Chapter 22
Evan’s friends nodded, their eyes filled with helplessness.
His chest clenched like a fist was squeezing his heart. The pain was so sharp it nearly stole his breath.
Thick bandages were wrapped around his chest, and faint traces of blood seeped through the gauze. But he didn’t seem to feel the pain. He threw off the blanket, ready to get out of bed.
“No… They can’t get married. I have to stop it. Josie is mine. She’s mine!”
“Evan! Have you lost your damn mind?” His friends lunged forward, blocking his way.
Frustration and helplessness filled their voices. “You haven’t fully recovered! Jarrett’s really ruthless. He broke five of your ribs! And now you’re trying to crash his wedding? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Evan’s eyes were wild. His voice was a raw rasp torn straight from his throat. “Losing her is worse than dying! Don’t try to stop me!”
His voice carried the weight of long–suppressed pain and despair, as if he was finally letting everything out.
His friends froze. They’d never seen Evan like this before.
The untouchable and arrogant man was now standing before them like a madman who’d lost everything. Evan’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“Evan…” someone murmured, his voice laced with pity.
But Evan didn’t seem to hear him. He shoved past their hands and stumbled toward the door. Every step sent a fresh wave of agony through his body, but he gritted his teeth and kept moving forward
His friends exchanged uneasy glances before one of them sighed. “Forget it. Help him get there. If we don’t, he really might lose his mind.”
With their support, Evan rushed to the wedding venue.
The ceremony was set in a dreamlike elegance–soft lights, fresh flowers, music drifting through the air. Everything was beautiful.
But to Evan, it was nothing but a cruel joke—a mockery of his arrogance and a reminder of his stupidity.
He showed the grand doors open and staggered inside. All eyes turned to him, and murmurs rippled through the crowd like a rising tide.
But Evan didn’t care. His gaze locked onto Joselyn.
She stood at the altar in a white wedding dress. She looked like a goddess out of a painting. A faint smile graced her lips, and her gaze was warm yet unwavering. But that smile wasn’t meant for him.
A fresh wave of agony crashed over Evan. He strode up to Joselyn and said hoarsely, “Josie, don’t marry him. Please, don’t marry him.”
Joselyn lifted her head, a flicker of complex emotions in her eyes. “What are you doing here, Evan?”
Evan’s voice was laced with desperation. “Josie, I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have used you. I shouldn’t have hurt you. But I… I’ve fallen in love with you. Give me one more chance, please. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
Joselyn’s expression turned cold. Her voice was devoid of warmth as she said, “I don’t love you anymore, Evan. I made that clear in my text. I’m not like you.
“I don’t pretend to love someone I don’t, and I don’t fake indifference when I do. Everything I said was the truth. When I said I don’t love you, I meant it. My heart belongs to Jarrett now.” The moment Evan heard that, his mind went blank, like a thunderclap had just torn through his skull.
His face was drained of all color. Shakily, he said, “Josie, don’t do this. Don’t do this to me.”
Joselyn said nothing. She just looked at him, steady and unmoved. A crushing pain tightened around Evan’s chest. He could barely stand.
Then he turned sharply to Jarrett and pleaded, “Jarrett, you always said you wanted to see me on my knees, right? Fine. I’ll do it now for as long as you want. Just give Josie back to me. Give me back my girlfriend”
With that, he dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.
For the woman he loved, he was even willing to throw away the thing he valued the most–his dignity.
Everyone froze. The murmurs and whispers vanished in an instant, and the entire hall fell into dead silence.
Jarrett looked down at Evan. Then, his lips curled into a mocking smirk. “You think getting on your knees is going to change anything? Josie is mine. And I’m never giving her up.”
Evan’s face turned deainly pale. His voice trembled “Jarrett, I’m begging you. I don’t care about the deals, the land, or the company. I’ll give it all to you. Just let me have her. She’s the only thing I want. I only want her.”
Jarrett didn’t bother responding. He just lifted a hand, signaling for security to throw Evan out.
Two guards stepped forward, each grabbing an arm.
But Evan clung to the floor, his fingers digging so hard into the wood that his nails nearly sank in. His voice trembled with desperation. “I’m not leaving! I won’t go!”
Jarrett let out a cold laugh. His apice dripped with cruelty as he said, “Fine. Then sit there and watch as we finish the ceremony.”
More guards rushed in to hold Evan down. He fought, but there was no escaping
So he sat there, his heart in ruins as he watched Joselyn stand beside Jarrett.
His chest tightened with unbearable pain. Her words kept echoing in his mind, over and over again. “When I said I don’t love you, I meant it.”
The ceremony went on
The officiant’s steady voice filled the air. “Mr. Jarrett Wright, do you take Ms. Joselyn Wright to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love, honor, and cherish her, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”
Jarrett’s reply was firm yet gentle. “I do.”
The officiant turned to Joselyn. “Ms. Joselyn Wright, do you take Mr. Jarrett Wright to be your Lawfully wedded husband? To love, honor, and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”
Joselyn’s voice was soft but sure. “I do”
Evan’s mind went blank, Something inside him shattered beyond repair.
