Chapter 17 - The Proposal Built on a LieAdrian removed his wedding ring.
The motion was slow enough that everyone saw it.
Felicity stopped breathing.
“What are you doing?”
He held the ring between two fingers.
“Thinking about the day I proposed.”
Felicity reached toward him.
“Adrian, please.”
He stepped back.
During the proposal, Felicity had taken him to the hospital garden where he completed rehabilitation after the accident.
She claimed it was where she first understood she loved him.
Now Adrian remembered that she had initially resisted going near St. Catherine’s.
She feared someone might recognize the invitation story.
Only after confirming Jenna was working at another campus did Felicity agree.
“You researched my accident before we met,” Adrian said.
“No.”
“You knew the hospital. You knew the date. You knew what my father wrote.”
“Because of the letter.”
“You knew enough to design every emotional moment afterward.”
Felicity shook her head violently.
“I loved you.”
“Love does not require someone else’s identity.”
“I never pretended to be Jenna.”
“You pretended her courage brought you into my life.”
Adrian placed the ring on the head table.
The small sound of metal against glass carried through the ballroom.
The officiant stood near the wedding cake, watching in alarm.
The marriage certificate had not yet been filed. The couple had signed, but the officiant retained the paperwork until the reception ended.
Adrian looked toward him.
“Do not submit anything.”
Felicity gasped.
“You cannot do this.”
“I can refuse to begin a marriage founded on fraud.”
The word marriage seemed to strike her harder than every earlier accusation.
She grabbed Adrian’s sleeve.
Silas stepped between them.
Felicity looked toward her mother.
Marianne remained seated, crying silently.
Richard stared at the floor.
May you like
For the first time in her life, Felicity had no one willing to rearrange reality for her.
👉 Adrian had stopped the marriage from becoming official, but Felicity still held one secret she believed could force him to continue.
