Seeing me come back, Oswald rose to his feet, his face lit with a relieved smile.
"Millie, you're back. Seven days are up. The deal between me and Dawn is over. Tomorrow's our wedding, and everything's back on track."
Dawn stood up too, her eyes red as she apologized to me:
"Millie, thank you for putting up with all of this these past seven days. I'll leave tomorrow, and I'll never bother the two of you again."
As she spoke, she threw herself into Oswald's arms and started to cry.
Oswald patted her back, soothing her for a long while before he finally looked up at me.
He opened his mouth, hesitated, then said:
"Millie, tonight... Dawn says she wants to sleep in our wedding bed one last time, as a way to truly say goodbye to the past."
"Could you stay at a hotel tonight? Just this one last night. Tomorrow we'll be married."
I looked at him.
This man I'd loved for three years.
This man I'd thought I'd spend my whole life with.
Then I nodded.
"Fine."
He let out a breath and smiled:
"I knew you were the reasonable one. Get some rest early, then. I'll come pick you up in the morning."
I picked up my packed suitcase, pulled open the door, and walked out.
I didn't look back.
The next morning.
When Oswald woke up, Dawn was already gone.
He looked at the empty room, thought back on the absurdity of those seven days, and felt a flicker of guilt.
After asking around among his friends, he decided to set up a little surprise at the wedding to win her over.
He took out his phone and called the hotel.
He wanted them to make the wedding venue a touch more romantic, to add more baby's breath.
The call connected quickly.
Oswald said with a smile:
"Hello, this is Oswald Harding, the groom for today's wedding. Could you help me—"
Before he could finish, the receptionist's startled voice cut him off:
"Mr. Harding? Why are you calling now? Aren't you supposed to be at the ceremony right now?"
The smile froze on Oswald's face.
"What? I haven't even gone to the hotel yet."
The receptionist faltered too:
"Mr. Harding, the wedding program has already started. Let me just confirm with you—the bride is Miss Millie Fox, correct?"
"Miss Fox arrived a while ago. I went over the program with her myself this morning, and you, the groom, were standing right there beside her. You... you really don't know?"
Oswald's voice came out as if forced through clenched teeth:
"I haven't left my place all morning. The groom you're talking about isn't me."
As the words left him, a server's urging voice carried through from the other end:
"Kitchen, kitchen! Ten more bottles of wine for the wedding hall. Miss Fox says the groom has a lot of friends, the guests are asking, get it done fast!"
