The One He Dismissed Became The One He Died For novel Chapter 286

At an upscale bridal boutique in downtown Empire City.

Claire sat in the lounge area, having waited for nearly three hours.

She looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the torrential rain, repeatedly tapping her messaging app.

"Are you still busy at work? I'm at the bridal shop waiting for you."

"The rain is terrible. Are you stuck in traffic?"

...

The screen was filled with her outgoing messages, none of which had been answered.

Claire frowned. This wasn't like Miles.

Even if an emergency had popped up, he would have called. He would never just leave her stranded.

Did something happen?

A creeping sense of anxiety began to spread through her chest.

The boutique owner, Mina Wentworth, strolled over and stopped in front of the sofa, looking down at her with an air of superiority.

"Still waiting for Mr. Zimmerman, Ms. Jenner?"

Claire nodded. "I'm sorry for keeping you past closing. I'll compensate you for the extra time."

"Let me try calling him again. He just transferred to a new position, so he might be overwhelmed."

Mina let out a mocking scoff, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Save your breath. Trying on a wedding dress is a huge deal. If he actually wanted to marry you, do you really think he'd forget?"

"You're just a pawn he's using to make Lauren jealous."

Lauren Sinclair?

Claire finally registered the hostility radiating from the boutique owner.

Mina crossed her arms, her tone arrogant and icy.

"Lauren and I were college roommates. Don't you think I'd know what's going on in her life?"

"Miles suddenly proposed to you because he found out Lauren went on some blind dates recently. He just wanted to get under her skin, and you actually fell for it?"

She called Jared Johnston.

It rang for a long time before someone finally picked up.

"Jared, has Miles contacted you? Do you know where he is? I've called him so many times, but he's not answering."

Jared glanced toward his bedroom, where he had just dumped a half-dead Miles after pulling him out of the rain.

He didn't need to guess who had pushed Miles to this breaking point.

Jared's voice exploded with unprecedented fury.

"Claire, what the hell do you want?"

"If you don't love him, let him go! Is it fun stringing him along? Ten years! How many ten years do you think a person has?"

Claire froze, absolutely bewildered, her breath catching in her throat. "Jared, I... I just can't find him. We were supposed to go wedding dress shopping, and I just want to know if he's okay..."

"Now you care about finding him?" Jared sneered. "Are you sick in the head? How much longer are you going to use him?"

"The startup capital for OCHH, your designs getting international recognition while you were at Sterling Designs, covering up your plagiarism scandal... Claire, I can't even count it all. You owe him more than you could ever repay in a lifetime."