The Day I Chose My Parents Over My Fiance Chapter 04
He saw me and stood up. Took his time before he said anything.
“Lily’s parents are staying with us for a while.”
“Your parents are leaving soon anyway, right? I went ahead and packed up their things to make room.”
I let out a short, bitter laugh.
“Wow, Tristan. You really do make the perfect son-in-law. Just not for my family.”
I walked past the three of them without a word and shut the bedroom door behind me.
Tristan followed me in, already running his usual playbook.
“Don’t be mad. I already booked your parents a five-star hotel. I’ll drop their bags off myself.”
“Lily’s parents are our guests. We can’t just leave them hanging.”
I didn’t answer. I kept packing.
He moved in beside me and started folding my clothes like nothing was wrong.
“You’ve been pulling away from me. You know that, right?”
“Lily’s in grad school now. If it really bothers you that much, I’ll back off. See her less. Okay?”
He reached into the drawer and pulled out a necklace, holding it up like it was supposed to fix everything.
“That necklace you’ve had sitting in your cart forever? I got it for you. Consider it an apology.”
“And the engagement party — I’ve already locked down the venue. Guest list is done. Invitations went out.”
“All you have to do is show up tomorrow and look gorgeous.”
I stopped packing. Turned around.
“You decided all of this? When? Why didn’t you talk to me first?”
He shrugged.
“You were swamped, so I figured — girls like the same stuff, right? I just asked Lily to help pick everything out.”
I repeated that back to him. Slowly.
“You had Lily plan our engagement party?”
“The venue. The style. The favors. The guest list. She picked all of it? With you?”
“Tristan, do you even hear yourself right now?”
That familiar flash of irritation crossed his face, but he swallowed it.
“I don’t want to keep fighting about this. I love you. That’s not changing. Can’t that be enough?”
He held up the necklace, smiling, and reached to clasp it around my neck.
“Can we just stop fighting? Please?”
“I haven’t slept well in days. I can’t fall asleep without you next to me. If you’re trying to punish me, I think I’ve had enough.”
I stepped out of reach. The warmth drained from his face.
I held his gaze for a long moment.
“Send me the address for the engagement party.”
Just like that, his confidence came back. The smile slid into place like it had never left.
“I knew it. No matter how mad you get, you can’t actually walk away from me.”
His eyes drifted to my suitcase. He almost looked amused.
“So you can drop the whole leaving act now.”
“How many times have you packed that suitcase? And how many times have you actually left?”
“Besides — where would you even go? Home’s halfway across the country. You’ve got nowhere to run.”
I walked around him, suitcase in hand. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching me go with a lazy smile.
“Get it out of your system tonight. But you’d better be at that party tomorrow.”
I looked back over my shoulder and smiled.
“Oh, I’ll be there. And trust me — you’re going to remember it.”
The next morning, I loaded my parents’ bags onto the train. As the final boarding call echoed through the station, my phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.
Three missed calls. On the fourth, I finally picked up. It wasn’t Tristan. It was his mother, sounding frantic.
“Audrey — where are you? Tristan’s been in an accident. Please, you have to come. Please hurry—”