On the day I was supposed to marry my boyfriend, Brian Simmons, the makeup artist came looking for me for the third time.
"Miss Harding, where's your fiancé? He still hasn't gotten his makeup done."
"The ceremony's about to start. We're running out of time."
I left my own makeup unfinished and joined everyone in searching for him. We looked for ages, and in the end I found him in the wedding limo, deep in a two-player match with his childhood friend.
He glanced at all the people crowded around and only said, in that half-hearted way of his, "Let me finish this round. Judy Fox says we're one match away from hitting twenty thousand intimacy points."
"Makeup won't take that long anyway."
Five years together, and Brian had brushed me off with that exact line more times than I could count.
When we used to go shopping, he'd buy Judy a skin in his game while I was in the fitting room.
When we went on a trip I'd spent two weeks planning, he wanted to stay in the hotel and grind quests with Judy.
Even the day we took our wedding photos, he had the phone in his hand the whole time, gaming while they did his makeup.
And for all of it, he had only ever had the one answer: "It can be done whenever. It won't take long anyway."
My face stayed blank. I just looked down at the countdown on my phone and knocked the number down by one. The 5,200 countdown hit zero.
He never knew that the day that countdown reached zero, we were over.
I turned and walked back to the bridal room, lifted the veil off my head, and put it in the makeup artist's hands. "Sorry about this. We're not getting married."
"But the wedding goes ahead as planned. The bills still get paid. Everything runs the way I say."
—
The moment I said it, nearly every eye in the room turned to me.
"Miss Harding, maybe you should think this over a little more?"
"The ceremony's almost starting, and the makeup's all done, and you…"
I smiled at the makeup artist.
Then I looked over at Brian.
But Brian had his earbuds in, like he hadn't heard a single word.
Like he simply didn't care.
There, with everyone in the room staring at us, he was still murmuring sweetly into his mic.
"Idiot, jump down and shield-tank already, or you'll get knocked out in a second."
"Relax~ I'll wait right here for your cooldown. I won't move an inch."
The words went into my chest like a blade.
Sharp, and bitter with it.
Every gaze in the room swung back to me.
Brian finally looked up.
When he saw the red rimming my eyes, he gave a sheepish little laugh.
"Sorry, Maggie. I'll come the second this match is over."
"Don't be mad yet. It won't take long anyway."
He didn't even take the earbuds out to say it.
I let out a laugh and clenched my jaw to force the tears back.
"It's fine. Take your time."
As I turned away, I finished the rest of it under my breath.
"We've got the rest of our lives, after all."
Then I started walking.
I made my way back to my own bridal room, and with the makeup artist's help,
I stepped out of that elaborate wedding gown.
"Miss, do you still want makeup if there's no wedding?"
"I designed this look myself. I want to finish it."
The makeup artist sighed, resigned, and picked the brow pencil back up to start on my brows.
That was when Brian, his match over, pushed the door open and came in.
Right beside him was Judy, flushed and beaming from the game they'd just played.
"Maggie, you're still not done? Why's it taking so long?"
"Oh, right, Maggie. Judy says she rushed over for our wedding and didn't have time to get ready, so let the makeup artist do her first. She's quicker."
The makeup artist's hand froze.
She shot me a startled look, then glanced at the two of them in the doorway.
But she still made a point of saying it.
"Mr. Simmons, I'm the bridal makeup artist. The full look goes with the bride."
Brian heard that and still saw nothing wrong with it.
"Right, Judy says you're the most skilled, so we'll use you first."
"It's not like we won't pay you extra."
There was no precedent for this, so no one actually said no.
The makeup artist's eyes settled on me.
And Brian's eyes followed hers to me, too.
"Maggie, don't be mad. I'll clear out your online shopping cart for you."
"Just let Judy have the makeup artist first."
I looked at myself in the mirror for a long moment.
In the end I smiled and nodded.
"Fine. You go first."
Judy practically cheered on the spot.
"Yay! I knew you were the best, Maggie!"
And with that, she all but dragged Brian into the bridal room.
"Brian, let's get done together."
"That way we can take a photo after."
I moved aside to make room for the two of them.
But just as I was about to step out, Brian slung an arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head.
"All right, don't be mad. You're the star today. A sour face won't look good."
"It's not like Judy's makeup is going to hold anything up."
I managed to scrape together a smile.
And turned and walked out.
This wedding was one I had no intention of going through with anyway.
