My boyfriend loves me deeply. We got together in April. To commemorate this month, he changed all his social media usernames to “April,” and even named our puppy April. On our fourth anniversary, he proposed to me. But before our wedding, I met his ex-girlfriend who had just returned from abroad. She told me her name was Avril. Avril and April sound remarkably similar. That’s when I realized I might have been just a replacement from the beginning. While crying and saying I wanted to leave, I thought to myself, “Finally scared me enough. Avril, you’ve finally returned. I’ve made enough money now. If you hadn’t shown up, was I really going to marry him?” ***** Today is our pre-wedding party. I’m leaning against my boyfriend Arthur Wood’s chest when a surprise guest confidently raises her glass and says, “Hello everyone. I just returned from abroad yesterday specifically to attend Arthur’s wedding. Though we haven’t seen each other in four years, we grew up together, so I hope no one minds my sudden appearance?” The atmosphere instantly becomes awkward as everyone’s expressions change. I realize this woman must be someone significant. But Arthur’s friend Mark Mcgowan quickly breaks the tension. Mark says, “You’re finally back. Come sit down and join us for dinner. Chloe is here too.” Hearing this, she obediently sits at the farthest spot from us. However, I notice her eyes reddening when she looks at Arthur. My intuition tells me to observe her carefully. She asks, “When is Arthur’s wedding scheduled?” The question sounds casual, but strangely, no one answers. Everyone just focuses on their food and drinks. Finally, Arthur speaks up, “The wedding is in three days.” After saying this, Arthur turns and kisses the corner of my mouth. His behavior seems normal, which reassures me somewhat. She suddenly bursts into loud laughter, tears streaming from her eyes. She stands up, pours herself a drink, and says, “Arthur, congratulations on your marriage. I wish you both happiness, love, and children soon.” With each blessing, she downs another glass. She drinks so quickly that friends trying to stop her fail. Arthur continues holding me, motionless. But his grip is so tight I almost cry out in pain. The more she drinks, the worse Arthur’s expression becomes. Despite this, Arthur doesn’t make any move. She’s wearing a white dress. Her body looks fragile, swaying unsteadily beneath the fabric, having lost her initial composure. Crying, with tears falling like broken pearls, she speaks in a heartbreaking way. “Arthur, you’re getting married, but the bride isn’t me.” After these words, the air grows heavy. She promptly faints, and Mark rushes to support her, saying anxiously, “Chloe, she’s drunk and saying things she shouldn’t. Don’t take it to heart. You all continue, I’ll take her home.” Watching her leave, I cautiously ask Arthur beside me, “Arthur, what’s her name? I feel like she resembles me somewhat.” Indeed, there is a slight resemblance between us. This similarity has always made me worry she might suddenly appear. Though she was only present for a few minutes, she already caused Arthur’s demeanor to change dramatically. It’s worth noting that Arthur managed to take over the family business in just a few years because he’s always been good at hiding his emotions. His obvious change in expression and unconsciously hurting me with his grip already shows he’s losing control. Arthur’s expression becomes frightening, as if angry that I asked this question. After a moment, he calms down and answers, “She’s someone I used to know. You don’t need to worry about her name.” The party hasn’t ended yet when Arthur says he has an urgent matter at his company and must leave. Watching him hurry away, I fall into deep thought. A sense of unease suddenly fills my heart.
Arthur wasn’t there, and I had no interest in staying at the party any longer. I called my friend Lara Murphy and told her about the encounter with the strange woman, feeling uneasy. Lara comforted me from the other end of the line: “Don’t overthink it. Everyone knows Arthur loves you deeply. He even uses your anniversary date as his username on all social media accounts. You’re probably just experiencing pre-wedding jitters. Let me come over and we can walk the dog together!” She was right—Arthur truly did love me. After all, with his credentials, he was willing to commit to someone as ordinary as me. He had arguments with his family for my sake and even fought with his father, yet he still insisted on marrying me. I couldn’t think of any reason other than love. I thought to myself, “I shouldn’t doubt Arthur. That girl is probably just having a one-sided crush.” I felt reassured as I stroked April, our dog who had just run over to me. We had adopted this stray dog together a year ago. I felt sorry for it at the time and brought it home. I thought Arthur, with his germophobia, would object, but to my surprise, he not only agreed but also named the dog April. April was the month when Arthur and I officially started dating. Four years ago, I had just graduated from college and landed a job at Wood Group after several rounds of interviews. To my surprise, Arthur showed intense interest in me from our very first meeting. But today, April was acting strangely. Usually well-behaved, today she was chewing on things around the house. While I was on the phone with Lara, she suddenly darted into Arthur’s study, rummaged through a cabinet, and came out with something in her mouth. In four years, I had never entered Arthur’s study. Thinking, “That might be something important,” I quickly grabbed it from April’s mouth. It was a photo album with a chewed-up cover. Opening it, I found pictures from Arthur’s high school days—him playing basketball, sleeping with his head down, and confidently speaking at a debate competition. These photos looked like they had been taken secretly. The last photo in the album was a group shot with Arthur having his arm around a girl, smiling with a hint of shyness. I had never seen him with that expression before. And the girl standing beside him was the same person I had encountered at the party today. I turned the photo over and saw a message: “Arthur, I promise I’ll be with you after we both get our college acceptance letters! From Avril Grant.” I froze. “Wait, her name is Avril? Avril and April sound so similar…” Finally, everything that happened today and all those puzzling things from the past made sense. I started to recall why, although we developed feelings for each other in March, he waited until April to confess; why he named our dog April; why he refused to tell me that woman’s name today; why he always became emotional every April; why his mood would fluctuate so dramatically at night… My body turned cold, as if my blood was flowing backward. My hands trembled as I held the album. Instinctively, I called Arthur. The “beep, beep, beep” sound on the phone felt like a countdown to my judgment day. Arthur didn’t answer. I then called Mark, who picked up quickly. Mark said, “Hey, Chloe, what’s up?” I asked, “Where is Arthur right now?” He replied, “Huh? Arthur should be at the office. Didn’t he say he had work to finish?” Mark’s answer seemed airtight, but I wasn’t reassured. There was a hint of guilt in his voice. I lost control and demanded, “Tell me, what’s the name of that woman who suddenly appeared today? Is her name Avril Grant? Was she with Arthur before? What exactly is their relationship? Tell me clearly!” Mark was silent for a moment, then said, “Chloe, how did you find out? Don’t put me in a difficult position. Why don’t you wait for Arthur to come home and let him explain it to you himself?” I heard a phone dropping on the other end, but the call hadn’t disconnected. I could hear Avril crying emotionally: “Arthur, you once said you would marry me. Our breakup was my fault. I understand that you’ve been with someone else these four years to fill the void. But I came back to congratulate you because you’re getting married to make me return—is that wrong too?” Arthur’s voice was cold yet firm, possibly saddened by seeing someone he once deeply loved reappear: “I won’t allow you to wish me a happy marriage.” Mark hung up the phone. But those crucial words had already reached my ears clearly.
I started packing my bags. Now that Avril had returned, the wedding would surely be called off. There was no point in me staying any longer—I needed to leave as soon as possible. As I packed, I mockingly thought to myself, “No wonder Arthur didn’t send out invitations. No wonder he said he preferred things quiet and didn’t want too many people knowing about the wedding. No wonder he claimed his family disapproved and the wedding couldn’t be grand, that I would feel slighted because of it.” We had been together for four years, our lives completely intertwined. There were too many items in the room to pack everything. After organizing for a long time, I finally managed to fit the essentials into my suitcase. April came over and licked my face, making me realize my cheeks were wet with tears. My feelings for Arthur had been genuine, which made this all the more painful and heartbreaking. I opened the door to leave but found Arthur standing outside. He was supposed to be on the phone with Avril. He looked at my face, then at the luggage in my hand, and immediately frowned. “Where are you going?” The sudden encounter caught me off guard. I bit my lip as tears streamed down my face and said, “Arthur, I know everything now. You still love someone from your past, and I don’t blame you. Everyone has their history. But you shouldn’t have let her exist in every corner of our lives. From now on, every time I see April, I’ll be reminded of you two. Since Avril is back, I’ll step aside. I’m leaving now, going far away, and won’t disturb your lives anymore.” Arthur didn’t seem relieved as I had expected. Instead, he emotionally pulled me back into the room. I looked at him with my tear-reddened eyes. He sighed, sat across from me, and said, “Avril is a childhood friend and my ex-girlfriend. After four years together, she suddenly broke up with me and went abroad. We haven’t seen each other since.” I found his explanation ridiculous. “But you still have feelings for her, don’t you? You kept all those old photo albums. Your feelings for her have been hiding beneath our relationship all along. You even decided to get married just to provoke her into coming back. How is that fair to me? Arthur, what am I to you? What have these four years meant?” Arthur fell silent. His silence felt like an admission that he still had feelings for Avril. I thought, “Indeed, if he wasn’t still hung up on her, why would he go to such lengths?” He rubbed his forehead, his tone tinged with impatience. “Stop making a scene, Chloe. I admit the marriage wasn’t entirely sincere. But after four years together, I’m not completely without feelings for you. I hope you can calm down and stay with me. I’ll sort things out with Avril. We might still get married for real.” He waited a moment, then leaned back on the sofa, casually tossing a bank card my way, reverting to his typically arrogant demeanor. “If you really want to leave, take this card with you—consider it compensation for these four years. But if you take this card, we’re done for good. Think about it.” He looked at me with certainty, convinced I wouldn’t choose to leave. But he was wrong. Throughout these four years, he wasn’t the only one acting. Without hesitation, I picked up the card and headed for the door again. As I turned around, I accidentally let a smile slip. I thought to myself, “It’s a good thing Avril came back when she did. Otherwise, would I really have married Arthur? I don’t want to waste the best years of my youth on a marriage, especially with a difficult wealthy family.”
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