CHAPTER 451: CHAPTER 451: THE BRIDE IS IN TROUBLE

After waiting for a few minutes without getting a reply, Jasper Sutton made a call.

The call went through, but no one answered.

Jasper Sutton seemed a bit impatient and no longer had the patience to wait, grabbing his car keys and heading out the door.

He arrived at the wedding venue a few minutes past eight.

The wedding, which he thought would be lively, was very quiet; there were even staff dismantling the setup.

Could it be that Charlotte Sheffield was afraid he’d disrupt the wedding and changed the venue at the last minute?

Confused, Jasper Sutton approached a staff member and asked, "Excuse me, wasn’t there supposed to be a wedding here today? What is this now?"

"Oh, are you talking about Mr. Thorne and Miss Sheffield’s wedding? Are you a friend of theirs? You haven’t been informed yet?"

Jasper Sutton shook his head.

The staff explained, "I don’t really know the details; I just got word from our boss that today’s wedding has been canceled."

Before Jasper Sutton had a chance to secretly rejoice, thinking it was his actions yesterday that led Charlotte Sheffield to cancel the wedding, another girl with a work badge walked over and said, "You don’t know yet? I heard the bride had an accident; she jumped off a building this morning, so the wedding was canceled."

"Jumped off a building? No way! With the wedding so close, what could be so unbearable?"

For Jasper Sutton, it was like a bolt from the blue, leaving him standing there stunned, unable to believe it was real.

He immediately drove to Charlotte Sheffield’s place, and before going upstairs, he heard two passersby gossiping that a young girl had died in that building this morning.

At that moment, he felt the slender willow that supported him snap.

What he didn’t know was that it was he himself who snapped that willow.

...

No one expected the wedding to turn into a funeral.

Shannon Quinn had never seen Ronan Rhodes so grief-stricken.

At Charlotte Sheffield’s funeral, she lay in the ice coffin dressed in the white wedding dress that belonged to her, with meticulously done makeup.

She looked extraordinarily beautiful, yet it also broke hearts.

Since leaving the hospital, Ronan Rhodes had barely spoken, his eyes perpetually red, yet he restrained his emotions to face it all.

He stood next to the ice coffin, reaching out to hold her hand.

Cold.

Stiff.

He gently placed the ring he hadn’t had a chance to show her onto her ring finger, bent down, and lightly kissed her hand.

Colder than the circle of the ring was her finger.

Perhaps for Ronan Rhodes, it was still a wedding, only he couldn’t hear her say "I do" out loud.

Jasper Sutton attended Charlotte Sheffield’s funeral, and Ronan Rhodes punched him in the face.

The glasses fell to the ground, crushed into pieces by his unsteady steps as he staggered backward.

Jasper Sutton didn’t fight back, nor did he speak.

Even when Ronan Rhodes hit him to the ground, he merely looked in the direction where Charlotte Sheffield lay.

Shannon Quinn didn’t know what connection there was between Charlotte Sheffield’s death and Jasper Sutton, but fearing that Ronan Rhodes would become so agitated that it could get out of hand, she ordered the staff to intervene.

Sitting on the ground, Jasper Sutton wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and laughed silently, as if mocking himself, while regret filled his eyes.

The memory of their first meeting flashed in his mind, where she smiled sweetly, calling him "big brother," but that smile felt so distant now.

After coming to this so-called home, the smile on her face gradually disappeared.

His self-righteous blame and punishment ultimately made him lose her completely...

...

Charlotte Sheffield was buried in a cemetery by the sea; Ronan Rhodes thought she would like the place.

After the funeral, he finally returned home.

He stood at the door for a long time before gathering the courage to push it open.

There were still a few pairs of her shoes, without laces, at the door—shoes he had bought with her because her hands were no longer nimble, and laces would have troubled her.

Ronan Rhodes sniffed, breathed deeply, and bent down to neatly place her shoes into the shoe cabinet.

Everywhere bore traces of her life, as if she’d only gone out for a while and would be back soon.

Staring at the wedding photos on the wall, tears finally streamed down.

In the photo, she smiled as lovely as a flower snuggled in his arms, and all these beautiful moments were forever fixed in that image.

Ronan Rhodes stepped up onto the stool by the balcony railing that still remained.

He tried to feel what might have been in her heart as she stood there.

But in the end, he couldn’t truly empathize.

How despairing must she have felt to have the courage to take that step unhesitatingly?

Even though winter hadn’t yet truly arrived, the wind was already biting.

Rain began to drizzle again, making the air feel damp.

Shannon Quinn moved potted flowers that couldn’t withstand the cold from the yard to indoors, and upon returning from work, Landon Sutton saw her and started scolding her for making trouble all day.

Though he said so, he rolled up his sleeves to help her quickly move all the pots inside.

"...How is Ronan Rhodes doing?" Shannon Quinn asked as they washed their hands together.

"Gave him a few days off."

"Sigh, rarely does he fall for a girl so earnestly, and something like this happens in the end."

"Everyone has their fate."

Shannon Quinn reflected silently and, concerned, said, "I think you should let Ronan Rhodes get back to work, give him something to do to distract him; maybe he could move on from the grief sooner; I’m worried he might also do something irrational."

Landon Sutton: "You’re underestimating him. It’s rough, but he won’t go to that extent."

"That’s not necessarily true. When I interacted with that girl, she seemed very optimistic and cheerful too, but no matter how good the personality, there are always moments when one can’t see through things, especially those who seem carefree and unfazed; they might actually be bottling up a lot of unhappiness without wanting others to see it."

Landon Sutton wiped her hand with a dry towel while saying, "Then I’ll have him work overtime tonight."

Shannon Quinn glared at him, "Where’s your humanity? Just give him a call to show some concern first, then subtly let him come to the company tomorrow. He’s loyal to you, and now that something so big has happened, you should care for him more."

Landon Sutton: "Zane Rhodes took him out for drinks; nothing’s going to happen. You’re so worried about others, but I’ve been sick for days without you caring as much for me."

Mentioning this made Shannon Quinn fume, "Who to blame? I’ve told you multiple times about the cold, urging you to dress warmly, but you insisted on looking dapper like a young man. Who’re you dressing up for at the company? Attracting bees and butterflies? Serves you right!"