Hendrick nodded, a fake gleam of understanding in his eyes. “That’s right. Back then, you’d practice for hours just so you could sing for me. Now, come on, sing this song as a blessing for my dear fiancée. Show us your love.”
“Ravenna, sing!”
With a dramatic flourish, Hendrick clapped his hands, the sound echoing through the room like a command. His friends immediately fell in line, chanting in unison, “Sing! Sing!”
A wave of fury and humiliation slammed into me, drowning out the world around me. My hands trembled so violently that I nearly dropped the microphone, the cold metal pressing against my skin like a reminder of my powerlessness.
Back in school, when Hendrick’s parents divorced, he was too terrified to sleep alone. He’d beg me to sing to him, the sound of my voice his only comfort through the long, sleepless nights. I would sneak back and forth between his house and mine, practicing lullabies and perfecting my singing, terrified that my voice might not be good enough.
But now, those precious moments I’d held close had turned into nothing more than a cruel game for his amusement, a mockery of everything I’d given.
My voice, thick with emotion, I shoved the microphone back into Hendrick’s hand.
“I won’t sing,” I said, the words bitter on my tongue. “And I don’t wish you two any happiness.”
The words barely left my lips before a mocking voice rang out. “Ravenna, don’t tell me you’re still chasing after Hendrick?”
“Hendrick, you’d better watch out. Women like her, clingy, shameless, and relentless, are terrifying! She ditched her own wedding to throw herself at you. She’d probably be thrilled to be your mistress!”
Hendrick sneered, his eyes full of disdain as he shot me a glance. “My mistress? You? Not even close.”
Each cruel word was like a dagger to my heart, tearing it apart piece by piece.
If this had happened in the past, I would have already broken down, tears flooding my eyes as I begged Hendrick to explain himself. But not today. Today, I forced the bitterness rising in my throat down and steadied myself.
“Hendrick, you're the one proposing today, and I’m the one getting married. So why don’t you give me a wedding gift? No need for money; a song will do.”
Hendrick exchanged a sly look with Viella, and they both burst into laughter as though I were the punchline of some cruel joke.
“Ravenna, you already ran away from your wedding for me. Do you really think your husband will still want you after this?”
“Exactly,” Viella chimed in, her voice dripping with mockery. “I heard you and your husband had a flash marriage with no real foundation. Now you’ve made such a scene, do you honestly think your wedding will go ahead?”
I forced a smile, though my heart twisted in my chest. “You don’t need to worry about that. My wedding will proceed as planned.”
I had known all along that Hendrick was trying to trick me into abandoning my wedding. But not today. Today, I would stand firm.
Early that morning, I had received his call. His voice, thick with alcohol and a tremor of something that sounded like tears, slipped through the receiver.
“Ravenna,” he whispered, the words heavy with desperation. “Please don’t marry him. Don’t marry anyone else. I can’t stand it. You know I can’t live without you.”
“If you still love me, come to Sinclair Garden, our spot. I’ll wait until midnight.”
“If you show up, I’ll take you away, no questions asked. From that moment on, it will just be us, no one else.”
Before I could even respond, he hung up. On my end, my heart was racing like a wild drumbeat, every thump echoing in my chest.
Hendrick and I had been inseparable since childhood. We’d been best friends for more than a decade, and I had confessed to him more times than I could count. But he had always turned me down, insisting we were just friends.
Was it the impending wedding that had finally shifted something in his heart? Had it taken me about to commit to someone else for him to suddenly feel differently?
At that moment, my bridesmaid, Viella, sent me a message.
[Ravenna, I know you’ve always loved Hendrick. He told me to drive you to Sinclair Garden.]
[If you’ve made up your mind, let’s go. Nothing in this world can stop true love between you two.]
As I teetered on the edge of uncertainty, another message pinged a video message.
