Chapter 4 of Six Years of Silence, One Day of Goodbye

The night before the wedding, I put my passport and bank cards into my suitcase.

The document folder held my overseas employment confirmation letter, flight details, and a full list of every contract I'd handled for Harding Tech over the past six years.

On top of everything sat the original pawn receipt.

The only thing left in the room was the wedding dress, still hanging on its rack.

A message from Duke Gomez came through.

【Flight's at nine tomorrow morning. Driver will be downstairs at six-thirty. The statement and handover documents are ready. Are you sure you want to go?】

I stared at the screen for a long time before I replied.

【Hold on.】

The moment I sent those two words, even I thought they were pathetic.

It wasn't that I couldn't bear to leave.

I just wanted to give Chester one last chance. And to give the version of myself who'd once believed he would come back one final answer.

At ten-thirty that night, he still wasn't home.

Katherine's Instagram updated first.

In the video, the lights were bright. No power outage whatsoever.

She was wearing a birthday hat, sitting in front of a cake, and Chester stood behind her, leaning down to light the candles.

Someone was egging them on.

「Katherine, make a wish! Wish for Chester to stay with you forever.」

Katherine looked up at Chester with tears glistening in her eyes, smiling.

「I'm not greedy. I just want him not to leave me.」

Chester didn't pull away.

He just handed her the cake knife and said quietly, "Stop being silly."

I watched that video, and a strange calm settled over me.

So the so-called heartbreak, the so-called fear of the dark and the power outage, had all turned into a loud, crowded birthday party.

I dialed Chester's number.

It rang for a long time before he picked up.

The other end was noisy. Music, and Katherine's laughter.

「Sonia, why are you still up?」

His voice carried a thin coat of fake exhaustion.

「Are you coming home tonight?」

「Katherine just calmed down. Everyone's here. I'll be back later.」

「How much later?」

Chester sighed, his voice dropping low.

「Sonia, the wedding's tomorrow. Don't start this tonight. Get some sleep. I'll be there on time, I promise.」

My grip tightened around the phone.

「Chester, if I told you right now that I'm hurting, would you come home?」

A few seconds of silence on the other end.

In those seconds, the only sound I heard was my own breathing.

Then Katherine's voice cut in.

「Chester, we're cutting the cake! Come on!」

He answered quickly.

「Sonia, I know you feel wronged, but Katherine's really not doing well today. Uncle Ulysses and Aunt Naomi are both here. I can't just leave.」

「You've always been the sensible one. Don't put me in a difficult position.」

I closed my eyes.

That sentence shattered the last thing I'd been holding onto.

「What if I said I don't want to get married anymore?」

Chester's tone went cold.

「Sonia Cox, a wedding is not a game.」

「The invitations have been sent. The guests are here. The press is covering it. You waited six years for me. You're not going to humiliate me on the last day.」

「I'll be there on time tomorrow. Isn't that enough?」

A small laugh escaped me.

So in his mind, showing up to his own wedding on time was the greatest gift he could offer me.

「Chester, have you always assumed that as long as you were willing to come back, I'd be standing in the same spot waiting?」

He went quiet for a moment, then softened his voice.

「Sonia, I know you're upset right now. After the wedding tomorrow, I'll make it up to you. Okay?」

I didn't answer.

On his end, someone was calling him over to cut the cake again.

He seemed to be getting impatient.

「Don't use the wedding to threaten me.」

I opened my eyes.

My face reflected in the window. Pale. No tears.