After My Groom Adopted Her Child, I Vanished

Upon returning home, I half-expected to find Kolton and Bailee in the middle of a heated argument, emotions running high between them. To my surprise, Kolton was alone in the living room, and his bedroom door was wide open, almost as though he had left it that way intentionally.

As soon as Kolton saw me, he opened his mouth, maybe intending to say something, but I brushed past him and headed to the kitchen. A gnawing hunger had crept up on me, and it seemed like the perfect time to fix myself some lunch.

At lunch, I noticed Kolton seemed like he wanted to say something, but since I stayed silent, he remained quiet as well.

Eventually, unable to hold back, he looked up at me. "Layla, about earlier..."

I continued picking at my food and replied coolly, "Let's not talk while we're eating."

Kolton hesitated and swallowed his words.

I felt a sense of satisfaction inside.

When we were together, I was usually the one doing most of the talking, chatting away endlessly. But often, when I deliberately shifted the conversation, he'd respond vaguely, give little response, or just say, "Let's not talk while we're eating."

Back then, I felt embarrassed, thinking I was lacking in social graces.

Only later did I realize the truth—it wasn't about manners. When you're with the wrong person, no matter what you say, it's just ignored.

Kolton Long's final words barely registered with me. After dinner, I escaped to my room.

Inside, I was surrounded by items I had gathered since we got engaged. Bright paper streamers, festive window decorations, and colorful bedding filled the room. I piled them together into a small mountain on the bed.

Once selected with joy and dreams of our future, these items now felt like relics from another time. I found a large bag and quietly packed them away.

With my cousin Bristol's wedding coming up at the end of the year and her family facing some financial constraints, it seemed a shame to just throw these things out. They hadn't come cheap. So, I decided to pack everything up and give them to her tomorrow.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and I paused in my packing.

"Layla, about the jewelry... can we hold off for a few days? A friend of mine is in a pinch," Kolton's voice came from the other side.

Jewelry? I hesitated for a moment before remembering that around this time in the past, Kolton had promised to take me to buy some jewelry. I had waited at home all day, full of anticipation, but he never showed up. Naturally, the jewelry remained unpurchased.

I gave a casual "okay" and continued packing. After all, he wasn’t going to show up, so my response didn’t really matter.

Eventually, the sound of his footsteps faded away, and I returned to sorting my things.

I hadn't lived here long and didn’t have many personal belongings. One suitcase was enough for most items. The real issue was the clothes I rarely wore. When I moved in, I thought we’d soon be married, so I brought most of my wardrobe from home.

Looking back, that was a mistake.

I found another large bag, folded the clothes carefully, tied them up, and decided to send them back home first.

Heading downstairs, I realized Kolton had already taken the car, so I wrestled the large bag of clothes onto my shoulder and walked for over half an hour before finally reaching my parents’ house.

Mom saw me and immediately assumed that Kolton and I had a falling out. To keep my plans to attend college intact for now, I decided to keep the truth under wraps. I told her I needed to make space for new clothes and had brought these back temporarily.

That seemed to put her mind at ease.

If she knew I was planning to break off the engagement with Kolton, she'd probably chase me down the street with a rolling pin.

Yes, three streets. She'd chase me with a rolling pin.