”

“Today marks three thousand, seven hundred and eleven days since Colt died.”

Her voice grew softer.

“Colt loved the number seven.”

“He picked phone numbers with sevens in them. Seven was always his lucky number.”

“Today’s special—you can’t get married today.”

I almost laughed.

A reason like that would’ve sounded ridiculous to anyone.

The old me would’ve argued.

Now I was just curious—I wanted to see what excuse they’d come up with next.

Sure enough, after a few seconds of silence, Derek hit the brakes.

“We’re going to Cedar Ridge Cemetery first.”

Bellamy’s eyes instantly turned red.

“I knew it. Colt didn’t save you for nothing.”

I turned back toward the window and said nothing.

The cemetery was quiet.

I placed the flowers in front of the headstone.

Looking at the man in the photograph, I suddenly found the whole thing ironic.

Not far away, Derek and Bellamy had wandered off at some point.

I looked up on instinct. Just in time to see Bellamy grab Derek’s hand.

“Derek, say it in front of Colt—tell me you don’t feel anything for me.”

Derek didn’t answer. He didn’t pull away either.

Tears slid down Bellamy’s face.

“I’m not asking for forever.”

“I only want one year. Just one year with you.”

“After that, I’ll give you back to Wren.”

Derek looked at her.

Then, in the next breath, he pulled her into his arms and gently patted her back—just like he had countless times before.

“Hey. Why are you crying?”

Bellamy trembled. “Derek…”

The man closed his eyes.

When he spoke, his voice was rough.

“Just one more year. Let me have this one year.”

Bellamy’s eyes lit up.

“What about Wren, then?”

Derek sighed. “She’s waited this long. Another year isn’t going to change anything.”

“Besides, Colt saved us. I owe you that much.”

Bellamy finally smiled and threw herself into his embrace.

What debt? What life-saving grace? None of it was real.

Derek simply couldn’t let her go.

The story about owing her was nothing more than a noble excuse for his favoritism.

The truth was, I’d noticed it long ago.

Back when we first met—back when Colt Vance was still alive.

He and Bellamy used to come see us all the time.

Bellamy never stopped talking—always laughing, always making noise.

Derek was always calling her annoying.

The two of them argued every time they met.

She’d stuff spicy chips into his backpack on purpose, and he’d hide her homework in return.

She’d chase him around, furious; he’d take off laughing.

And through it all, I was always sitting nearby with a book in my hands.

Derek remembered everything about me—every preference, every fear, every dream.

He cared for me, protected me, loved me in all the ways that looked right from the outside.

It was only now that I finally understood—love and being in love were never the same thing.