CHAPTER 6 — The Child He Lost
Chaos erupted.
Guests whispered.
Some stood.
Others quietly walked toward the exits.
The photographer lowered his camera.
No one wanted posed wedding pictures anymore.
Richard Reynolds climbed the altar steps.
He stood between his daughter and Dylan.
His voice was frighteningly calm.
"Did you use my daughter to gain access to my company?"
Dylan finally spoke.
"It's more complicated than—"
"Yes or no."
Silence.
Richard nodded once.
"I understand."
He turned to two members of his legal team sitting in the second pew.
"Effective immediately, suspend every pending agreement involving Carter Development."
Both attorneys stood.
"We're on it."
Dylan's confidence cracked.
"Richard, wait."
"No."
"The merger isn't personal."
Richard's eyes hardened.
"That's exactly the problem."
Across the altar, Brooke sank into a chair.
Everything Dylan had promised her collapsed in seconds.
She had betrayed her best friend...
For a man who had never intended to choose her.
She began sobbing uncontrollably.
"I ruined everything."
Ava looked at her.
There was pain.
There was anger.
But strangely...
No hatred.
Only exhaustion.
"You ruined our friendship."
Brooke nodded through tears.
"I know."
"You didn't ruin me."
Then Ava reached into the hidden pocket of her wedding dress.
She removed the velvet pouch.
Dylan frowned.
"What is that?"
She unfolded the tissue carefully.
Then held up the pregnancy test.
Two pink lines.
Visible even from a distance.
A confused murmur spread through the cathedral.
Dylan stared.
His expression slowly changed.
Confusion.
Recognition.
Shock.
"No..."
Ava nodded.
"I found out this morning."
His face turned white.
"We're..."
He couldn't finish.
"Yes."
She answered quietly.
"You were going to become a father."
The words echoed through the cathedral.
Several guests covered their mouths.
Diane Reynolds began crying openly.
Dylan instinctively stepped forward.
"Ava..."
She raised one hand.
He stopped.
"I stood outside that lounge..."
Her voice trembled.
"...with this in my bag."
She held up the test.
"I came to surprise you."
Dylan closed his eyes.
"I imagined you smiling."
Another tear slipped down her cheek.
"I imagined telling our child one day how happy their father was."
Silence.
"Instead..."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"...I heard you say you didn't care if we ever had children."
Every word landed like a hammer.
Dylan finally broke.
"I didn't mean it."
"You did."
"I was angry."
"You laughed."
"I was showing off."
"You were honest."
He shook his head desperately.
"I love you."
Ava's expression didn't change.
"No."
She whispered.
"You loved what I could give you."
She gently rested both hands over her stomach.
"But this child..."
A faint smile appeared through her tears.
"...will only ever know people who love them for who they are."
She slowly removed the engagement ring from her finger.
Three years of promises.
Reduced to one small circle of platinum.
She placed it in Dylan's trembling hand.
"It belongs to the man I thought I was marrying."
Her fingers closed his around it.
"That man never existed."
Without another word, Ava turned.
Her father stepped beside her.
Her mother took her other hand.
Together, they walked down the long aisle.
The guests moved aside in complete silence.
Some lowered their heads.
Some wiped away tears.
No one tried to stop her.
Behind her, Dylan stood frozen at the altar...
May you like
Holding an engagement ring in one hand...
And the future he had destroyed in the other.
