My wife and I were getting married tomorrow. At her bachelorette party, she hugged her old flame. She said it was to leave her youth without regrets. I immediately called off the wedding. She didn’t understand and cried, asking: “We just had dinner, why are you overreacting like this?” I said: “Since you can’t let go of your youth, I wish you two a lifetime of happiness. Now, you’re free.” 01 The day before the wedding, I was triple-checking all the details. “Use only roses for the petals, absolutely no lilies or bellflowers – Olivia is allergic to those.” “Make sure there’s a spare pair of the custom insoles in the car. Olivia will be greeting guests for hours tomorrow, I’m worried her feet will hurt.” “Are the mini cupcakes ready? I heard brides barely get to eat on their wedding day, so I want her to have something while she’s getting her makeup done… They’re made with dairy cream, right? Vegetable cream is harder to digest.” … After getting affirmative responses to everything, I let out a heavy sigh of relief. I closed the door, lay down on the bed, and stared at the window with the big red “double happiness” character pasted on it, feeling both excited and nervous. I was getting married tomorrow. I wondered what Olivia was doing right now. I took out my phone and sent her a SnapChat message. She didn’t reply. While scrolling through my feed, I saw that her bridesmaid had posted a set of nine selfies. “Last night of freedom before the bestie gets hitched tomorrow! No regrets for our youth!” The first eight photos were just Olivia goofing around with her bridesmaids. I smiled, thinking she’d probably still be half asleep when I carried her out the door tomorrow morning. Then I swiped to the last photo and my world went black. It felt like someone had hit me over the head with a sledgehammer. I couldn’t breathe for a moment. It was an intimate photo of a man and woman. Olivia was leaning back, one hand propped on a table, her eyes hazy and lips parted. Less than an inch from her face was the profile of a man. He was staring at her intently, returning her passionate gaze. Their faces were so close they were practically breathing the same air, lips barely an inch apart. In the photo, the man’s hands were tightly gripping Olivia’s waist. Under the red lighting, it looked incredibly sultry. Just like a promo poster for some trashy romance drama. 02 I didn’t recognize the man, but I knew who he was. Ethan. Olivia’s first love that she had pined after for five years. From high school through college. We had shared our romantic histories before. Olivia had only vaguely mentioned having a crush on an older classmate, without going into details. So I hadn’t thought much of it, assuming it was just a fleeting infatuation from her school days. What did I care about her first love when I was the one by her side now? But this photo felt like a bullet through my chest. My heart clenched painfully. Olivia’s face slowly distorted before my eyes. My palm stung and I realized the metal edge of my phone case had cut into my skin at some point. I snapped out of my daze and looked back at the post, but it had already been deleted. I quickly called Olivia but there was no answer. I tried her bridesmaid instead. She picked up and I got straight to the point: “Where are you guys?” “We’re having dinner.” She hesitated, clearly uncomfortable. “Is something wrong?” “Give me the address.” I said. “That guy is still there, right?” Silence on the other end. Then I heard Olivia’s voice: “It’s your turn to drink! Who are you on the phone with?” “Just work stuff,” the bridesmaid said in a low voice. “I gotta go, my phone’s about to die.” “$1000,” I said. “What are you doing? What do you take me for?” “$3000, plus all the info on that guy.” “Well… you can’t say I told you.” I grunted in agreement. Soon, my phone was blowing up with notifications. 03 She had sent me Olivia’s secret Twitter account. I clicked through and saw she posted very frequently. Every meal, outing, and book she read warranted a post. And Ethan commented on every single one. Olivia: “It’s getting cold, time to knit a scarf for your loved one!” Ethan: “I got the scarf, but she’s at home so I can’t pick it up.” Olivia: “Hmph, forget it then.” It was a blue scarf – the birthday gift Olivia had given me last year. She claimed it took her two months to knit and I was so touched. I quickly dug out the scarf and sure enough, next to my name I saw some unraveled stitches. I could just make out the character for “Ethan”. And here I thought it was just due to her lack of skill. Turns out Ethan didn’t want it, so it got passed on to me. Olivia: “Made a wish at the temple today. Bless me!” Ethan: “What did you wish for? Tell me!” Olivia: “The thing you want to do most. (sticks out tongue)” Ethan: “See the stars in the Sahara Desert?” Olivia: “So smart, I’ll give you a kiss as a reward.” My mind flashed back to our third anniversary. We had gone to a temple to make wishes and hang prayer cards. I wrote that I would love the girl beside me with all my heart, asking all the gods to bear witness. She wrote: “I want to go see the stars in the Sahara Desert with the one I love.” I had invited her to go several times after that. But she always said she was too tired. Turns out it wasn’t that she didn’t want to go. I just wasn’t worthy. Is that right? 04 Valentine’s Day 202 I was stuck in a hotel due to COVID restrictions. Unable to spend the holiday with Olivia. She was mad at me for a long time. It took me a week to make it up to her. But I found her post from that day. A selfie of her and Ethan kissing in front of a mirror. The background was our bedroom. Caption: Love is always reckless. God damn it.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “297367”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic
Leave a Reply