The Wedding Day by Joanne Clancy Read Free Book Online Page A

the kettle to boil.
    "There you go," he said as he finally passed her a cup of tea in her favourite cup.
    "Thanks," she said shortly.
    She suddenly felt very tired and was starting to wish that she'd never come or that she'd asked her sister to collect her possessions.
     
    The silence between them was palpable. Nicole wracked her brain for something, anything, to say to him. She had so many questions to ask, but didn't know where to start.
    The intense anger that she'd felt had suddenly dissipated and now she felt tired and drained. She had an overwhelming longing to climb into bed, cover her head with the duvet and sleep for a very long time, or at least until she started to feel human again.
     
    Paul glanced at her sadly over the rim of his tea cup.
    "You look different," he said, attempting a weak smile as he took in her bohemian clothes.
    "I borrowed these from Ev," she explained, smoothing out the wrinkles in her long skirt.
    "They suit you," he said.
     
    They continued drinking their tea, neither of them knowing what to say to the other. Eventually, Nicole stood up.
    "I suppose I'd better pack," she said, heading towards the bedroom.
    "Do you need a hand?" Paul asked.
    "I think I'll manage." She was relieved to get away from him.
    She had lots of things that she'd planned to say to him, but she couldn't seem to find the words. He seemed sad and pathetic and instead of being angry she felt sorry for him.
     
    Nicole approached their bedroom with some trepidation. She dreaded seeing some trace of Simone in her old home.
    She opened the bedroom door cautiously and scanned the room for any evidence of Simone or some other woman. There was no evidence of any woman ever having slept there. She exhaled a deep sigh of relief.
    Paul's clothes were strewn around the floor and she was shocked to see an empty whiskey bottle by the bed. She shook herself.
    "He's not my problem anymore," she thought.
    She opened the bedroom window and breathed in the cool, crisp autumn air.
    Then she grabbed her suitcases from the huge sliding wardrobe and began to pack.
     
    "I'm sorry."
    Nicole was so engrossed in her thoughts that she hardly heard Paul's whisper from the door. She glanced up and saw him standing there.
    "I'm sorry," he repeated, watching her with an imploring expression on his face.
    His eyes were red. She knew that he'd been crying. He seemed so alone that it was all she could do to restrain herself from running to him and hugging him.
    She desperately wanted to tell him that everything would work out fine in the end, like she'd always told him before, but she couldn't do it to herself, not this time, not after everything he'd put her through.
    She deserved more than him. He'd broken the trust between them beyond repair, but what was worse than everything else was that she didn't think that she'd ever be able to forgive him.
     
    "Sorry." She repeated his words slowly, deliberately enunciating each letter, as if she was trying to figure out what the word actually meant.
    Anger burned inside her until she finally erupted.
    "I'm sorry too, Paul. I'm sorry that you cheated on me with my so-called friend. I'm sorry that you dumped me at the altar on my wedding day. I'm sorry that you publicly humiliated me in front of our family and friends. I'm sorry that you ruined my entire life."
     
    The angry knot in the pit of her stomach was starting to unfold. Paul stood there, staring at her, opening and closing his mouth. He looked like a fish out of water.
    Nicole had never raised her voice at him. She'd never nagged him or gotten angry with him in all their years together and he was stunned at the change in her attitude. He'd never seen this side of her before.
    Pain and anger flashed across her face and he was quite taken aback by the force of it.
     
    "It didn't mean anything, Nicole, I swear to you. Please believe me," he pleaded with her.
    "It didn't mean anything to you, Paul! Nicole shouted. "Well, it meant everything to me! How