My Mother Died At My Wedding Chapter 10

With her temporary identification in hand, Freya boarded a cab to the airport.
As the plane lifted off, it felt like everything was finally behind her.
When she landed in Florin, she stepped into her new life as the owner of a small seaside inn.
Meanwhile, back in Riverdale, Jack was on the verge of losing his mind.
Rewind a few hours earlier.
After dropping Lily off at her home, she clung to him, refusing to let go.
“Jack, you’ve already brought me this far. Aren’t you going to come home with me?” she said, tracing suggestive circles in his palm.
Jack hesitated, an unexplainable unease bubbling in his chest.
“Not tonight. Go on upstairs. I need to get back to Addie,” he said, pulling his hand away. He’d promised Freya he’d spend time with her. It had been far too long since they’d had a proper moment together. She’d start throwing a fit if he didn’t keep his word.
Thinking of her, a faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, a trace of warmth rising in his chest.
But Lily wasn’t so easily dismissed. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she leaned in, her voice teasing. “Jack, don’t you want to see me in that outfit you’ve been dying to see? I’m warning you. If you don’t come up now, I’m not putting it on next time!”
Her hands trailed under his shirt, her touch bold and deliberate.
Jack’s expression darkened.
“No, I promised Addie.”
But after Lily’s persistent advances, he finally gave in.
Hours later, he adjusted his clothes, smoothing out every wrinkle to ensure there wasn’t a trace of evidence left. Then he got in his car and drove home.
“Addie, I’m back. Sorry for being so—”
Jack froze mid-sentence, an odd feeling creeping over him.
The villa was eerily quiet, and there was no sign of Freya anywhere.
His gaze fell on the trash bin, where the untouched box of cream puffs sat, perfectly intact. She hadn’t eaten a single one.
A jolt of panic shot through his chest as his eyes darted around the living room, searching for something—anything—that would explain her absence.
It was as if he expected her to step out any moment, smiling at him like always.
“Addie…”
He called her name, again and again, but the silence in the house only deepened the dread growing inside him.
An unthinkable thought began to take root. “She left me?”
No. He couldn’t accept it.
“Addie, is this a joke? Come out now. Let’s open the anniversary gift together. You said we would, remember? Look, I was wrong this morning. I shouldn’t have gone to work. I’m sorry.”
Jack kept speaking as he moved through the house, his voice shaky, his steps frantic. He scanned every corner, hoping to find her hiding, waiting to surprise him.
That was when he noticed something strange.
The villa looked emptier.
Where were the photos of him and Freya?
His mind raced as he looked around, his panic swelling.
All the photos were gone.
Even their wedding portrait was missing.
Jack felt like he was losing his grip on reality, the realization crashing down on him.
She hadn’t just left—she had erased herself from his life.
Jack instinctively headed to the backyard, where the cherry trees he had planted once stood.
Now, the area was completely leveled, as if the trees had never existed.
A few workers were busy sowing flowers and grass, trying to cover the bare patch of land.
“Who told you to plant this here? Where did the cherry trees go?” Jack barked, his voice sharp, laced with a tension he couldn’t quite hide.
The workers exchanged uneasy glances before one of them hesitantly replied, “Mr. Sterling, three days ago, Mrs. Sterling told us to cut down the cherry trees and have them burned. You’ve always indulged her, so we followed her instructions…”
The others nodded nervously, their unease growing as Jack’s expression darkened.
“What?” His voice trembled slightly. “Burned?”
He staggered back a step, disbelief etched across his face.
It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck him, leaving him reeling. His knees nearly buckled as the weight of the realization began to sink in.