I was so worked up that I forwarded the video of my call with my aunt straight to them.
"Mom, Dad, what's going on? Why are you in on it too, lying to me?"
"I'm not married at all. Why would you pull a joke like this? It's not funny in the slightest!"
I thought they'd quit while they were ahead, but instead my mother's scolding came through.
"Phoebe Gilbert, what are you playing at! The kid's lost his head, and now you've gone senile too? Is this something to joke about?"
Then my aunt's voice came, begging off:
"Oh, all right, all right, I was wrong!"
"I thought Albert had a case of cold feet, so I wanted to tease him a little! How was I supposed to know he'd go and hide instead of showing up to his own wedding!"
"Albert, your aunt was wrong! You really did get married, I'm the one who filed your marriage certificate myself! Hurry up and get in here, I've been waiting ages to drink to your happiness!"
I stared, eyes wide with disbelief.
Wasn't my aunt at work at the county clerk's office? How could she be at the wedding venue?
I hurried to make a video call to her.
But there she sat, prim and upright at the marriage registry, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"You kid, can't you see I'm busy right now? What are you calling for again?"
A chill swept through me all at once.
What was happening? How could there be two of my aunt at the same time?
Neither one looked fake. Which one was the real one?
My head felt like it was about to split open. Shaking, I forwarded the call record into the group chat again.
"I'm not married at all. What exactly is it you people want?"
The group chat, so lively just a moment ago, fell dead silent.
That was when Cassandra Sullivan sent a voice message:
"Albert Gilbert, you keep sending AI-generated pictures over. What are you trying to prove?"
"My patience has a limit. I'll give you five minutes, that's all. If you still don't come, you know the consequences..."
Her words sent a jolt through me.
Cassandra Sullivan, the living tyrant who could turn Rivermont upside down with a flick of her hand. Who would dare cross her?
And yet someone like that would put on a play for a nobody like me?
This wedding was lavish beyond all reason. The imported peonies filling the hall alone, the same kind the casino magnate's family used, had to run into the millions.
Who pulls a prank and bleeds that kind of money for it?
The group chat kept pushing, the calls kept coming.
The defenses inside me loosened, bit by bit. I wanted nothing more than to rush over and see for myself.
But the terror of being thrown through the air by that truck in my past life closed around my throat once more.
No! I couldn't gamble on this.
Just then my phone rang, shrill and urgent. Cassandra Sullivan!
My pupils contracted in an instant, the phone nearly slipping from my hand.
Impossible!
I'd searched countless times just now.
There was no Cassandra Sullivan anywhere in my contacts!
So why was her name showing up on my phone now?
My heart slammed against my ribs. Trembling, I pressed accept.
Cassandra Sullivan appeared on the screen, her face cold as frost.
"Albert Gilbert, time's up. You... still won't come?"
A strange ache twisted in my chest. Carefully, I spoke up.
"Ms... Ms. Sullivan, we aren't... we aren't married, are we?"
The moment the words left me, her lashes trembled for several seconds.
She let out a bitter, mocking little laugh. "Albert Gilbert, you really are something!"
"We've been together three years. I thought if I was good to you without conditions, gave you everything you wanted, it would be enough to win you over..."
"But now I see I was wrong..."
Watching her face go hollow with loss, I denied it almost on reflex.
"No, it's not like that..."
Married to her? I dreamed of it!
I'd had a secret crush on her since high school.
All these years I never dated anyone, and it was because she had never left my heart.
