Chapter 3 - The Empty Dressing Room
Panic displaced confusion as Julian bolted down the aisle, ignoring the sea of staring faces and outstretched smartphones recording his humiliation. Clara followed closely behind, her heavy wedding gown rustling frantically against the pews as she chased him toward the bridal suite corridor. Pushing open the heavy oak door of the bride’s private lounge, they found utter chaos.
The room was completely empty, yet signs of a hurried departure were everywhere. Wardrobe drawers hung half-open, cosmetic bottles were scattered across the vanity, and a half-written letter lay face down on the mahogany writing desk. Julian strode across the room, his hands trembling as he flipped the stationery over. The handwriting was unmistakable—sharp, hurried, and unmistakably Sarah's.
Clara stared over his shoulder, her breath hitching as she read the opening lines of the note. "If you marry him today, Clara, you are tying your life to a ghost," she read aloud, her voice barely a whisper. "He abandoned us four years ago when the debts piled up. Lily is his flesh and blood, and this baby is the proof he thought he buried."
Julian dropped the letter as if it were burning his skin. "That's a lie," he choked out, turning to face Clara with pleading eyes. "Sarah has always been unstable, you know that! She twists things, she fabricates stories—"
"Does she fabricate DNA, Julian?" Clara interrupted, her voice dangerously cold. She stepped back, putting physical distance between them as if he were suddenly diseased. "Because looking at that little girl out there in the chapel, I don't need a DNA test to know the truth. You lied to me. From the very beginning, you built our entire relationship on a foundation of deception."
Julian reached out, his fingers grazing her bare shoulder. "Clara, please. Let me explain everything about the past. It wasn't what Sarah claims."
Clara violently shrugged off his touch, her eyes blazing with fury. "Don't touch me. The wedding is over." She turned on her heel and strode toward the door, leaving Julian standing alone in the ransacked room.
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As Julian stared down at the discarded letter, a heavy thud echoed from the hallway outside, followed by a sharp, urgent cry from Lily.
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