For the tenth time, my boyfriend Kevin abandoned me at the altar after receiving a phone call from his childhood friend. I was left standing alone on stage, completely humiliated. Swallowing my pride, I tried calling Kevin, begging him to come back and finish the ceremony. But he wouldn’t even answer my calls! His childhood friend Zoe smugly sent me a photo of the two of them lying in bed together, taunting me: “I win!” My heart turned to ice. Ten weddings planned, and ten times postponed. The officiant looked at me sympathetically. “Do you still want to continue with the ceremony?” I forced a smile. “Yes! We must finish it!” I sent a message to Jack, the boy next door, and breathed a sigh of relief when he agreed to come. I told the officiant to wait just a little longer. This was my tenth attempt at getting married. It couldn’t be ruined again. Jack arrived quickly, his confident aura immediately drawing attention. He strode directly to center stage, standing beside my lonely figure with a mischievous smile. “Well, Miss Lily, have you made up your mind?” I nodded. It was just a marriage of convenience to appease our families. Anyone would do at this point. Besides… Grandpa’s condition couldn’t wait any longer. His health had started rapidly deteriorating six months ago. Whenever I visited him, he would always talk about wanting to see me married before he died. As the person I was closest to growing up, Grandpa’s only wish was to see me find someone worthy to spend my life with. That way, after he passed, I would have someone to rely on and wouldn’t be taken advantage of. Watching Grandpa grow thinner by the day, I couldn’t bear to let him leave with regrets. So I became determined to get married. My boyfriend Kevin had promised we would get married. But after ten wedding attempts, he failed to show up every single time. Leaving me to become the laughingstock of the entire city over and over again. And his excuse for missing every wedding was always because of his childhood friend Zoe. Zoe never seemed to have any problems, except on my wedding days. She would either claim to be having a depressive episode and threaten suicide, or say she was too scared to be alone after watching a horror movie. The most ridiculous time was when she suddenly decided she wanted to take wedding photos while out shopping, and called Kevin to be her stand-in groom. I wasn’t allowed to express any dissatisfaction about these absurd reasons. If I dared to send a message asking about it, I would be met with a barrage of angry words from Kevin. “Lily, can’t you be more understanding?! Zoe is like a sister to me. She needs me right now. We can have the wedding any day, why are you being so petty?” But after ten times of being abandoned and betrayed, my patience had finally run out. This time, I wouldn’t stand around waiting anymore. After truly letting go, I found the pain in my chest had eased. Perhaps I had become numb to it all. Or maybe Grandpa’s words had given me strength. “Our Lily is such a wonderful girl. After I’m gone, Grandpa hopes you can find someone who loves you and won’t let you be mistreated.” Grandpa’s aged face flashed in my mind, immediately giving me renewed determination. I couldn’t let down those who truly loved me. So I took Jack’s hand, and together we walked down the aisle. I was determined to face this wedding with my best self, so that Grandpa could watch the video later with peace of mind. As we exchanged rings, my phone buzzed with a message from Kevin. He was still completely oblivious to his wrongdoings, using the same careless tone as always: [Lily, don’t make a fuss. Zoe has a stomachache today, I really can’t get away. We can have the wedding any day, I’ll make it up to you later.] Seeing those words again, my heart couldn’t help but ache sharply. I gripped my phone tightly. Jack noticed and raised an eyebrow. “Do you still want to put on the ring?” I looked up, my gaze resolute: “Yes!” After completing all the ceremony procedures, I was utterly exhausted. Before leaving, Jack stared at me intently. “Lily, I’ll give you two days to change your mind. In two days we’ll go get the marriage license. I hope you’ve thought it through.” Those words gave me a graceful out, but I had already made up my mind to end things with Kevin. “Don’t worry, I won’t regret this!” After Jack left, I received a message from Kevin. [Lily, you have 10 minutes to buy painkillers and bring them over. Don’t make me angry.] Below was an address for a well-known lovers’ hotel in the city. A moment later, my phone buzzed again. It was a photo of two people lying in bed together. The sender was Zoe. And my boyfriend was one of the people in the picture. [I win again!] More than the pain of being betrayed and abandoned, what I felt most was disgust. On my wedding day, my groom was in a hotel with another woman. I unconsciously clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms, drawing blood.
In the end, I still went to the hotel. This relationship was completely over as far as I was concerned. I didn’t want to have any more entanglements with Kevin after this. So I wanted to break up with him face to face, and get back the key to my house. After all, the place he was living in now was an apartment I had bought outright! When I arrived at the hotel, Kevin saw that my hands were empty. He immediately flew into a rage. “Lily, what’s wrong with you? Where are the painkillers I told you to buy?” Zoe sat in the corner of the bed, looking pitiful as she said: “Kevin, don’t be angry. Big sis Lily was probably too tired after preparing for the wedding all day. She must have forgotten.” She knew full well that the groom had been called away from the wedding, yet she still spoke so casually about it. Being mocked to my face like this, even though my heart was already in tatters, I still couldn’t help but feel a stabbing pain. My fingers slowly clenched into fists, almost drawing blood from my palms again. When disappointment reaches a certain level, I didn’t even have any tears left. The cramped, intimate atmosphere of the lovers’ hotel room was suffocating. Kevin and I had been together since college. It started with his crazy, passionate pursuit that gradually made me fall for him. After we got together, he remembered every holiday better than I did, always surprising me with gifts. Even when I would occasionally throw little tantrums, he would take all the blame on himself and patiently coax me. My girlfriends often envied me for finding such a good boyfriend. I thought the same, which is why I wanted to get married right after graduation. But everything changed the day Kevin’s childhood friend Zoe returned from abroad. From that day on, Kevin’s heart completely turned towards an outsider. Between me and Zoe, I was always the one left behind. Kevin affectionately ruffled Zoe’s hair. “Ah, you’re always so understanding.” Then he walked over to me, frowning to show his displeasure. “Why didn’t you reply to my messages?” My repeated concessions had only made Kevin more and more presumptuous. He had abandoned our wedding and me, yet the first words out of his mouth were accusations. I tried to calm myself, keeping my tone cold. “I forgot.” Kevin was stunned, seemingly shocked by my tone. I coldly raised my eyes to look at Kevin. “Kevin, you stood me up again today.” Hearing this, a flash of guilt crossed his eyes, but he angrily defended himself. “It’s not like I did it on purpose. Zoe wasn’t feeling well, I couldn’t just ignore her, could I?” “We can have the wedding another day, can’t we? Lily, stop being so unreasonable, can you be more understanding?” He had clearly done something wrong, yet he was trying to turn it back on me. I no longer had the desire to argue with him, and forced myself to coldly spit out a sentence. “Well, I don’t want to wait for you anymore. Let’s break up!” With that, I turned decisively to leave. “Lily, what the fuck did you just say?!” Kevin shrieked and immediately chased after me. At that moment, Zoe let out an “Oh no!” behind us. Followed by the crisp sound of something shattering. I stopped in confusion and turned to look. The next second, my eyes went wide. On the ground was a jade pendant, smashed to pieces. It was the one Grandpa had gotten for me to keep me safe, by kowtowing step by step to the temple! I stood there completely dumbfounded, with anger about to erupt. When I came to my senses, I forcefully pushed Kevin away and rushed over to carefully pick up the pieces of the jade pendant. “Why is my jade pendant with you?!” I glared at Zoe, demanding an answer. Kevin came over, looking very displeased as he grumbled. “Lily, what are you freaking out about? You’re going to scare Zoe.” I looked at Kevin in disbelief. He clearly knew how important this jade pendant was to me, yet he could still say something like this so casually. In an instant, a feeling of powerlessness crept over my heart. The soft flesh of my palms was rubbed raw, bloody and mangled. Sure enough, when it came to Zoe, I would always be the one to back down. But this time it involved Grandpa. I didn’t want to hold back anymore. I raised my hand and slapped Kevin hard across the face. “If you’re blind, go to the hospital and get treated!” “She stole the jade pendant Grandpa gave me without my permission, and then broke it. What right do you have to forgive her on my behalf?” The room fell silent for a moment. In the past, no matter how angry I got, I had never raised a hand to him. Now it was Kevin’s turn to be dumbfounded. “You dare to slap me? Lily, you actually dare to hit me now?!” He lunged at me and grabbed my neck, squeezing so hard I could barely breathe. He glared at me, his eyes full of viciousness and hatred, as if looking at a mortal enemy. I couldn’t help but wonder, when did the person who once looked at me with nothing but love change like this? I remember back when we weren’t even together yet, I had posted a photo on social media of a tiny 2mm cut from a small knife. Kevin waited outside my dorm at 4am just to bring me a first aid kit. The young man’s eyes were bright and clear, filled with concern. It was at that moment that I was moved by his sincerity and agreed to date him. But just half a year later, he could viciously berate me for the sake of another woman. It was only now that I understood… True feelings can change in an instant.
Once you fall completely out of love, No matter how much you argue, it all feels pointless. The pain in my neck reminded me just how foolish all my efforts over the years had been. I could only give a self-mocking smile. Zoe peeked out from behind Kevin at that moment. I unexpectedly met her eyes, full of mockery. It felt like my heart was being stabbed with needles, hurting even more. The next second, her eyes turned red as she spoke to me in a slightly resentful tone: “Big sis Lily, don’t be angry. I just found the jade pendant and was planning to return it to you when I had the chance.” She rubbed Kevin’s head. “Kevin, don’t blame big sis Lily anymore.” Kevin finally calmed down and reluctantly let go of me. “Zoe is always so sensible.” “Lily, why can’t you learn from her?!” The near-suffocation left my whole body trembling. Zoe pretended to come over and support me. “Big sis Lily, can you forgive me?” Her tone was slightly pleading, but I clearly saw the provocation and mockery in her eyes. As if arrogantly saying: “Yes, I stole it and broke it. What can you do about it?” I felt a chill run down my spine and disgustedly avoided her touch. But Zoe took the opportunity to let out a shrill scream and fall backwards. “Ah—” She clutched her wrist, looking at me in terror. “Big sis Lily, I just wanted to apologize to you…” I hadn’t even touched the hem of her clothes, yet I had become the bully. Seeing Zoe fall, Kevin immediately anxiously crouched down to help her up, then turned to angrily berate me. “Lily, didn’t you hear Zoe say she just found the pendant? What’s the point of taking it out on an innocent person like this?” I almost laughed at his words. The jade pendant Grandpa gave me was something I always treasured. I had carefully kept it in the drawer in my bedroom. Found it? Are you telling me Zoe accidentally entered my house, accidentally walked into my bedroom, and then accidentally found the pendant in my most private bedside drawer? I couldn’t be bothered to expose this clumsy lie. I just smirked sarcastically. “Fine then. I’ll report it to the police and let them investigate exactly how Zoe ‘found’ my jade pendant!” “And I’ll press charges against you for assaulting me today!” Zoe panicked and immediately clutched her chest. “Kevin, my heart hurts so much…” Hearing this, Kevin forgot about everything else and rushed to support Zoe to go to the hospital. “Don’t be afraid, Zoe. I won’t let anything happen to you!” As he passed by me, he glared viciously. “Lily, you just wait! If anything happens to Zoe, I won’t let you off the hook!” He deliberately slammed into my shoulder hard. Caught off guard, the impact sent me crashing to the floor. But Kevin didn’t even spare me a glance, just coldly snorted and left.
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