He Delayed Our Wedding 9 Times, I Won’t Wait for the 10th Chapter 03 (Continue)
“Elena, just where the hell do you think you’re going?” His fingers dug into my arm, knuckles white and veins standing out.
I paused for two seconds, my voice calm, “Let’s break up. The marriage application got rejected anyway—saves us the trouble.”
Lucas’s face paled, and he froze in place, as if he couldn’t process my words.
“You’re joking, right? What about the baby!”
He snapped, his hand reaching out as if to touch my stomach.
Chloe suddenly fainted, collapsing straight to the floor.
The moment Lucas turned to her, I slammed the car door and drove away.
In the rearview mirror, he remained rooted to the spot, a statue of shock.
Back at my place, I listed the custom wedding dress on a secondhand marketplace.
Then, I sent out messages to friends and family: wedding’s off, and oh, by the way, the marriage application never got approved in the first place.
With everything settled, I finally sighed in relief and drifted off to a deep sleep.
After the weekend, I returned to work at the military base administration office.
But the moment I set foot on base, I was met with a barrage of strange looks.
“Colonel Elena is such a person—I never would’ve guessed.”
“Her family’s poor, and her mom’s been sick for years. How could she afford designer clothes back at the academy? She must’ve been sponsored all along!”
“I heard she’s had an abortion. She doesn’t look like a decent person—no wonder she keeps getting stood up at weddings.”
“Maybe she even slept her way to the rank of colonel!”
A roar filled my ears. Rage, hot and blinding, surged through me.
I was about to go report the slander to the MPs when Chloe suddenly burst into the office, sobbing as if her heart would break, tears streaming down her face.
“Colonel Elena, please give me back my necklace! It was my mom’s coming-of-age gift—she passed away a long time ago, and it’s my only keepsake of her.”
Colleagues gathered around, their expressions filled with disgust and contempt.
“Colonel Elena, why are you stealing from a young girl? Give it back to her!”
“Have some decency! We all have mothers—yours is sick too. You should earn merit for her!”
A sinister glint flashed in Chloe’s eyes. She pulled out her phone, thumb hovering over the screen. “I’ll talk to your mom. I’m sure she’ll understand.”
“I’ll talk to your mom. She’ll understand me.”
Panic shot through me. I lunged forward and snatched the phone from her hand. “My mother is in the hospital! Are you trying to kill her?!”
Chloe took the opportunity to fall to the floor, sobbing even more desperately.
More and more people crowded around, and my temples throbbed violently.
I turned to leave, but Chloe threw herself forward, clinging desperately to my leg.
A loud shout rang out—Lucas dropped the jasmine in his hand and rushed over, lifting Chloe up in his arms.
He stared at me with utter disappointment, his lips trembling with anger.
“I even came to apologize to you, but you’re bullying her so cruelly!”
Chloe continued sobbing, looking pitiful, “Colonel Elena, please give it back. It’s my mother’s relic.”
The air was filled with overwhelming accusations. I bit my numb tongue and turned to leave.
But the next second, a sharp pain shot through my arm.
Lucas yanked me back, roughly pinning me half to the ground and snapping,
“Elena, you don’t want to lose your job, do you? I’ll say this one last time—apologize!”
My knees scraped against the floor, burning with pain. I looked up at him, eyes red, but Lucas coldly averted his gaze.
The whispers erupted again—filthy, malicious, insulting.
“My god, did she really sleep her way up?”
“She was never a good kid. There were rumors before, and now it seems they’re true.”
I suddenly doubled over, my insides twisting so painfully I felt sick.
Lucas knew—he knew I’d been bullied at the academy, that I’d fallen into depression and tried to take my own life.
He was the one who’d carried me, covered in blood, to the hospital.
He was the one who’d dropped all his work to stay by my side for three months, pulling me back from the brink of death.
And now, he was leading the charge to force me to admit to lies—all to defend another woman.
I’d rather die than apologize. I sank my teeth into his hand, making him scream in pain.
Chloe cried out at me, “What’s wrong with you! You’re almost biting off his flesh! I’m calling the police!”
I tilted my head and spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor. Without a word, I pushed myself up and walked away.
Back home, I took a week’s leave and collapsed into bed, sleeping endlessly.