Present Day
Now on their wedding day, Ariella could have never imagined that the man who had promised her the world and professed his undying love for her had left her at the very last moment.
Ariella opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling of their room, the reality of what had just happened weighing heavily on her. She gasped and shot up in the bed.
"Ari!" Elaine rushed towards her.
"Mom..."
"Oh sweety I am so sorry" Elaine leaned forward to hug her.
"No...please tell me he didn't just leave" Ariella found it difficult to breathe. She caught her image in the mirror and suddenly the white dress felt like deadweight on her. She couldn't get out of it fast enough.
"Please mom...get me out!" Ariella screamed as she tried to rip apart the dress.
Elaine hurriedly unzipped her dress and helped her out of it. Ariella collapsed on the floor on top of the dress.
"Honey, please take deep breaths"
"Elaine, Ariella" Aaron strode into the room and immediately rushed to his wife and daughter's side as he saw them both on the floor.
"I promise I will find that bastard and he will pay for this" Aaron said as he wiped the tears from his daughter's eyes.
"Dad...I don't know...how could he?"
"You should read this" Elaine held out the letter Kaden had left with Dalton.
Ariella held the letter with shaking hands.
"We will be outside alright" Elaine said as she kissed her forehead and walked out with Aaron.
Ariella opened the letter and her heart completely crumpled when she saw mere two lines scribbled. How could he sum up their eight year long relation in two lines?
Ari,
I am sorry. We couldn't have possibly worked out with the mistakes I made in the past year.
Kaden
Ariella looked at the note one last time and then ripped it to shreds. She had to get out this place. She couldn't stand in this house for another minute. The house which was supposed to be their home and a place where they were going to build a future together turned into a nightmare.
Ariella walked to the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, refusing to look at his side of the closet. She felt this weird calm settle over her mind and body, putting her in a daze.
She strode out of the room.
"Ariella!" Elaine called out to her but Ariella ignored her, fastening her steps. It felt as if the walls were closing in on her.
"Ari, please stop!" Rose also ran after her.
Ariella suddenly stopped and turned around to face her parents and Kaden's.
"Please Mo--...Aunt Rose...I need to be alone..."
"Ariella, please I am still mom to you" Rose said as tears poured down her eyes. The pain Rose felt was unbearable. Her son was missing on his wedding day and her daughter in law to be who is more of a daughter to her was shattered. Dante was restraining his anger. How could Kaden be this irresponsible? How could he not confide in him? Running away is not an option.
"I thought I raised him better than this" Dante muttered and stormed out of the foyer.
"Ariella come home" Aaron said.
"No, please all of you...I just need to be alone!" Ariella shook her head and walked out.
"Keep your phone on please! " Elaine yelled after her. Elaine knew Ariella needed some time. They would only make her feel more trapped.
Aidden watched his sister walk away. Kaden was going to pay for this.
Ariella kept on walking out of the main gate and on to the street. She didn't know where she was going but she had to get away from this house.
She had just rounded the corner when a car pulled up next to her. She ignored it and kept on walking. The passenger side window came down.
"Hey, want a ride?" Dalton asked as he leaned towards the passenger seat.
Ariella was about to refuse but decided against it. She pulled open the door and got in.
"Where to? Dalton simply asked as Ariella buckled herself in.
"Far away from here"
"As you wish" Dalton said and floored the gas of his Audi A8.
He glanced at her and saw the haunted look on her face. He gripped the steering wheel tighter as he headed for the highway.
He couldn't believe Kaden just walked out. He has been best friends with Kaden since elementary school. He could have never foreseen him walking out on his wedding day. Dalton knew how much Ariella meant to Kaden. He loved her with madness. It was one of the reasons Dalton had stepped back when they had become a couple back in high school.
Dalton had developed a crush on her somewhere along the beginning of high school, when Ariella had started hanging around with him, Kaden and William. However when Kaden had told him how he felt for her he had pulled the plug on that infatuation because he knew what Kaden felt for Ariella was much stronger than what he felt. Kaden loved her whereas he simply liked the idea of liking her.
However at this moment he felt infuriated with his bastard of a best friend for leaving such beautiful woman and trampling on her heart. He couldn't understand why Kaden left. When he had left him this morning at the suite they had booked for the groom and groomsmen, Kaden was glowing and wrapping up his honeymoon plans. Dalton had commented on him being whipped and then had come over to Kaden's and Ariella's home where the wedding was going to be held to help with the guests and other best man duties. What had happened that he left without any explanation or even talking to him?
When Kaden had failed to show up, Dalton had decided to drive back to the suite to see what had him held up, that he found the letter stuck under his windshield wipers. All it said on top was "Ariella".
After that all hell had broken loose when he had realized that Kaden had left. It was a pain in the ass to make the guests leave without turning it into a circus. His dad, Jayson Reynolds, who was a good friend and often did business with Aaron, had handled all the arrangements to be sent away as Aaron and Elaine were dealing with Ariella. It had pained him to see Ariella so broken, how her eyes went blank when the backyard door opened and Aidden told her that Kaden was not there....
Dalton shook his head and concentrated on the road. His phone rang out and he hit "answer", the bluetooth system of the car activating.
"Hey man where are you? Sienna is looking for you" Aidden's voice rang out from the speakers.
"I am---" However Ariella placed her hand on his forearm and shook her head.
"I am just heading out. Dad handled all the arrangements."
"Oh, alright"
"Drop off Sienna at home, will you?" Dalton said.
"Yeah, we are just heading out. She might stay at my place tonight"
Dalton wanted to snap back at him but decided against it. Aidden was a nice guy and Sienna was a big girl. She could handle herself. He knew something was cooking between them, his brotherly instincts started tingling but he wasn't going to let his protectiveness suffocate Sienna.
"Yeah, cool. Bye"
"You know Aidden and Sienna are together?" Dalton asked trying to engage her in a conversation.
"Why do you think she transferred to Harvard Med from Yale?" Ariella replied as she looked out of the window.
Kaden frowned in response.
"I need a drink"
"Ariella, how about we take the next exit and loop back to your place, I mean your parents place?" It had been over an hour of them driving around.
"I need a drink or I will go mad. I need to drown out these feeling that are suffocating me Dalton. This betrayal and heart break is killing me. I can't breathe!" Ariella yelled, pulling at her hair.
Dalton pulled to the side and stopped the car. He looked at her and air escaped his lungs when he saw the raw pain in her eyes.
Ariella wanted to escape somewhere where she could no longer feel anything. Kaden had shredded her soul, leaving her hollow and bare. She wanted to forget everything that happened today and before this day; his touch, his voice, his promises, the twinkle in his blue eyes when he smiled. She couldn't live with those memories because he was no longer here and she was going to go insane living with those.
But how can one erase eight years worth of memories?
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