Chapter 0400

The star-crossed lovers were finally having their happy ending. So why did it feel so wrong?

Noah arrived at the altar, his heart pounding. The chapel was beautifully decorated, just as Zoe wanted—white flowers and gauzy fabrics adorning every surface. Guests filled the pews, their excited chatter a low hum in the background. Everything was perfect. Everything was as it should be.

Only one thing was missing: Noah’s heart. "It's just nerves," he thought. "Cold feet, maybe. I'm still traumatized after that awful marriage to…Hannah." Wait. This wasn’t right.

The music started, and all eyes turned to the back of the chapel. Zoe appeared in the doorway, a vision in white. Her dress was stunning, hugging her curves before flowing into a dramatic train. A delicate veil covered her face, but Noah could see the radiant smile beneath it.

As she began her walk down the aisle, Noah felt a sudden, sharp pain behind his eyes. A flash of…something. A memory? He was coming home late last night—though he couldn’t remember why. Zoe was there, her face twisted with fury, throwing something into the fireplace. The flames leaped higher with each item she tossed in. Scott was there, too. “Get him, Scott! Quickly, while I get the tea!” A scuffle. A broken vase. Scott held Noah down as Zoe poured something down his throat. The tea. It tasted bitter, wrong. “How dare you,” Zoe had hissed, her voice dripping with venom. “You should never have gone there…you should never have talked to her!”

Noah blinked hard, shaking his head. What was that? A dream? A nightmare? It couldn’t have been real. His eternal moonlight, his Zoe, would never do something like that to him.

Zoe reached the altar, her smile radiant as she took Noah’s hands. Her nails dug into his skin, a little too hard. And as Noah looked into her eyes, he saw something flash—something cold, something terrifying. For a moment, Noah felt afraid of her. And Noah wasn’t afraid of anything.

The priest began the ceremony, his voice echoing throughout the chapel. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”

Noah barely heard the words, too distracted by the look in Zoe’s eyes. Something was wrong. He didn’t want to be here.

“Zoe,” the priest said, “do you take Noah as your husband?”

Zoe’s smile widened, her eyes never leaving Noah’s. “I do,” she said, her voice filled with warmth and love. But her nails dug even deeper into Noah’s hands, and he had to fight not to wince.

“Noah,” the priest continued, “do you take Zoe as your wife?”

Noah opened his mouth, the words on the tip of his tongue. This was it. This was the moment he’d been waiting for for years. All he had to do was say two simple words.

…

Suddenly, the doors at the back of the chapel burst open with a resounding bang. Gasps and shocked murmurs rippled through the crowd.

There, in the doorway, stood Hannah. She wore her dressing gown, her body illuminated by sunlight pouring in from behind her. Her hair was wild, and she held something aloft. “Stop this wedding!” she cried.

Several guards tried to drag her back, but she fought against them and threw the item down the aisle. It skittered across the marble floor, stopping just feet from the altar. Noah leaned forward, squinting. A seashell. With a leather strap that had been cut by a knife.