Scrolling further down, almost every post on Judy's feed had something to do with Brian.
One had gone up just two minutes ago.
It was a screenshot of their couple account at level 99, with 5,200 matches played together, captioned:
[Anyone who loves romance needs someone who'll always have their back.]
The comments underneath were almost all just "99."
And Brian had left one too: No worries, as long as you're happy.
Right as our wedding was about to begin, another woman was showing off her couple ranking with my husband-to-be.
I'd braced myself for it, really.
But the tears slid down anyway, beyond my control.
By the time I'd steadied myself and lifted my face,
the staff had already started swapping out the photos and the other name on the wedding program by hand.
Watching all of it, I suddenly thought:
today's sun was unbearably bright. It really wasn't a good day for me to get married.
I wiped my eyes, went and splashed water on my face,
and was about to head back upstairs to pack my things and leave,
when Brian came to find me.
His face was clearly already done up.
"Maggie, there's something I want to talk to you about."
For some reason, a bad feeling rose in me.
But I still forced a smile.
"Go ahead."
Brian looked a little awkward.
He reached out and gently wiped a tear from my cheek.
"Judy says she's never worn a wedding dress before, and you two are about the same size."
"So I figured we'd let her wear yours for now. Don't worry, I've already had the makeup artist send over a backup gown."
"Didn't you say back then that you liked the other one anyway? Let Judy wear this one for now. It's just a dress, it doesn't really matter."
I looked at him for a long moment.
Then I laughed.
"Brian, you do know what kind of occasion today is, right?"
His expression shifted.
But in the end he just patted my head lightly.
"Don't be like this. Judy's young, and she's not in good health."
"You know that already, don't you? You're the one who told me to look after her."
"It's just one dress. You're still the star of this wedding."
I didn't argue anymore.
Because he had a point. It was just a dress.
But right then, the door to the dressing room opened.
Judy came hurrying out, holding up her skirt.
And there she was, wearing the gown I'd picked out so carefully.
The makeup on her face was the look I'd spent over a month working out with a makeup artist I'd found online.
Now all of it was hers.
And now, on her ring finger, she wore the diamond ring that should have been mine.
The moment she saw us standing there, she broke into a smile.
"Brian, Maggie, you're both here."
"Brian, look, my ring finger is even the same size as Maggie's!"
"I can wear her ring too!"
Looking at the ring on her finger,
I froze where I stood, my eyes going hot.
But Brian, oblivious, smiled and stroked Judy's hair. "She's right, your fingers are slimmer. It looks better on you."
I glanced down at my own hand.
My frame was big. The truth was, I couldn't even get that ring on.
So it had never been bought for me at all.
