On the day we were supposed to get our marriage license, Zachary Stephens never showed up.
I opened the music app and saw the couple video he'd posted with my best friend just a minute ago.
Him in a suit, her in a wedding gown, kissing on a wide-open lawn. They looked like the perfect pair.
My hand trembled as I tapped the like button.
A second later, Zachary's call came through.
“I was just helping her shoot a bridal ad. Don't read into it.”
Don't read into it. Again.
But this was the 108th couple video the two of them had filmed together.
“Mm. You two make quite the pair.”
Zachary fell silent for a moment, then said, all innocence,:
“Baby, what's that supposed to mean? The videos are all fake.”
“Your best friend and I have never gotten along. You know that, don't you?”
“I only helped her out for your sake.”
My voice caught. “But today was the day we agreed to get our license. I waited for you a long time……”
He clicked his tongue and cut me off, careless about it.:
“We can get the license any day. Why are you being so petty, getting jealous over a friend?”
“Be good. We'll talk when I get back.”
The call ended, and it was like throwing a punch into a pillow.
But I'd heard it clearly. My best friend was right there beside him, cooing his name.
I took a deep breath.
A marriage license can be gotten any day.
But Zachary, the person I marry doesn't have to be you.
……
I dragged my numb body home.
Zachary still wasn't back.
I sat down in the entryway and pulled up Susan Barnes's profile.
The couple videos of Zachary and her. I'd watched them more times than I could count.
In them, they laughed and teased and played, sweet and in love.
The sound of their laughter echoed through this empty, silent house.
Like a curse wound tight around me, impossible to shake off.
All at once I felt like I hardly knew this version of Zachary anymore.
He had never, to anyone, in any setting, acknowledged that we were together. All because he said he didn't like being too public, said he wanted to build his career first.
There wasn't a single photo of the two of us in the house. All because he said he didn't like having his picture taken, hated being on camera.
I still remember when we first got together. I bought a camera, wanting to capture our everyday life.
But the moment the lens turned toward him, his brow furrowed.
He swung his hand in anger, and the camera hit the floor. The lens shattered. The camera was ruined.
We didn't speak to each other for a long time after that, and from then on, we never took another photo together.
I loved him.
I memorized everything he liked and hated.
I respected every one of his wishes.
And what I got in return was him “flaunting love for all to see” with someone else,
him taking “sweet couple photos” with someone else.
And that someone else was my own best friend……
The sound of the door opening, and my heart seemed to stop for an instant.
Zachary was back.
“Amelia Henson? Why are you sitting here?”
His tone was gentle as water, as if nothing had happened at all.
I didn't answer.
He went on, patient with his questions. “Hungry? I brought dinner home for you.”
He gave the paper bag in his hand a little shake. The restaurant's logo was printed across it.
A place I'd mentioned so many times, one I'd always loved.
But we'd never gone together.
Because Zachary always said he was too busy, always said we'd go some other time.
Something flashed through my mind, and I asked him, my voice shaking, “This restaurant. Who did you go with?”
He froze for a beat. The guilt in his eyes flickered and was gone.
“Susan said she wanted to shoot some footage……”
I tugged the corner of my mouth into a bitter smile, the tingling reaching even my fingertips.
The same thing, again.
Going on dates like a real couple, under the excuse of filming video footage.
