“I was just passing by.”
When the words left my mouth,
even I found them pale and powerless.
I decided not to explain any further.
I turned to leave.
“Passing by? Fine then.”
Keira chased after me relentlessly,
her smile dripping with malice.
“Then come attend my wedding with my brother.”
“Didn’t you say you wished us well?”
“Enough.”
Barry frowned.
“Watch your tone when you talk to Chloe.”
He turned to me,
his voice softening again.
“Don’t listen to her nonsense, honey.”
“I’ll be back by your side soon.”
Keira stamped her foot in anger.
Barry lowered his head and soothed her
with a look I knew all too well.
At that moment,
I suddenly felt nauseated.
I turned back to Keira
and spoke calmly.
“Alright.”
“Send me the invitation.”
“I’ll be there on time.”
When I pushed open the door
to the house Barry and I once shared,
his scent rushed at me.
It was as if the entire world
still carried his shadow.
I could no longer hold on.
I squatted on the floor,
clutching my stomach tightly,
vomiting blood mouthful by mouthful.
I couldn’t stay in this place anymore.
In the end,
I returned to the hospital.
When the doctor saw me,
he visibly let out a sigh of relief.
He said he had been most afraid
that I would die suddenly on the road.
That night,
I received the wedding invitation Keira sent me.
The wedding photos were exquisitely retouched,
flawless in every detail.
Clearly not a last-minute decision.
Suddenly, I realized that
that so-called “depression diagnosis”
was probably part of their plan all along.
The wedding date
was ironically perfect.
It fell on the exact day
I was leaving.
Over the next few days,
I lay quietly in the hospital.
My social media feed
was filled with Barry’s friends.
No matter which app I opened,
all I saw were posts sharing
the news of his remarriage.
They assumed that after the divorce,
I would delete everyone.
So they spoke freely, without restraint.
Discussing me,
the thoroughly betrayed ex-wife.
Until the wedding day arrived.
My body had grown so weak
that I could no longer stand.
I rented a wheelchair from the hospital.
And put on
the wedding dress
I had worn
when I married Barry.
Along the red carpet,
I moved forward bit by bit
in an electric wheelchair.
Employees of the Gu family,
business partners, relatives,
all cast shocked and uneasy glances at me.
This wedding
was far more extravagant
than the one years ago.
Back then,
I had nearly emptied my savings
just to secure this venue Barry adored.
What I could give him
might not have been expensive.
But that was
everything I had.
The wedding march began.
Barry walked alone
from the other end of the aisle
toward Keira.
As expected.
Osiris still did not appear.
No parents.
No elder brother.
He stood at the center
of this grand wedding,
like a groom forgiven and blessed by the world.
At the end of the aisle,
the two embraced deeply.
Keira clutched Barry’s hand tightly.
Her voice, amplified through the microphone,
was clear and resolute.
“Brother, from the first moment I saw you,
I fell in love with you.”
“Later, when I learned
that you were living in such suffering,
I swore…”
“I wouldn’t just marry you.”
“I would treat you well for the rest of my life
and never let you be wronged again.”
I almost wanted to laugh.
So this was it.
Every cheating man
had a story
about being ‘saved.’
I just hadn’t expected that
in Barry’s version,
our marriage
had become a living hell.
Barry threw himself into Keira’s arms,
tears streaming down his face,
his voice thick with sobs.
“I finally married you…”
“I finally married the one I love.”
