Three days from now, I was supposed to get engaged to my girlfriend. When I went to pick up the veil from the store, I saw a loving couple trying on wedding attire. I felt touched by their love until I realized, to my shock, that the bride-to-be was my girlfriend, and the man beside her was her ex. The sales assistant beamed at them and said, “You two are the most perfect couple I’ve ever seen.” They exchanged a smile, one that spoke of a world that only belonged to the two of them. Unable to contain myself, I interjected, “Your wedding must be a grand affair. Don’t forget to send me two invitations. I’ll be bringing my fiancée.” My girlfriend’s face went pale with panic. After picking up the veil, I passed by a bridal shop. Through the window, I saw a tender scene unfold inside. A bride-to-be stood before a mirror, her groom holding her hand tightly. Their gazes were locked onto each other. They seemed so intimately connected. Three days from now, I would be engaged to my girlfriend, Estella Quimby. I couldn’t help but compare Estella to the woman inside, and I still thought my girlfriend was more beautiful. I believed our love would be sweeter than theirs. I was already impatient to see Estella in a wedding gown. Perhaps I was anticipating too much because suddenly, I found myself imagining Estella as that bride in the shop. Then, I froze. As the image cleared, I realized that the bride was indeed Estella. The man beside her sent a chill through my heart. I recognized him—it was Marlon Faulkner, Estella’s ex-boyfriend. I couldn’t help but walk into the shop. The sales assistants were still chatting away, “You two are the most perfect couple I’ve ever seen.” “Oh, the groom is so generous, buying such an expensive wedding dress without a second thought.” “Indeed, it’s so costly! Such a waste to wear it only once.” Estella playfully tapped Marlon, but her eyes were filled with happiness. Marlon held her hand, his gaze tender yet firm. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment for us. I don’t want you to have any regrets. And one day, our daughter can wear this dress too, so she knows just how much her parents loved each other.” “I’m not giving you a daughter; I’m having a son.” “As long as it’s yours, I’ll love them either way.” The sales assistants sighed in admiration. Their sweet words were enough to make anyone envious. I stood there, watching my girlfriend plan a future with another man, a future that already included children. Estella had told me she didn’t want kids and even asked me to have a vasectomy before our engagement to prove my love for her. I knew Estella wasn’t deeply in love with me. But in this day and age, finding someone you like isn’t easy. I figured I shouldn’t dwell on who loved whom more. But now, this scene before me was like a knife to the heart. Forcing a smile, I stepped forward. “Your wedding is bound to be lively. Don’t forget to invite me.” It was only then that Estella noticed me, her smile freezing on her face. Marlon immediately pulled Estella closer, asking me sharply, “Who are you?” I threw the question back to Estella. “Why don’t you tell him who I am?” Everyone waited for her answer. Estella couldn’t bring herself to look at me. Finally, in a low voice, she said, “He’s just a colleague.” She didn’t even say I was a friend. A coldness spread through my chest. I had wanted to confront her, but when she gave that answer, I realized the reasons didn’t matter anymore. After all, my soon-to-be fiancée was pretending not to know me for the sake of another man. Suppressing the pain in my heart, I smiled and said, “Please make sure to send me two invitations. I’ll bring my fiancée.” Then, I turned and walked out. Estella didn’t come after me. Looking back, I saw Marlon whisper something in Estella’s ear, and she laughed. Without me, the uninvited guest, their happiness was restored. Marlon gently placed his hand on Estella’s waist. She didn’t mind and even helped straighten his collar. Their actions were so natural and intimate as if they were long accustomed to them. At that moment, I was nothing more than an outsider, watching this romance that had nothing to do with me from outside the window.
A few hours later, I received a notification on my phone about a charge. The message stated that two hundred and thirty thousand dollars had been spent, and the recipient was the bridal shop where I had caught Estella earlier. So, in the end, I paid for the wedding dress they tried on. I immediately dialed Estella’s number, my fingers trembling slightly with rage. But all I got was the cold sound of an automated message. She wasn’t picking up. I tried several more times, each with the same result. By the seventh call, I laughed in anger. “How could I forget?” I thought to myself. “Of course, I’ve probably been blocked by now.” This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. In the past, she would often disappear without a word. No matter how many times I called, she wouldn’t answer. In the end, I would get so anxious that I’d borrow someone else’s phone to call her, and she’d pick up right away. Later, when I asked her why she didn’t answer my calls and if she knew how worried I was, she dismissively said, “I just don’t want you checking up on me. If I block you, I can have fun without being bothered.” Now, I finally understood. To her, I was nothing more than an annoyance. That’s why she could so easily brush off my concern as interference. One after another, deduction notifications kept popping up on my phone. “She doesn’t need me,” I thought. “She just needs the limitless supplementary card I gave her. She must be having a great time.” “She’s probably having an even better time spending my money with her ex-boyfriend.” “I’ve basically become their ATM.” My phone buzzed again. I received a new notification about another charge. This time, she had dropped one hundred and twenty thousand dollars in one go at a bar. I grabbed my car keys and drove straight to that bar. The place was dimly lit, filled with a deafening mix of music and voices. When I finally spotted them, Estella was leaning drunkenly against Marlon, feeding him drinks from her glass. I couldn’t help but clench my fists, feeling the anger flare up inside me once more. Estella caught sight of me and immediately looked annoyed. “Ugh, here comes the killjoy.” Her voice was slurred with drunkenness, but I could hear every word clearly. I stood there, my body stiff with anger and humiliation, my breath growing heavy. Marlon, on the other hand, wore a smug expression, his eyes taunting me under the dim lights. I asked her, “Estella, don’t you have anything to say?” She took a casual sip of her drink and replied, “I’m just out with friends having a drink. Don’t you have friends? Can’t you see?” A group of people I didn’t know chimed in mockingly, “Yeah, man. Why so uptight? Come have a drink with us!” Estella always acted like a haughty little princess in front of me. She never spoke to me kindly. Even in front of a crowd, she’d always have to jab at me, never caring about my dignity. With those sycophantic friends around, she got even more brazen. “I wanted to tell you earlier today that Marlon’s getting married tomorrow. Tonight is his last night as a single man, and as his friend, of course, I want him to have a great time. Why are you being so petty? You caused a scene during the day, and now you’re here at night to drag me away. “How am I supposed to have any fun like this?” Others started criticizing me, too. “Yeah, man.” “It’s Marlon’s last night of freedom. You’re ruining the mood for everyone.” “Wow, what a control freak. Can’t even let his girlfriend have a good time?” Their accusations, mixed with the blaring music, drowned me. Estella watched coldly from the sidelines. Seeing things spiral further out of control, Marlon decided to play the good guy. “Alright, everyone, that’s enough. Let me say something. I’m sure he’s just worried, that’s all.” The crowd fell silent immediately. He pretended to be friendly and patted my shoulder. I recoiled in disgust, but he didn’t get angry. “Don’t worry. When Estella is with me, I’ll always take good care of her. You can go home and relax now.” As soon as he finished, all eyes turned to me as if they were all urging me to leave. I looked helplessly at Estella. But her expression was the same. My heart shattered, piece by piece. In the end, I gave up resisting, said nothing, and turned to leave. Behind me, their cheers erupted. “Woohoo! Let’s keep drinking, everyone!” “Let’s make this night unforgettable!”
Estella didn’t come home all night. It wasn’t until noon that she stumbled through the door. Clearly, she was still hungover. She barged in without a care, knocking over various items, but she didn’t seem to notice. She staggered her way through the house and finally collapsed onto the bed. I stood there, watching her as she fell into a deep sleep. A ridiculous thought flashed through my mind, “At least she still knows to come home.” But then, I saw a love bite on her neck. The swollen red mark told the story of Estella’s reckless night. It was unmistakably Marlon’s way of mocking me, a brazen insult. I had been the one who pursued Estella in the first place. Back in school, she and Marlon were a famous couple, and their breakup was the talk of the campus. I had fallen for her at first sight during my freshman year. When I heard they had broken up, I seized the chance and began pursuing Estella with relentless passion. At first, she was indifferent to me, but eventually, out of all her suitors, she accepted only my gifts. That gave me hope. I tried even harder, and finally, I won her heart. Estella told me she broke up with Marlon because he had cheated on her. She was heartbroken and had lost faith in love. So, she needed me to constantly prove my love for her. I did everything I could to show her how much I cared. But in the end, I realized that whenever Marlon beckoned, Estella would run back to him without hesitation. All my efforts had become a joke. Now, I could no longer deceive myself. I knew it was time to face the reality that this relationship was beyond saving. Estella hadn’t been asleep long before she woke up and started making noise again. When she saw the mess she’d left from the night before, she looked very displeased. “Where’s Dora? Why hasn’t she cleaned up all this trash?” I stopped her. “Estella, we need to talk.” She frowned and sidestepped me. She wore that all-too-familiar look of impatience. “I don’t have time to listen to your nonsense right now.” But I insisted. “Last night\.\.\.” She cut me off immediately. “There you go again about last night. Aren’t you tired of it? You want to know about the wedding dress? It was just a gift. Isn’t it normal to give a friend a gift when they’re getting married?” I thought, “Sure, giving a gift is normal, but a wedding dress? Giving a wedding dress to your ex-boyfriend is definitely not normal.” “As for the drinking, it was just a normal gathering among friends. There were a lot of people there. Stop overthinking it.” I thought, “Drinking with friends is normal, but the way you two were all over each other, and the way they kicked me out—none of that is normal.” I had given up, hoping for a reasonable explanation. Frustrated, I said, “If you hate me so much, then let’s just…” But Estella had already gathered her things and completely lost her patience. “Ugh, I’m done. I’m leaving. I’m not talking to you anymore. I’m going to Marlon’s wedding tonight. You don’t like him anyway, so there’s no need for you to come. “Just stay home and take some time to cool off.” With that, she headed straight for the door, not giving me another chance to speak. The door slammed shut in my face. The room suddenly fell silent. I stood there, waves of bitterness rising within me. Her indifference was unbearable. Compared to Marlon, she didn’t even want to spare me a glance. I thought, “She’s so eager to go to the wedding. But is Marlon really having a wedding tonight?” I started to suspect that this might just be a false rumor Marlon had spread to lure Estella in. And, of course, Estella would take the bait. She loved him, so of course, she would go. Just as I had guessed, a friend who went to Marlon’s wedding told me the event had been called off. “The bride ran away.” I raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?” “For real! I saw it with my own eyes. Marlon’s fiancée was Scarlett Ramirez, the daughter of the CEO of the Ramirez Group. Rumor has it she ran away for an old flame. But that guy’s already engaged too.” I hadn’t expected this at all. I knew Scarlett. We had even gone on a few dates arranged by our families. From what I remember, she was a very gentle girl. The Ramirez Group and our Haynes Group had business ties, so us being together would have made perfect sense. But back then, all I could think about was Estella, so I turned it down. I never imagined such a quiet girl would pull off a stunt like running away from her own wedding. I couldn’t help but wonder who that old flame was that had driven her to such extremes. I thought, “Sure enough, love makes people do things they never would.” That night, Estella didn’t come home. I wasn’t even surprised anymore. In my mind, I was already making excuses for her. I guessed she’d probably say, “My friend is going through a tough time. Isn’t it only right for me to be there for him?” I thought bitterly, “When she decided to be there for Marlon, did she think about me even for a second?” I laughed at myself. I didn’t know why. Even now, I was still trying to find excuses for her. I knew all of this was already meaningless.
The next day was Saturday. Estella’s mother, Marina Quimby, had Alzheimer’s, and her condition had been worsening recently. To spend more time with Marina, we’d agreed to have lunch together every Saturday. Even though I was upset with Estella, I couldn’t just ignore Marina. Before she fell ill, she had always treated me very kindly. I adjusted my mood and went to the nursing home anyway. I hadn’t expected to see Estella there. She glanced up at me, her face expressionless, as if she wasn’t planning to explain anything about yesterday, or even wanted me there at all. “I thought after all the drama you caused yesterday, you wouldn’t show up today.” “I’m here to see Mrs. Quimby.” Estella wasn’t having it. “Well, she doesn’t even recognize you anymore.” I didn’t quite understand what she meant until I heard a voice calling from inside, “Kylian, help me out.” Just as I was about to respond, a voice answered quicker than mine, “Of course, Mrs. Quimby.” In a moment, Marina was helped out of the room. The person supporting her was Marlon. I hadn’t expected Estella to bring him here. I stood there, frozen. Marina seemed delighted, holding Marlon’s hand and asking with concern. “Kylian, I saved some grapes for you—your favorite. I’ve been waiting for you to come and eat them. Have you been working hard lately? Thank you so much for visiting me even when you’re so busy.” Marina had mistaken Marlon for me, thinking he was the one who had always cared for her. It felt like a massive weight pressed down on my chest. I finally understood what Estella had meant earlier. She thought I was easily replaceable. And reality had proven her right. It felt like a hard slap across my face. I realized coming here was just a foolish attempt on my part. I knew if I stayed any longer, I’d only be making a fool of myself. I turned to leave. But Marina seemed to sense something. She shook off Marlon’s hand and suddenly began shouting, “Where is Kylian? Where is Kylian?” “Mrs. Quimby, I’m Kylian.” “Mom, Kylian is right here.” No matter how Estella and Marlon tried to calm her down, Marina only became more agitated. I stopped in my tracks and handed an apple to Marina. She took the apple, and slowly, she began to calm down. Marina looked up and studied me carefully as if trying to match my face to some image buried in her memories. She still didn’t recognize me, but there was an inexplicable kindness in her eyes. “Young man, who are you? Stay and have lunch with us.” Marlon, seemingly wanting to make me uncomfortable, played along, pretending to be the host. “Yes, join us for lunch.” Marina shot him a glare. “Kylian, why are you so talkative today? You’re not as pleasant as you used to be.” I couldn’t help but laugh at Marina’s words. I realized that while Marina mistook Marlon for me, she could still sense the difference between us. During lunch, Marina kept asking about me and showing concern. Estella tried to butt in but never got the chance. “Young man, are you married?” “No.” “Do you have a girlfriend?” I was silent for a couple of seconds, then firmly shook my head. “We broke up.” Estella’s fork slipped from her hand. She stared at me, wide-eyed, in disbelief. Marina’s eyes suddenly seemed clearer. She sighed and looked at me with affection. “It’s good you broke up. It’s good. Silly boy, you need to take care of yourself.” After the torment of the past few days, her warm words nearly brought tears to my eyes. But before I could shed a tear, Estella, disregarding her mother’s presence, angrily blurted out, “Kylian, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you trying to humiliate me in front of my mom?” I looked at this woman I had loved for six years, now so unfamiliar, and shook my head again, saying, “No, I’m serious. Let’s break up.” My voice was calm and resolute, with no trace of wavering. I made a final judgment on our relationship with a sense of detachment.
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