Eyes stinging, I nodded.
I was the eldest daughter of the Winfield family.
The greatest fortune of my life was that my parents would always stand behind me.
Even when I was the one in the wrong.
They'd step in without hesitation and fix it for me.
They were all my confidence, all my backbone.
Then.
I sent Dick Gilbert a message: “Five hours until you come for me. Decide for yourself.”
He fired back in an instant: “Babe, Serena's already wearing the jewelry for her photos. You can't expect me to ruin her mood on her birthday, can you?”
“You've always been so understanding with me.”
“Why are you being so difficult today?”
I wrote back: “I'm understanding with you. So who's understanding with me?”
“Dick, don't forget, today is the day you marry me.”
“I wanted to look beautiful walking down that aisle.”
“And instead you stole your own wife's jewelry to put on another woman.”
“So is it me making a scene.”
“Or you not knowing what matters?”
“Or maybe...”
“In your heart, I come second to Serena Locke?”
I'd known from the start that Dick had a first love, the one that got away.
But he told me that was the past.
That the two of them had cut all contact long ago.
And we'd always gotten along just fine.
Until last year.
When Serena came back from abroad.
After that it was Serena this, Serena that, every time Dick opened his mouth.
He'd go buy fruit, and say Serena liked it.
We'd go shopping.
And he'd say Serena would look pretty in it.
He and I would go see a movie.
And he'd snap photos of the screen to share with Serena.
Over this.
He and I fought more than once.
But he could always swallow his pride and coax me out of it.
And I'd tell myself.
That it was ‘the past.’
That I shouldn't take it so seriously.
But today, this made me see it clearly.
In his heart.
I apparently didn't matter all that much either.
Dick seemed to be losing his patience.
His reply came with clear temper in it.
“Babe, I'll say it one more time, I only love you, so stop imagining things.”
“Besides, we're getting married today, and all the relatives and friends have been invited.”
“Don't blow this up.”
“Or neither side will be able to save face.”
“Once we're married.”
“If you want to blow off steam, you can hit me a few times, I don't care.”
“Whatever happens, you sit there and do your makeup like a good girl and wait for me at home. Pull this again and there's no wedding.”
“That's it.”
After listening to Dick's voice message.
I stared at myself in the mirror for a long time.
Somewhere in there, without my noticing, scalding tears slid slowly down my face.
The makeup artist reminded me not to cry, or it would ruin the look.
I held the tears back, pulled a tissue, and wiped the streaks dry.
Then I drew in a deep breath.
“Please make me look as beautiful as you can.”
Right after that.
I sent a message into the wedding group chat: “Everyone, I'm so sorry, the wedding has to be cancelled.”
