My Fiancé Let a Stalker Drag Me Away, Then Regretted It

Three days before the wedding, a stalker grabbed me by the hair and dragged me into a back alley.

He tore my clothes and slapped me across the face more than a dozen times.

When I had no hope left, my hand closed around a brick and I knocked him out, then used the last of my strength to call my fianc, Darren Simmons.

"Darren, a stalker dragged me into an alley. Please, come save me!"

Darren's voice was calm.

"I'm taking Carrie Henson home. Her brother's out of prison, and she's the one he hates most. I have to keep her safe."

The footsteps behind me were getting closer.

"But the one following me is her brother!"

Anger crept into Darren's voice.

"Carrie put family aside for you and sent her own brother to prison. Now she can't even go home."

"You were the one he stripped and humiliated back then. You got so depressed you couldn't leave the house. You of all people should know how scared she is."

"Olivia Cox, stop using something like this to lie to me and fight for attention!"

He hung up.

The man behind me was breathing harder, on the edge of coming to, so I hit him with the brick again and fled home in a panic.

A text from Carrie came through right then.

"Olivia, Darren says three days of protecting me isn't enough. He's already postponed your wedding."

In the mirror, my whole face was smeared with blood.

Once, Darren had his arm broken saving me, and even then he insisted on walking me home for five years.

Now he had left me in that back alley.

...

I went to the hospital that same night, and the doctor preserved my clothes as evidence.

After examining my injuries and collecting the evidence, the doctor urged me to call the police right away.

"Miss Cox, it's only been two hours since it happened. Reporting it now is the most effective thing you can do."

I had just taken out my phone when the door to the room was shoved open.

Darren saw my swollen, bruised face and walked to my side, shaking.

"Olivia..."

He reached for the corner of my mouth, and I turned my face away.

"I'm sorry, Olivia. I shouldn't have assumed you were just jealous of Carrie."

"If I'd gone to you sooner, none of this would have happened."

He picked up a cotton swab from the table and gently dabbed at the corner of my mouth.

"Don't be scared. I'm here. I'll stay with you."

"I bought a new emergency alarm. Whenever you need me, I'll be there in an instant."

Over these five years, I had gone through countless therapy sessions.

Every time my emotions collapsed and the thought of ending it crept in, it was Darren who held me and said,

"Don't be scared. I'm here."

But the next instant, Darren's phone rang.

"Darren, my mom just hit me."

"My brother got hurt, and Mom and Dad say I'm the one who ruins everyone..."

The moment Darren heard her crying, he fumbled, and the iodine nearly shattered on the floor.

"Carrie, don't be scared, I'm here. I'll come right now."

The same promise, one he had already given to someone else.

Darren stood to leave, and I caught the cuff of his sleeve.

"You just promised me. You said you'd stay with me at the hospital."

"Darren, my injuries aren't even..."

He yanked his hand free, cutting me off.

"You're safe here. Nothing else is going to happen to you."

"Carrie has no one protecting her. I have to go save her!"

"Give me an hour. Once I've got Carrie, I'll come see you."

I handled everything alone, and just as I was about to call the police,

Darren pushed the door open with Carrie and knelt in front of me.

"Olivia, I'm begging you, don't call the police."

"I know you blame me for taking your emergency alarm, and for taking Darren from you."

She pressed the alarm back into my hand and clutched the hem of my clothes.

"As long as you don't report it, I'll quit right away and disappear from both your lives."

"Five years ago I testified for you, and my parents beat me and cursed me and hated me for five years."

"It's only since my brother got out that they've started to warm to me again."

Before I could even take the alarm, Darren snatched it away and pressed it back into her hand.

"Who said you could quit? Olivia already owes you as it is."

Darren turned to face me and spoke in a low voice.

"Olivia, Carrie has had no home for five years, all because she saved you."

"Her brother just got out of prison. It's normal for him to hold a grudge against you."

"Yes, he hit you last night, but you smashed his head open, five stitches. Let's just call it even."

Hearing him say that, I stared at him, stunned.

"So he attacked me again just because I sent him to prison, because I owe him?"

Darren's face soured, and his brow furrowed.

"Then what do you want? You've already wrecked Carrie's family for five years."

"She's suffered all of this for you. Would it kill you to give a little?"

Carrie's eyes reddened.

"Darren, you've done more than enough for me. Please, don't fight with Olivia over me anymore."

"If she wants to call the police, let her. Even if I go home and my parents beat me to death, I deserve it."

Carrie turned to leave, and Darren pulled her into his arms.

"None of this is your fault. I'll protect you."

Darren reached to grab my injury report.

"Just let this go. Don't call the police. I'll make it up to you properly."

It was the same hospital.

Five years ago, Darren's whole arm had been broken.

I looked at his wound and couldn't stop crying, and Darren comforted me instead.

"Olivia, anyone who hurts you, I won't let a single one go."

"From this day on, I won't let you suffer even the smallest wrong."

Watching the way he guarded Carrie with everything he had, something in me went bitter.

But I pushed his hand away and made the call.

"Officer, I've been stalked and attacked in retaliation. I want you to get me justice."

Darren's face went terrifyingly dark.

"Olivia, you won't stop until you've gotten Carrie killed!"

"I forgot to tell you. Our wedding is postponed for now. I'll be protecting her during this time!"

He left with his arm around Carrie and didn't look back at me once.

I slipped the engagement ring off my finger. That long-overdue wedding, I wouldn't be waiting for it anymore.

After the wound was cleaned and bandaged, the sky was just turning pale when the police called me in.

By the time I got there, Darren was already seated in the mediation room, beside Carrie.

"Officer, I'm Olivia's fianc."

"My fiance has had a psychiatric condition for a long time. Her mental state isn't stable."

"She's held a grudge against Carrie's brother, so she hallucinated and attacked him."

"I'll compensate the Henson family for their losses, and I'll apologize to Carrie and her brother on Olivia's behalf."

Darren handed the officer five years of my psychological evaluations and diagnoses.

Over those five years, I'd had thoughts of ending my life. I'd cut my own arm.

Darren knew every ugly moment of it. And now, to help a stalker, he tore the scars back open and put them on display for everyone to see.

The officer in charge read through the file, then looked at me differently.

"Miss Cox, if your psychiatric condition really is this severe, then we'll have to reconsider what you've told us."

I clenched my fists.

"My condition improved six months ago. Last night, I was clear-headed the entire time."

I wanted to say more, but Darren brought Carrie's brother in.

"Officer, I'm willing to cover his costs, and afterward I'll stay with my fiance and see her treatment through."

Not giving me a chance to speak, Carrie's brother launched into his sob story.

"I only wanted to apologize to Miss Cox, but the moment she saw me, she grabbed a brick and swung it at me."

"Yes, I hurt her before, but I've turned my life around."

Right in front of the officer, Carrie moved to kneel and confess again.

"Olivia, I apologize for my brother."

"And I promise, I won't appear in front of Darren and make you jealous or suspicious anymore. Please, don't take revenge on us."

Darren helped Carrie up, then turned to comfort me:

"Olivia, of course I know these years have been hard on you. But I'm doing this for your own good."

"Breaking up Carrie's family was wrong of you. I don't want you making more enemies and getting yourself hurt in return."

"Calling you mentally ill is meant to get you off the hook."

I stepped away from his hand and looked at him coldly.

"So you want me to admit I lost my mind, went crazy and hurt someone, and then framed him. Is that it?"

Carrie's brother let his eyes drop to my chest and coughed twice.

"You tore your own clothes and staged the whole thing!"

"If you keep making a scene, I'll press charges against you for attempted murder!"

Darren soothed the two of them gently, then looked back at the officer.

"I'll apologize on my fiance's behalf. Let's end this here."

Watching Darren like that, the last shred of hope in me died.

Before the officer could announce anything, I pulled out a piece of security footage.

"After it happened, I asked the shops nearby to give me their camera recordings."

In the footage, you could clearly see Carrie's brother dragging me into the back alley.

Her brother was held for investigation.

And Darren, for slandering me, was to be questioned too.

As I walked out the door, Darren's face had gone white.

"You had the evidence all along. Why did you have to let me be humiliated in public?"

Carrie tearfully tried to talk him down.

"Darren, don't blame Olivia. It's all my fault."

"I'll go straight home and confess to Mom and Dad. I'm the one who hurt everyone."

Darren carefully wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and pressed a set of keys into her hand.

"Go home and wait for me first. I told you, I'll keep you safe."

Those were the keys to our wedding home. I hadn't even lived there since the renovations were finished.

"Darren, that's our wedding home."

His brow creased slightly.

"The wedding's been postponed. It doesn't matter who lives there."

Carrie's tears fell, as if she were moved.

"But the day after tomorrow, you were supposed to marry Olivia."

Darren glanced at me and said coldly:

"She's mentally unstable, throwing wild accusations around. She's in no state to get married right now!"

"When she admits she was wrong and gets better, we'll hold the wedding. Until then, it's postponed indefinitely."

I didn't say anything more to them. I turned and headed home.

By the time Darren canceled the wedding, I had already bought my ticket out of Harborview.

Yesterday, after I went back alone,

I sent every couple's thing back to Darren by courierthe engagement diamond, the anniversary gifts, all of it.

That night he called twenty-seven times. I never picked up once.

The next day, Darren found where I was staying.

He set the ointment on my table and softened his voice.

"Olivia, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have handled it my way."

"And I never should have laid all that ugly stuff out in front of them. I was just too anxious, that's all."

He changed my bandages while he spoke, patient about it.

"Protecting Carrie was only ever about responsibility."

He picked up the ring and tried to slide it back onto my finger.

"Olivia, you're the one I want to marry. The wedding is just a formality. A few days late doesn't matter."

Because of what had happened to me and because of my illness, Darren's mother had always been against us.

But he never abandoned me over it. He took me from city to city for treatment.

A few months ago, when I started getting better, Darren held me and cried from sheer relief.

"Olivia, you're finally well. On your birthday, we'll get married right away."

This time, though, he let go of my hand himself.

The ring was only halfway on when his phone rang.

Carrie was crying so hard she could barely breathe.

"Darren, my parents say it's all my fault my brother got arrested."

"They want to sell me off to some old bachelor in the village and use the bride price to save him."

On the other end, I could hear shouting and blows.

Darren shot to his feet. The ring dropped to the floor.

"Carrie, wait for me. I'm coming right now."

He didn't have time to explain. He was gone before I could say anything.

An hour later, Darren called on video.

Carrie was curled against him, sobbing.

Darren sighed.

"Olivia, Carrie's parents are forcing her to marry back into the mountain village."

"Unless she can find someone willing to marry her by tomorrow, her parents won't let it go."

Darren bit down hard on his lip, and Carrie added,

"Olivia, you haven't had time to cancel your wedding venue yet."

"Tomorrowcould you lend me the venue and Darren, just for one day?"

I clenched my fists and forced down everything churning inside me.

"I'm not lending the venue. That's my money."

"As for Darren, do whatever you want. I can break up with him."

When he heard that, Darren's voice dropped low.

"Olivia, don't start being unreasonable again. Carrie and I are only getting married for show."

"Carrie got beaten and screamed at by her parents for five years because of you. You can't even help her for one day?"

I hung up on him.

A few minutes later, my friends and Darren's got the invitation.

Tomorrow's wedding was on as plannedonly the bride had been swapped to Carrie.

In our shared group chat, Carrie posted a video of herself in a wedding dress.

"I saved Olivia out of the goodness of my heart, and I got beaten and screamed at by my parents for five years for italmost sold off into the deep mountains."

"My brother's out of prison and he's done nothing wrong anymore, and she still schemed to get back at him"

Darren spoke up to back her, too.

"I'm marrying Carrie because I finally saw the real Olivia Cox."

"I honestly can't stand a woman who uses her illness to bully the person who saved her life!"

The group messages kept getting forwarded, until it blew up online.

Someone dug up my address and prayed I'd get stalked every single day.

Darren just sent me one line.

"Olivia, I only did this because I had no choice."

"Once this blows over and Carrie's out of trouble, I'll still marry you."

I didn't reply. I just gathered all of it.

Every last piece of it, I would post at the wedding tomorrowright on time.

On the day of the wedding, the online abuse against me kept coming.

Some of them even found my building and stood outside pounding on the door, hurling insults.

My chest was so heavy I could barely breathe, and my hands wouldn't stop shaking.

My backup medication had always been kept at Darren's place.

With no other choice, I called him.

"Darren, can you bring me the medicine from home?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, then his voice, irritated.

"Olivia, my wedding with Carrie is about to start."

"Every single time she needs my help, you just happen to have an episode."

"How many times are you going to run this same act?"

I was gasping for air in big, ragged breaths.

"I'm not lying to you, Darren, please, just bring me the medicine."

Darren softened his voice.

"I know you're having an episode. But this whole thing started because of you."

"I'm sending you an apology statement. Post it online, and I'll bring the medicine over right away."

A document popped up in the chat.

Darren wanted me to admit I was mentally unstable, that I'd hurt Carrie's brother and then framed them both.

My medicine was custom-made. The specialist treating me was someone Darren had spent a long time begging to take my case.

And now that bottle of pills had become his leverage over me.

I hung up and dialed 911.

I swallowed my emergency pills, forced my body to hold together, and waited until twelve o'clock.

The wedding began. I kept my eyes locked on the video feed.

I'd paid for the venue, which meant I could watch everything happening there.

The surveillance footage of me being dragged and assaulted in the alley, along with the recording of Darren urging me to admit I was mentally ill, all of it went live.

The wedding hall dissolved into chaos.

Carrie collapsed into Darren's arms, crying.

The screen wouldn't shut off, and the records of Carrie's brother stalking and harassing me again and again played across it too.

Darren called. I hung up.

"Olivia, are you trying to completely destroy Carrie and me?!"

"I'm giving you one last chance. Delete all of this and come apologize to Carrie in person."

"Otherwise, forget about ever getting a marriage license with me. Carrie and I will make this fake marriage real!"

After reading the text, I put him straight on my blocked list.

It was time for my flight to Port Haven for treatment.

This time, I was walking out of the deep alley that had trapped me for five years, on my own.

The whole wedding turned into a farce, and the guests scattered without a word.

Carrie nearly cried herself unconscious. Darren, unable to contain his fury, drove straight to the building where Olivia lived.

"Olivia, get out here! If you don't apologize to Carrie today, I'm cutting you off for good!"

Darren searched the apartment several times over, but there was no sign of her.

All he found was the engagement ring, sitting on the table.

And pressed beneath it, the torn pieces of their photo together.

"Darren, let's break up."

Once the words registered, Darren stood frozen where he was, stunned.