Cancelled Wedding

Ch. Called Off the Wedding 8 Called Off the Wedding 8

Chapter 8

It was a week after her grandmother’s funeral before Cynthia could finally return home.

These days, the Tremaines were barely holding together, thanks to her older sister’s support. As soon as the funeral ended, her sister rushed back to the capital without a moment’s rest.

Before leaving, she’d offered Cynthia a few stem words of advice.

Cynthia, her face pale and drawn, promised she’d return on time and that she’d make a clean break.

When she arrived back at the villa from the airport, she found the purple roses in the garden had withered from a week of neglect.

Purple roses–symbols of everlasting love.

Benedict had planted them himself, right after they’d purchased this place together.

Staring at the brittle, faded flowers, a wry, bitter smile flickered in Cynthia’s eyes. She strode over, yanked every last rose up by the roots, and tossed them into the overflowing trash bin. Then she pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

“Hello, about the price we discussed last time–l accept it. If possible, I’d like to finalize the contract and complete the transfer as soon

es we can.

The person on the other end agreed, and they set a time.

Cynthia hung up and headed upstairs to pack.

She gathered her valuables and moved them to her grandmother’s small townhouse. Everything else that reminded her of Benedict she simply threw away.

By the time Benedicts assistant arrived, the trash bin outside the villa was overflowing.

He paused, frowning in confusion, and glanced at the heap. Why did those clothes look so familiar?

When he spotted Cynthia, he called out, “Maam–1

She cut him off with a wave. “My name is Tremaine.”}

“Miss Tremaine, Mr. Shepard has a gala tonight and asked me to pick up a suit. Could you help select one for him?“}

Cynthia’s face was expressionless. Why can’t he come get it himself?”

The assistant looked down, sheepish. “Mr. Shepard just got back from a business trip and had to head straight to the office”

“Is that so? I thought he’d be too busy enjoying himself to remember, “il

He didn’t dare meet her eyes.

Cynthia had no desire to make things difficult. She glanced at the trash bin and said, her tone flat, “You’ll find what you’re looking for in there. E

He followed her gaze, just in time to see the maintenance staff wheeling the brimming bins away

Uh..?‘E

He hesitated, not understanding.

Cynthia’s voice was careless. “You’d better hurry. Otherwise, someone else will snatch up the good stuff.”

With that, she breezed past him, got in her car, and drove away.

The assistant grimaced. Still, he had a job to do, so he hurried after the bins, hoping to retrieve what Mr. Shepard needed before it was too late 2

At VistaSphere Group headquarters, the assistant burst into Benedict’s office, clutching a suit he’d managed to wrestle back from a scavenger

Everything Cynthia had tossed was expensive, and the scavengers fought over it with wild energy. In the fray, someone had jabbed him hard in the face, his eye was swollen and ringed with red.)

“Mr. Shepard.” he began, voice weary.

Inside the office, Benedict and Giselle were hunched together, heads nearly touching over some project notes. The assistant’s heart twisted with resentment. Benedict’s flirtations created the mess, but he was the one suffering for IL

Benedict looked up, pausing when he saw the assistant’s battered face. “Did Cynthia hit you?“}}

Giselle’s eyes widened in surprise, then flickered with a trace of sympathy. Cynthia was notorious–she’d randomly tossed coffee at Giselle in a bridal shop, for no apparent reason.