The hotel for our wedding caught fire out of the blue. Without hesitation, my fiancé, Damien Galloway, scooped up my fainted cousin, Zara Linwood, and rushed out of the building. My parents, Everett and Seraphina, along with my brother, Cassian, scrambled to carry the wedding gift Zara had painstakingly crafted, afraid she’d be upset. Meanwhile, with a sprained ankle and barely able to move, I was forgotten in the blaze, suffering from severe burns all over my body. As I lay there wrapped in layers of bandages, I could see the disgust on their faces. “You’re such a jinx. How could the wedding catch fire like that? Now, even Zara fainted from the shock!” “Anyway, you can’t even show your face like this. Since Zara is about the same size as you, why don’t you let her take your place for the wedding?” I nodded calmly and agreed. Then, I turned around and arranged with my boss about an overseas assignment. One month later, on the day I boarded the plane, it also happened to be the day of Zara and Damien’s wedding. My blind fiancé, my biased family—I was done with them all. But why did they all regret it so much once I left? Fifteen days before Zara and Damien’s wedding, I received a call from Cassian. He didn’t even say hello before launching into accusations. “Did you have your friend comment on those ridiculous things under Zara’s post? “I was wondering why you were being so quiet. Turns out you’ve been plotting this. “Do you know that Zara cried because of those comments? You’d better apologize to her!” He didn’t know that I could barely hold my phone, my hands trembling. The infection on my wounds had caused dozens of blisters to break open, large and small. Even after taking a bunch of painkillers, the pain was unbearable. I wanted to tell him that I had no idea what was going on. I was in so much pain that it felt like thousands of ants were biting at my body. But the call was already over. The pain from my wounds had been so intense that for a moment, I almost forgot. Cassian wasn’t the same anymore. He was no longer the one who promised to protect me forever. Now, he called, but not once did he ask if I was okay. He only cared about venting on behalf of Zara, the one he placed on a pedestal. I sighed, enduring the pain as I opened Zara’s social media. The latest post was a picture taken by the photographer of her and Damien’s backs. She was wearing a gorgeous wedding dress, and Damien was in a suit. The two of them held hands, looking like a perfect couple. The caption read: [Taking a wedding photo instead of my sister. Does it look good?] The first few comments were from my parents and Cassian. [Of course! You’re a match made in heaven.] [Of course, our Zara is the most beautiful little princess!] [It’s great there’s no eyesore now. You and Damien make the perfect pair.] I stared at these comments with no emotion. I had already gotten used to it. After all, in their eyes, I, the legitimate girlfriend who had been with Damien for seven years, was just an obstacle keeping him from being with Zara. I scrolled down and saw a few of my friends’ comments. They were standing up for me. [You and Damien look so good together. Just get married already!] [I can’t believe my day was ruined by this ridiculous piece of trash!] Strangely enough, I felt like crying when I saw these comments. It was as if my numb heart had been struck by something, stirring up a tiny, aching pain. I stared at the ceiling for a long time before I managed to hold back the tears. After thanking my friends in their individual chats, I opened the family group chat I had pinned. They were all discussing the wedding arrangements eagerly. I couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Throughout the entire process of the wedding that was ruined by the fire, I was the only one who worked with the wedding planners. When the setup was finished, Zara merely said it looked a bit plain, wanting something more dreamlike. It was then that Damien finally contacted the wedding planners. Next to the crystal decorations I had designed, they added a bunch of pink feathers that didn’t match at all. Since the fire had been that intense, those feathers definitely played their part. Yet my family and my fiancé didn’t remember a word of Zara’s suggestions and placed all the blame on me. In this group chat, all five of them used the same cartoon profile pictures. Zara was the little princess surrounded by stars, my parents and Cassian were the king, queen, and prince. My fiancé, Damien, used a profile picture of a knight that clearly showed they were a couple. But before, he had told me he couldn’t use a childish profile picture because all his colleagues and bosses could see it. Maybe when he met Zara, his principles changed. I stared at their matching avatars for a long time before finally sending a message. [The wedding photos look good. I don’t know anything about the comments. Sorry.] My message made the group, which had been filled with lively discussions about the wedding arrangements, go completely silent. A few minutes later, Zara replied, pretending to be understanding. [It’s okay, Nelia. I don’t blame you.]
The group chat, which had just fallen silent, suddenly became lively again. Everett: [At least Zara knows how to behave. Nelia, you should really learn from her.] Seraphina: [Exactly. You don’t compare to Zara at all. You should reflect on yourself.] Cassian: [Just apologize properly. No need to act like you don’t know anything. You really have a rotten heart!] In the face of their insults, I didn’t cry or argue like I used to. After all, this had happened far too many times over the years. I knew that no matter what I said, they wouldn’t believe me. So why waste my breath? I calmly muted the group chat, unpinned it, and didn’t say another word. Thankfully, after the pain passed, my wounds started to slowly heal. My time in the hospital was relatively peaceful. Compared to the constant stream of visitors in other wards, mine was eerily quiet. Only a few friends took time off to visit me, but they had their own lives to tend to and couldn’t be there all the time. Even the nurse couldn’t help but ask if there was no one left at home to care for me. I just smiled and thanked her for her concern. I never expected that, ten days before the wedding, I would suddenly see my parents and Cassian in the hospital. They had never come to visit me before. They looked anxious, and worry was written all over their faces. It would be impossible to say that my heart wasn’t stirred, but it only lasted for a brief moment. I knew very well that they weren’t here to see me. As expected, the elevator doors opened, and Zara was wheeled out by a man. When she saw my parents and Cassian, a joyful smile spread across her face. “Auntie, Uncle, Cassian, what are you all doing here? I just twisted my ankle, nothing major.” “You poor thing, twisting your ankle isn’t trivial at all. Must have hurt so much.” Seraphina’s eyes were full of tenderness. I quietly watched from the corner, lowering my head to glance at my ankle, which had almost fully healed. During the rehearsal for that wedding, Zara pushed me, causing me to fall and twist my ankle. But back then, Seraphina had wrapped Zara in her arms. She had said, “It’s just a twisted ankle. How bad can it hurt? Zara didn’t do it on purpose!” She told me not to argue with Zara over something so trivial, yet now, she was saying that twisting an ankle was a big deal. I took a deep breath, feeling like a fish stranded on the shore. My home was so close, yet I couldn’t return. I would never be able to go back.
Three days before the wedding, I handled my discharge procedures by myself. As I walked out of the hospital, no one was there to pick me up. Everyone was busy at the wedding venue, helping with the rehearsal. My dear sister Zara was afraid I wouldn’t know, so she sent me pictures of all the sweet and warm moments. After seeing so many of them, the pain in my heart started to numb over time. I took a cab back home, intending to pack my bags for the trip abroad. But when I entered the password, one I hadn’t changed in years, it was actually incorrect. The original password was Cassian’s and my birthday. When we set it up, Everett and Seraphina said it would ensure they would never forget our birthdays. But over time, even with that password, they’d forgotten my birthday countless times. And now, they’d changed it without telling me. I tried several more times before giving up and calling Everett and Seraphina. After two rejections, the call finally went through. It was noisy on the other end like they were eating. I could hear Cassian teasing Damien, saying his eyes were glued to Zara. The next moment, Seraphina’s voice rang out. “Don’t you know we’re eating? Can’t it wait?” I listened carefully. Her tone wasn’t just impatient. It carried a hint of guilt. Probably because of Damien. I thought to myself but didn’t say anything. “The password to our house has been changed. I can’t get in.” There was a pause, and Seraphina seemed surprised. “You’ve been discharged?” Realizing how silly the question was, she went silent for a moment but still didn’t tell me the password. “You should go stay at the house in the south of the city.” Her avoidance made me sharply aware that something was off. “Did you do something to my room?” The question slipped out with suspicion, and immediately, Seraphina flew into a fit of rage. “Why are you so paranoid? What’s there to do with your little room? “Enough! We’re trying to eat!” The call ended abruptly. I stood at the door, staring at the password lock for a long time. After entering Cassian and Zara’s birthdays, the door opened. I couldn’t quite put my feelings into words. Was I sad? It didn’t feel like it. Angry? Not really. It was more like… Everything was expected. Entering the home that I had lived in for over twenty years, I realized how much had changed. At my last wedding, Seraphina, Everett and Cassian had found it troublesome, so they had me get married at the hotel with no decorations, not even a wedding banner. But this time, the house was decked out with festive decorations, even the bathroom had something posted on the door. The family portrait next to the TV had been replaced with another four-person photo I had never seen. My heart skipped a beat, and I walked straight to the tiny bedroom in the corner, the one that was supposed to be mine. I opened the door, and the bed was gone, along with the desk and the cabinets. The room was now full of wedding supplies. No wonder Seraphina wouldn’t tell me the password. It seemed this house no longer had anything belonging to me. No space left for me either. I found it strange. At this point, I actually found myself smiling. Though my face felt oddly itchy. As I stepped outside, the wind blew, and I realized my hands were sticky. I had been crying without even noticing. I guess I was just unlucky. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I happened to run into the five of them returning from dinner. Everett, Seraphina and Cassian were walking behind, while Damien and Zara walked hand in hand in front. They looked like a loving couple. When they bumped into me, they awkwardly let go of each other’s hands. “Nelia, it’s not what you think.” Zara put on a look of innocence, though the smugness in her eyes was nearly overflowing. Damien, standing beside her, protectively moved in front of her, as if afraid I might do something. “Zara is right. Nelia, we were just following the photographer’s advice to work on our chemistry.” I looked at him, the man I had loved for seven years, and forced a smile. “Mm, it’s all right.” Everett, Seraphina and Cassian hurried over, immediately starting to scold me. “Nelia, can’t you be a bit more understanding?” “Look at how you’re acting now. If it weren’t for you, Zara wouldn’t be with Damien…” “I know!” I cut them off, my voice louder than theirs. “I know it’s all for my own good. I really appreciate you all. “Mom, didn’t you want me to go live in the house in the south of the city? I’m leaving now. My taxi is almost here.”
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