"Before the Heart Freezes" Chapter 8
Chapter 8
The island.
Dominic wore his groom’s suit, holding a wine glass.
Under an archway surrounded by fresh flowers, Bianca was dressed in a wedding gown, encircled by her bridesmaids. She was radiant and confident, her eyes drifting toward him from time to time.
Dominic swirled his glass, offering a perfunctory smile in return, appearing somewhat distracted.
His friend beside him clinked glasses with him.
"Brother Dominic, do you really plan on marrying Bianca? What about Adeline? If she finds out, she’s bound to break down in tears."
"You should think this through. Adeline’s character is soft on the outside but tough within. If she truly walks away for good..."
Crack!
With a sharp sound, Dominic crushed the wine glass in his hand. Blood dripped from his fingertips, and the smile on his lips vanished completely.
"If you don't know how to speak, then keep your mouth shut."
His friend’s lips parted, but he ultimately chose to remain silent.
Under the archway, Bianca was oblivious to the situation, still immersed in the joy of the wedding.
Dominic wiped his hands clean with meticulous care. He looked at Bianca’s bright smile as she kept looking over at him. Normally, he would respond with a warm gaze.
But those words just now had made him feel inexplicably anxious. Looking at Bianca’s face, Adeline’s features kept surfacing in his mind.
The Adeline who handed him a bandage; the Adeline who sat obediently on the sofa waiting for him to come home from work; the Adeline who brewed hangover soup for him...
Scene after scene flashed before his eyes.
Back then, Adeline was like a flame, warming his cold body and soul. No matter how great the difficulty, as long as she was there, all his troubles would vanish the moment he saw her; his heart would settle.
Her love was a silent stream, unreserved and wholehearted.
Thinking of the bits and pieces of his life with Adeline, the corners of Dominic's mouth subconsciously tilted upward. Their ten years of history seemed to be melted into his very bones and blood; neither could survive without the other.
The inexplicable unease in the depths of his heart vanished.
Looking at Bianca again, the smile on his lips deepened, and he reached out his hand to her.
Bianca walked quickly to him and slipped into his arms. "Do I look beautiful today?"
Dominic nodded, dotingly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Very beautiful."
"Your tongue is so sweet." Bianca leaned into his chest shyly. "Stay and accompany me tonight. Promise?"
Dominic arched an eyebrow. "Of course."
Delighted, the moment they returned to the room, Bianca proactively stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, lightly brushing against him with intent.
"Mr. Dominic, tonight is our wedding night." She took the initiative to remove his jacket, putting on a seductive front.
In the past, Dominic enjoyed this; her boldness felt fresh and interesting.
ADVERTISEMENT
But suddenly, he felt a sense of boredom.
Dominic's brow furrowed abruptly, and he caught her hands.
"What is it?" Bianca looked at her in confusion.
Dominic looked at her, but in his mind, the image of Adeline’s deathly gray face when she left appeared again. His heart gave an instinctive jolt of unease.
His expression darkened as he irritably tugged at his tie. He didn't know what was wrong with him today; he just couldn't stop thinking about Adeline. He even felt a strange sensation that he was about to lose the love of his life.
Seeing Dominic’s silence, Bianca snuggled into his arms and spoke coquettishly, "I won't allow you to think of other women. If you're going to be with me, you must love me with all your heart."
Dominic hadn't completely lost interest in her yet. Seeing her reddened eyes, he reached out and held her back.
Under her repeated seductions, he pinned her to the bed and took her forcefully.
Dominic stayed glued to her for three consecutive days. They tried various positions, and while Bianca grew more excited, the experience had become tasteless to him. If it weren't for the child in her womb, Dominic would have left long ago.
At the same time, news of their wedding was leaked.
The internet was flooded with discussions about the headline.
[I thought Mr. Dominic was just playing around. I didn't expect them to actually get married.]
[Mr. Dominic is single now; there's nothing wrong with him getting remarried.]
[Sigh, the love story between Mr. Dominic and Dr. Adeline was so moving back then. Who would have thought it would end in divorce?]
[That's how it is with the elite. But I heard this Miss Bianca was a student sponsored by Dr. Adeline. Doesn't that make her an ungrateful ingrate?]
This comment sparked the interest of netizens, and everyone began to debate fervently in the comments section.
ADVERTISEMENT
You May Also Like
-
CompletedChapter 11
The Woman in Black
Claire Bennett stepped onto the red carpet in black, and Ethan Whitmore’s fiancée blocked her before she reached the hotel. Madison Hale smiled for the cameras, then leaned closer. “You still had the nerve to show up?” Photographers crowded around them. Ethan froze beneath the wall of white roses. Claire didn’t look away. “I have nothing left to hide.” Madison glanced at Claire’s gown and laughed. “Pretty elegant for a woman who got dumped.” The entire red carpet went silent. Claire stepped forward. “And you accepted a man who came to you already used.” Madison’s smile vanished. “At least he chose me.” “Did he choose you, or did he just run toward whatever was easier?” Ethan suddenly moved between them, but Claire’s final words landed first. “A cheater doesn’t choose anyone. He just repeats his mistakes.” Camera flashes exploded. Furious, Madison ordered security to throw Claire out. Then the giant screen above the hotel entrance flickered...Human Nature|Dark Secrets|Plot Twist|Glow-Up|Redemption Arc15.4k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 11
THE YEARS WE CANNOT RECLAIM
Claire Bennett gave Ethan Cole eleven years of love, trust, and ambition. Together, they built a marriage and one of Chicago’s most promising law firms. Then Ethan walked away from their firm, removed his wedding ring, and appeared to file for divorce while another woman gained access to their home. But the evidence was designed to deceive them both. By the time Claire uncovered the truth, Ethan’s silence and misplaced loyalty had already cost them something no apology could restore. She divorced him and rebuilt her life an ocean away.Human Nature|Glow-Up|Fake Relationship11.8k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Night He Pushed Me In
Lena Hart built a respected crisis-management firm by recognizing danger before it could destroy a company. But for six years, she refused to recognize the danger inside her own marriage. That changes during a family weekend in the Berkshires, when her husband, Grant, pushes her into an ice-cold pool because she refuses to apologize to his mother. His relatives laugh. His cousin blocks the ladder. Grant takes her phone and tells her she can have it back when she learns some respect. They expect Lena to climb out humiliated and return to being the accommodating wife who pays the bills, excuses the insults, and never asks too many questions. Instead, she quietly saves the security footage. Hours later, she discovers a board document carrying her electronic signature—one she never signed. By Monday morning, Grant plans to take control of her company, install his family's business as an exclusive vendor, and unlock a $750,000 credit line. But Grant has made one fatal mistake. He thinks Lena is fighting to save their marriage. She is already following the money.Glow-Up|Fake Relationship11.4k words5 23 -
CompletedChapter 11
I Was Supposed to Die Loving Her
Owen Mercer knows how his marriage is supposed to end. His wife will choose another man. His daughter will be taught to call someone else Daddy. And he will die before the bride finishes making her promises. He knows because he has read the book. For five years, Owen has lived inside a novel as Julian Ashford, the husband whose death is supposed to teach Vivian Wren what she has lost. He thought knowing the ending would help him change it. Instead, every attempt to save their marriage has brought him closer to the last page. Now Vivian wants her former husband to stand beside her new groom. Owen has a different plan. As he stops playing the part written for him, entire passages begin to disappear. Somewhere inside those empty pages may be a way home. But walking out of a marriage is one thing. Walking out of the story that created it is another.Prophecy|Second Chance11.9k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Husband I Buried Never Existed
Five years ago, Mara Bennett survived a mountain crash and buried her husband, Evan Cole, in an empty coffin. Grieving and newly pregnant, she built a life around their daughter, Lily—working through sleepless nights and crushing medical debt after Lily's leukemia returned. Then a Facebook Marketplace listing leads Mara to a mansion on Mercer Island. The woman selling Lily's birthday gift is kind, wealthy, and married to Adrian Vale, the celebrated CEO of Vale Meridian Group. The moment Mara sees Adrian's photograph, her world breaks open. Adrian is Evan.Glow-Up|Fake Relationship13.1k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 11
In My Fourth Life, I Chose the Rogue Prince
In three lifetimes, Lady Evelyn gave the Crown Prince everything. He repaid her with betrayal. Then imprisonment. Then death. On the night her fourth life begins, Adrian steals the royal token meant for her and chooses another woman before the entire court. This time, Evelyn doesn’t beg. She crosses the ballroom, lifts the blackthorn brooch of the kingdom’s most infamous rogue prince, and chooses him instead. Everyone thinks she has ruined herself. They have no idea Prince Julian’s drunken reputation is a disguise—or that Evelyn remembers the conspiracy that will soon tear the royal family apart. She has one life left to expose the poison, follow the stolen gold, and stop a future king from taking the throne. And this time, she intends to win.Human Nature|Glow-Up|Fake Relationship12.1k words5 1 -
CompletedChapter 11
In This Life, Believe Me
Detective Evelyn Mercer gave four years of her life to infiltrating Victor Kane’s deadly drug empire. When her identity was exposed, she endured torture rather than betray a single fellow officer. But the people she loved never learned the truth. Her father signed her arrest warrant. Adrian Cole—the man she had loved for years—hunted her as a traitor. And Natalie Shaw, the best friend Evelyn once saved, quietly stepped into the life she left behind. Three years after Evelyn was thrown into the Atlantic, her remains finally surface. Hidden evidence reveals her innocence and exposes the woman who betrayed her. Adrian confesses his love beside Evelyn’s grave, but his answer has come far too late. Then Evelyn opens her eyes on her twenty-fourth birthday—the night everything first went wrong. This time, she remembers. So do her father and Adrian. Natalie does not. Evelyn could walk away from the badge, the mission, and the man who failed to believe her. Instead, she chooses to return undercover, save the officers who died in her first life, and turn her betrayer into the trap that will destroy Victor Kane. But history is already changing, and loving Adrian again may be more dangerous than facing the criminal who once killed her.Dark Secrets|Second Chance11.4k words5 3 -
CompletedChapter 11
After Our Tenth Canceled Wedding, I Walked Away
For eight years, Evelyn Hart gave Julian Cross everything—her savings, her talent, and the future she could have claimed without him. Together, they built Crosswell Technologies from a basement apartment into a company worth millions. But after ten wedding ceremonies ruined by Julian's childhood friend, Serena Vale, Evelyn finally asks the only question that matters: will he choose his bride, or the woman who has spent years tearing them apart? Julian cancels the wedding again. Then Evelyn discovers that Serena has a four-year-old son—and Julian has been hiding the boy from her. Worse, Julian and his mother are secretly preparing to take Evelyn's voting shares and hand them to Serena. When Evelyn becomes pregnant, Serena creates a cruel test designed to prove which child Julian values more. His choice costs Evelyn something she can never recover. That is the moment her love dies. Julian believes Evelyn has no family, no money, and nowhere to go without him. He has no idea that the quiet woman he treated like a dependent once walked away from one of America's most powerful families—or that she still owns nearly half of the empire he calls his. Now Evelyn is done asking to be chosen. She is taking back her name, her power, and every piece of the company she helped build. By the time Julian realizes who she truly is, losing her may be the smallest consequence he faces.Glow-Up|Fake Relationship|Second Chance11.2k words5 5 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Call From Ten Years Later
The night before her final A-Level exam, eighteen-year-old Evelyn Hart receives an impossible video call—from herself, ten years in the future. The woman on the screen has Evelyn's face, but she is sitting in a wheelchair. She delivers one terrifying warning: do not use the pens Julian gave you. In the future Evelyn already lived, her boyfriend and her best friend used disappearing ink to erase her exam answers, destroy her Oxford dream and trap her in a life built around their betrayal. This time, Evelyn refuses to follow the same path. She tests the pens, preserves the evidence and walks into the examination hall pretending she still trusts them. But saving her results is only the beginning. When Julian and Chloe realise their plan has failed, they turn apologies into manipulation, tears into public sympathy and a malicious accusation into one final attempt to take her future away. To survive, Evelyn must stop protecting the people who tried to erase her—and learn that love which requires her to become smaller was never love at all.Glow-Up|Second Chance11.1k words5 28